Ptolemy VIII Physcon

Numbering the Ptolemies is a modern invention; the Greeks distinguished them by epithet (nickname).

The number given here is the present consensus, but there had been some disagreement in the nineteenth century about which of the later Ptolemies should be counted as reigning.

Since older sources may give a number one higher or lower, epithets are the most reliable way of determining which Ptolemy is being referred to in any given case.

Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (c. 182 BCE – June 26, 116 BCE), nicknamed Physcon ("Sausage", "Potbelly" or "Bladder") for his obesity, is a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.

His complicated career starts in 170 BCE, when Antiochus IV Epiphanes invades Egypt, captures his brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and lets him continue as a puppet monarch.

Then Alexandria chooses Ptolemy Euergetes as king.

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