Cyrenaica had been incorporated into the Ptolemaic realm in 323 BCE, by
Ptolemy I Soter shortly after the death of
Alexander the Great. The region proved difficult to control and around 300 BCE, Ptolemy I entrusted the region to
Magas, son of his wife
Berenice I by an earlier marriage. After Ptolemy I's death, Magas asserted his independence and engaged in warfare with his successor
Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Around 275 BCE, Magas married
Apama, who came from the
Seleucid dynasty, which had become enemies of the Ptolemies. Berenice II was their only child. When Ptolemy II renewed his efforts to reach a settlement with Magas of Cyrene in the late 250s BCE, it was agreed that Berenice would be married to her half-cousin, the future
Ptolemy III, who was Ptolemy II's heir. The astronomer
Gaius Julius Hyginus claims that when Berenice's father and his troops were routed in battle, Berenice mounted a horse, rallied the remaining forces, killed many of the enemy, and drove the rest to retreat.
Queen of Cyrene Berenice was hailed
basilissa (queen) on coins even in her father's lifetime. There are Cyrenean coins with the portrait of queen, the legend ΒΕΡΕΝΙΚΗΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ (Berenice Basilissa), and the
monogram of Magas. It is evidently more plausible that the queen's identity is Magas's daughter Berenice II rather than Magas's mother Berenice I, because the portrait is youthful and unveiled, meaning unmarried. According to coins of Berenice, the accession of Berenice as queen of Cyrene was in 258 BCE. King Magas died in circa 250 BCE. At this point, Berenice's mother Apama refused to honour the marriage agreement with the Ptolemies and invited an
Antigonid prince, Demetrius the Fair to Cyrene to marry Berenice instead. With Apama's help, Demetrius seized control of the city. Allegedly, Demetrius and Apama became lovers. Berenice is said to have discovered them in bed together and had him assassinated. Apama was spared. After Demetrius' assassination Cyrene was engulfed in civil unrest, and the control of Cyrene was entrusted to a republican government (
Koinon), led by two Cyrenaeans named Ecdelus and Demophanes, until Berenice's actual wedding to Ptolemy III in 246 BCE after his accession to the throne.
Queen of Egypt Berenice married Ptolemy III in 246 BCE after his accession to the throne. Berenice was also worshipped as a goddess on her own,
Thea Euergetis (Benefactor Goddess). She was often equated with
Aphrodite and
Isis and came to be particularly associated with protection against shipwrecks. Most of the evidence for this cult derives from the reign of Ptolemy IV or later, but a cult in her honour is attested in the
Fayyum in Ptolemy III's reign. This cult closely parallels that offered to her mother-in-law,
Arsinoe II, who was also equated with Aphrodite and Isis, and associated with protection from shipwrecks. The parallelism is also presented on the gold coinage minted posthumously in honour of the two queens. The coinage of Arsinoe II bears a pair of
cornucopiae on the reverse side, while that of Berenice bears a single cornucopia. Berenice was also granted the title of
vizier, highlighting her position as king's advisor.
Berenice's Lock Berenice's divinity is closely connected with the story of "Berenice's Lock". According to this story, Berenice vowed to sacrifice her long hair as a
votive offering if Ptolemy III returned safely from battle during the
Third Syrian War. She dedicated her tresses to and placed them in the
temple at Cape Zephyrium in
Alexandria, where
Arsinoe II was worshipped as Aphrodite, but the next morning the tresses had disappeared.
Conon of Samos, the court astronomer identified a constellation as the missing hair, claiming that Aphrodite had placed it in the sky as an acknowledgement of Berenice's sacrifice. The constellation is known to this day as
Coma Berenices (
Latin for 'Berenice's Lock'). It is unclear whether this event took place before or after Ptolemy's return; Branko van Oppen de Ruiter suggests that it happened after Ptolemy's return (around March–June or May 245 BCE). This episode served to link Berenice with the goddess Isis in her role as goddess of rebirth, since she was meant to have dedicated a lock of her own hair at
Koptos in mourning for her husband
Osiris. The first century BCE Roman poet
Catullus produced a loose translation or adaptation of the poem in
Latin, and a prose summary appears in
Hyginus'
De astronomia. Her epigram was included in the so-called
Greek Anthology, which also indicates its continuing relevance long after the victory itself.
Death Ptolemy III died in late 222 BCE and was succeeded by his son by Berenice,
Ptolemy IV Philopator. Berenice died soon after, in early 221 BCE.
Polybius states that she was poisoned, as part of a general purge of the royal family by the new king's regent
Sosibius. She continued to be venerated in the state ruler cult. By 211 BCE, she had her own priestess, the
athlophorus ('prize-bearer'), who marched in processions in
Alexandria behind the priest of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies, and the
canephorus of the deified
Arsinoe II. ==Legacy==