A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

h86 PTOLEMAEUS. PTOLEMAEUS.
the most conspicuous was Thais, the celebrated suing him (Paus. i. 7. ~~ 1, 2; Schol. ad Callim.
Athenian hetaera. By her he had two sons, H. in Del. 170-190). Magas, however, subsenamed Leontiscus and Lagus, and a daughter, quently induced Antiochus II., king of Syria, to
Eirene, who was married to Eunostus, one of the make common cause with him against the Egyptian
petty princes of Cyprus. (Athen. xiii. p. 576, e.; monarch, aud himself undertook a second expediPaus. i. 6. ~ 8.) Another son of Ptolemy, named tion against Egypt, in which he again advanced to
Argaeus, is also mentioned, who was probably ille- the frontier, and took the fortress of Paraetonium;
gitimate, but his mother is unknown. (Paus. i. 7. but the efforts of Antiochus were paralysed by the
~ 1.) [E. H. B.] address of Ptolemy, and he was able to effect
PTOLEMAEUS II. (rITroXeiaios), king of nothing on the side of Syria. At length the war
EGYPT, surnamed PHILADELPHUS, was the son of was terminated by a treaty, which left Magas in
Ptolemy I. by his wife Berenice. He was born in undisputed possession of the Cyrenaica, while his
the island of Cos, whither his mother had accom- infant daughter Berenice was betrothed to Ptolemy,
panied her husband during the naval campaign of the son of Philadelphus. (Paus. i. 7. ~ 3; Pou. c. 309. (Theocr. Idyll. xvii. 58; et Schol. ad loc.; lyaen. ii. 28; Justin. xxvi. 3; Droysen, Hellenism.
Callim. H. ad Del. 165 —190; Droysen, Hellenism. vol. ii. pp. 244-250.)
vol. i. p. 418.) We have scarcely any information It was probably during the continuance of this
concerning the period of his boyhood or youth, war that we find Ptolemy also taking an active
though we learn that he received a careful educa- part in the affairs of Greece, by sending a fleet
tion; and Philetas, the elegiac poet of Cos, and under Patroclus to the assistance of the Athenians
Zenodotus the grammarian, are mentioned as his against Antigonus Gonatas [PATROCLUS]. Nor
literary preceptors (Suid. s. v. IcPlrXlTa and Ztlvo'8o- was he inattentive to the events that were passing
ros). But it is probable that his own promising in more distant countries. After the defeat of
character and disposition combined with the par- Pyrrhus by the Romans, he had hastened to contiality of his father for Berenice, to induce the aged clude a treaty with the rising republic, and during
monarch to set aside the offspring of his former the subsequent war between Rome and Carthage,
marriage in favour of Philadelphus. In order to he continued faithful to his new allies, and refused
carry this project into execution, and secure the suc- to assist the Carthaginians. (Liv. Epit. xiv.;
cession to this his favourite son, the king at length Dion Cass. fr. 146; Zonar. viii. 6; Justin. xviii. 2;
resolved to abdicate the sovereign power, and esta- Val. Max. iv. 3. ~ 9; Appian. Sic. 1.)
blish Philadelphus (at this time 24 years of age) Of the subsequent relations between Egypt and
upon the throne during his own lifetime. The Syria, we know only in general terms that hostiliyoung prince appears to have been personally ties between them were frequently interrupted or
popular with the Alexandrians, who, we are told, suspended, and as often renewed; but the wars
welcomed the announcement with the utmost joy, appear to have been marked by no events of a
and the accession of the new monarch (Nov. B. C. striking character. It must have been towards
285) was celebrated with festivities and proces- the close of the reign of Philadelphus that the
sions of the utmost magnificence. (Justin. xvi. 2; long protracted contest was terminated by a treaty
Athen. v. pp. 196-203; Porphyr. ap. Euseb. Arm. of peace, by which Ptolemy gave his daughter
p. 113.) Berenice in marriage to Antiochus II. The other
It is probable that the virtual authority of king stipulations of the peace are unknown to us, but it
still remained in the hands of Ptolemy Soter, is certain that Phoenicia and Coele-Syria-the
during the two years that he survived this event; never-failing cause of dispute between the two
but no attempt was made to disturb his arrange- monarchies-remained in the hands of Ptolemy
ment of the succession. Ptolemy Ceraunus and (Hieron. ad Daniel. xi. 6; Droysen, vol. ii. p. 316.)
Meleager quitted Egypt, and Philadelphus found In Greece Ptolemy appears to have continued
himself at his father's death (B. C. 283) the un- throughout his reign on unfriendly if not directly
disputed master of his wealthy and powerful king- hostile terms with Macedonia, and lost no opportudom. His long reign was marked by few events nity of assisting the party opposed to that power;
of a striking character, while his attention was but it was not until a few years defore his death
mainly directed to the internal administration of that the successes of Aratus and the rise of the
his kingdom, and the patronage of literature and Achaean league opened out to his policy fresh
science; his foreign policy was essentially pacific, prospects in that quarter. He hastened to support
and the few external wars by which his reign was Aratus with considerable sums of money, and
troubled, were not of a nature to affect deeply the received him in the most friendly manner when
prosperity of his dominions. Unfortunately, our he visited Alexandria in person. (Plut. Ai at. 11,
historical information concerning his reign is so 12.)
scanty, that we have the greatest difficulty in ar- But while Ptolemy was thus attentive to the
ranging and connecting the few notices that have events that were passing among the neighbouring
been transmitted to us. Its tranquillity appears potentates, his chief care was directed to the into have been first disturbed by hostilities with his ternal administration of his kingdom, and to the
half brother Magas, who had governed Cyrene as encouragement and extension of its foreign comviceroy under Ptolemy Soter, but on the death of merce. One of the first measures of his reign was
that monarch threw off the yoke, and asserted his to take effectual steps for clearing Upper Egypt
independence. Not content with maintaining him- from the robbers and banditti by which it was inself in the possession of the Cyrenaica, Magas fested (Theocr. Idyll. xv. 46-49, and Schol. ad
even attempted to invade Egypt, and had ad- loc.), and he afterwards carried his arms far into
vanced as far as Paraetonium, when he was re- Ethiopia, and established friendly relations with
called to his own dominions by a revolt of the the barbarian tribes of that country. He was also
Marmaridae. A formidable mutiny among his the first to derive from those regions a supplyof
Gaulish mercenaries prevented Ptolemy from pur- elephants for war, which had been previously pro