Arsinoe II - Influence and Images

By Blythe Dawson

            Many powerful women existed during the Hellenistic age.  All had different ways of acquiring and maintaining control.  One of the more recognizable of these women is Arsinoe II.  During her life she was able to accomplish things that most men could not accomplish, let alone women.  She was a compelling woman and had numerous ways of ensuring her rise to power.  Due to Arsinoe’s prominence during this period, her image and influence is found in many different areas, including everything from architecture and sculpture, to cults, to coinage.

            Arsinoe was the daughter of Ptolemy I and Berenice.  At the age of sixteen she was married off to Lysimachus, who was nearly fifty years older than she.  After Lysimachus death both of her sons were murdered, since they were a threat to the throne. She herself fled the country to avoid a similar fate.{1} Joining her brother Ptolemy II down in Egypt, her rise to power began.  She disposed of her brother’s wife, Arsinoe I, by claiming that she had plotted against him.  Arsinoe I was exiled from the country and her “co-conspirators” were executed.  From this we see that Arsinoe’s control was already at work.  She was able to dispose of people that she perhaps considered were blocking her way to power.  Arsinoe II moved herself in and allegedly convinced her brother to marry her.  Marriage between brothers and sisters was outlawed everywhere during this time, though it was seen throughout the religion.  For example, the gods Zeus and Hera were married and were siblings, as were Isis and Osiris. {2}  It was believed, however wrongly, that marriage among brothers and sisters was prevalent among Pharaohs.  The marriage showed her influence over her brother.{3}  After the marriage Arsinoe took the surname Philadelphos, meaning “brother-lover”.   It is said to have been her way of glorifying the marriage and the incestuous intimacy.{4} Perhaps she was not so much glorifying as trying to persuade people to accept the taboo that she had committed.  Power and wealth are nice to have, but worthless if respect is lacking.

            By marrying her brother, Arsinoe became queen of Egypt.  She held much influence over him since she was older than he by nearly eight years.  In many families the oldest held the most power, regardless of gender.{5}  This was reflected in Arsinoe’s marriage to Ptolemy II and the many memorials found in her honor.  No other queen before had as many as she.{6}  Arsinoe was present at many dedications and openings, exhibiting her queenly duties.  She even shared public honors with her brother at Olympia where the Nauarch Callicrates erected columns in honor of both of them.{7}  A statue of her also stood next to her brother’s in the agora.  By placing a statue of her next to one of her brother’s, equality between the two can be inferred.  It also reflects the honor and respect that the people felt towards Arsinoe.  Her influence among the people and government are seen elsewhere as well. 

            As with the first Ptolomies, coinage with the royal couples' image was produced.  Arsinoe appeared with her brother on gold and silver coins, and alone on copper ones.{8}  She is also one of the lucky few to be deified while she was still alive.  Coins with her image show her wearing a diadem, which is clear evidence of her deification.  Previously only divinities and royalty who presented themselves as divine had worn diadems.  The coins featuring both her brother and herself were inscribed with the legend of Theoi Adelphoi or sibling gods.{9}  In all her portraits on coins and in sculpture she is portrayed as a very beautiful woman.  Theocritus describes her as “lovely as Helen”, referring of course to Helen of Troy.  This is very intriguing because Arsinoe was thirty-seven when she assumed the throne, and that was an age when most Greek women were considered decrepit.{10}

            Arsinoe was an influential woman who held a unique position among Ptolemaic queens even after she died.  Her own cult was formed after her death, complete with temples and later a law requiring private citizens to sacrifice to her.{11} She was worshipped as a goddess at her cult and was one of the major deities of the ruler cult.  She was often associated with the goddess Isis in these cults.  The Arsinoeion on Samothrace was the site of a Mystery Cult.  This building (the largest known Greek round building ever) bears witness to her piety and wealth at a shrine traditionally reserved for kings of Macedon.{12}  To reserve such an honor for a woman was unusual and shows how her influence reached so many.

            So great was her reach that Arsinoe was able to live on after her death.  It appears that many mourned her, including her husband.  Commemorative coins with the couple’s images were issued after her death.  A hieroglyphic inscription of her death in the words of the priests of the time said “This goddess departed to the sky; she was reunited to the members of Ra”.{13}

            Arsinoe II was a woman whose persuasion was felt all over Egypt.  Some may argue that she did not have as much power over her brother as she did, but the evidence proves otherwise.  Her brother obviously respected her and cared for her a great deal.  It also shows that he was most likely aware of her great appeal among the people.  Her name was worshipped long after she died and no other woman held as much influence as she did.  The fact that Arsione’s image was found all over the ancient world is a testament to this.