The deposed queen’s ambitious rival, widow to…
276 BCE
The deposed queen’s ambitious rival, widow to both Lysimachus and Keraunus, marries Ptolemy and adopts her children.
Sibling marriage, while scandalous to the Greeks, is a customary practice in Egypt.
The event shocks Greek public opinion but is celebrated by the Alexandrian court poets.
Philadelphoi (“Brother-Loving”) consequently is added to the names of Ptolemy and Arsinoe II.
Ptolemy, taking advantage of the difficulties of the rival kingdoms of the Seleucids and Antigonids, extends his rule in Syria, Asia Minor, and the Aegean at their expense and asserts 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.
The Egyptians invade northern Syria in 276, but Antiochus defeats Ptolemy, repels him, and secures an alliance with Ptolemy’s half brother, who rules Cyrene.
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