Search Results: Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 370 - March 415) was a female philosopher and mathematician, born in Alexandria, Egypt possibly in 370 (although some scholars cite her birth as c. 350). Little is known of her life but her dramatic death at the...

A 15th-century portrait of the astronomer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100 - c. 170 CE) attributed to Justus van Gent or Pedro Berruguete. (Louvre Museum, Paris)

Alexandria is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great. It was the site of the Pharos (lighthouse), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the legendary Library of Alexandria...

The Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE) was the vast political entity established by Seleucus I Nicator ("Victor" or "Unconquered", l. c. 358-281 BCE, r. 305-281 BCE), one of the generals of Alexander the Great who claimed a part of his empire after...

Stemma (reduced family tree) of Arsinoe II, the daughter of Ptolemy I and Berenice I, showing her three marriages to Lysimachus, her half-brother Ptolemy Ceraunus, and her full brother Ptolemy II, who was first married to Lysimachus’ daughter...

Antioch or Antiochia was an ancient city located on the Orontes River near the Amanus Mountains in Syria. The “land of four cities” - Seleucia, Apamea, Laodicea, and Antiochia - was founded by Seleucus I Nicator (Victor) between 301 and 299...

Seleucus I Nicator (l. c. 358-281 BCE, r. 305-281 BCE) was one of the generals of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE) who made up the group of Diadochi ("successors") who divided the vast Macedonian Empire between them after the death of...

Demetrius I of Macedon, also known as Demetrios Poliorcetes, the 'Besieger' (c. 336 - c. 282 BCE), was a Macedonian king who, along with his father Antigonus I, fought for control of Alexander the Great's empire in the 'Successor Wars'. After...

Regarded by the Romans as "fatale monstrum" – a fatal omen – Cleopatra is one of the ancient world's most popular, though elusive figures. The Egyptian queen has been immortalized by numerous writers and filmmakers, most popularly by William...

Callimachus of Cyrene (l. c. 310-c. 240 BCE) was a poet and scholar associated with the Library of Alexandria and best known for his Pinakes ("Tablets"), a bibliographic catalog of Greek literature, his poetry, and his literary aesthetic...