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Ptolemy II Philadelphus,
(Philadelphus in Greek: “Brother-Loving”) (born 308, Cos—died
246), king of Egypt (285–246), second king of the Ptolemaic dynasty, who
extended his power by skillful diplomacy, developed agriculture and commerce,
and made Alexandria a leading centre of the arts and sciences.
Life:
Reigning at first with his father, Ptolemy I Soter, he became sole ruler in
283–282 and purged his family of possible rivals. This dynastic strife led
also to the banishment of his first wife, Arsinoe I, daughter of King
Lysimachus of Thrace. Ptolemy then married his sister, Arsinoe II, an event
that shocked Greek public opinion but was celebrated by the Alexandrian court
poets. Taking advantage of the difficulties of the rival kingdoms of the
Seleucids and Antigonids, Ptolemy II extended his rule in Syria, Asia Minor,
and the Aegean at their expense and asserted at the same time his influence in
Ethiopia and Arabia. Egyptian embassies to Rome as well as to India reflect the
wide range of Ptolemy’s political and commercial interests. Although a new
war with the Seleucids (from 274 to 270) did not affect the basic position of
the rival kingdoms, the so-called Chremonidean
War (268?–261), stirred up by Ptolemy against Antigonus II Gonatas,
king of Macedonia, resulted in the weakening of Ptolemaic influence in the
Aegean and brought about near disaster to Ptolemy’s allies Athens and
Sparta.
Ptolemy was no more successful in the Second
Syrian War (c. 260–253), fought against the coalition of the Seleucid
king Antiochus II and Antigonus Gonatas. The unsuccessful course of the
military operations was compensated for, to a certain degree, by the diplomatic
skill of Ptolemy, who first managed to lure Antigonus into concluding a
separate peace (255) and then brought the war with the Seleucid Empire to an
end by marrying his daughter, Berenice—provided with a huge dowry—to
his foe Antiochus II. The magnitude of this political masterstroke can be
gauged by the fact that Antiochus, before marrying the Ptolemaic princess, had
to dismiss his former wife, Laodice. Thus freed for the moment from Seleucid
opposition and sustained by the considerable financial means provided by the
Egyptian economy, Ptolemy II devoted himself again to Greece and aroused new
adversaries to Antigonid Macedonia. While the Macedonian forces were bogged
down in Greece, Ptolemy reasserted his influence in the Aegean, making good the
setback suffered during the Chremonidean War.
He further improved his position by arranging for the marriage of his son (and
later successor) Ptolemy III Euergetes to the daughter of King Magas of Cyrene,
who had proved so far a very troublesome neighbour. Not aiming at outright
hegemony (even less imperialistic conquest) in the Hellenistic world of the
eastern Mediterranean, Ptolemy II tried nonetheless to secure for Egypt as good
a position as possible, holding at large his rivals beyond a wide buffer zone
of foreign possessions. Without being completely successful, he managed to let
his allies bear the brunt of the heaviest reverses, healing his own military
wounds with diplomatic remedies. The influence on Ptolemy of his wife and
sister Arsinoe II, particularly in foreign affairs, was certainly substantial,
though not as extensive as claimed by some contemporary authors.
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