Glaphyra, born and raised in Cappadocia, is…

Glaphyra, born and raised in Cappadocia, is a royal princess of Greek, Armenian and Persian descent, whose father is the Roman ally king Archelaus of Cappadocia; her only natural sibling is her younger brother Archelaus of Cilicia.

Her paternal grandfather was the Roman ally and priest-king Archelaus of the temple state of Comana in Cappadocia, while her paternal grandmother, for whom she was named, was the hetaera Glaphyra.

The priest-kings of Comana descend from Archelaus, the favorite high-ranking general of Mithridates VI of Pontus, who may have married a daughter of that monarch.

Glaphyra's mother, the first wife of Archelaus, is an Armenian Princess whose name is unknown and who dies by 8 BCE.

She may have been a daughter of King Artavasdes II of Armenia, son of Tigranes the Great and Cleopatra of Pontus, a daughter of Mithridates VI.

If so, Glaphyra’s parents may have been distant relatives.

The Emperor Augustus in 25 BCE had given Archelaus extra territories to govern, including the new port city of Elaiussa Sebaste, located fifty-five kilometers (thirty-four miles) from present Mersin in the direction of Silifke in Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia, which Archelaus has renamed in honor of Augustus (Sebaste is the Greek equivalent word of the Latin "Augusta".)

The royal family has settled here, and Archelaus has built a royal residence and a palace on the island in the harbor.

Glaphyra holds the high ranking title of ‘king’s daughter’, reflecting of her descent and high birth.

She is an attractive and dynamic woman, reputed to be charming, desirable, and a force to be reckoned with.

Augustus encourages intermarriage among the families of Roman ally kings.

King Herod the Great of Judaea usually marries his children to relatives or to his subjects.

However, Herod wants his son Alexander to marry a foreign princess.

Herod negotiates a marriage alliance with Archelaus.

Glaphyra marries Alexander either in 18 BCE or 17 BCE in Herod’s court in Jerusalem.

Archelaus provides Glaphyra with a dowry, which Herod later returns to her.

The union of Alexander and Glaphyra is described as happy.

Glaphyra becomes a Jew upon her marriage and she does adopt Judaism, even though no mention of conversion is made in the account of her first marriage.

Glaphyra is to bear Alexander three children: two sons, Tigranes and Alexander and an unnamed daughter.

The names of Glaphyra and Alexander's children reflect their cultural ancestry and royal descent.