Ptolemy IV Philopator

Ptolemy IV Philopator

Ptolemy IV Philopator (Greek: polytonic|Πτολεμαῖος Φιλοπάτωρ, "Ptolemaĩos Philopátōr", reigned 221-205 BC), son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II of Egypt was the fourth Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Egypt. Under the reign of Ptolemy IV, the decline of the Ptolemaic kingdom began.

His reign was inaugurated by the murder of his mother, and he was always under the dominion of favourites, male and female, who indulged his vices and conducted the government as they pleased. Self-interest led his ministers to make serious preparations to meet the attacks of Antiochus III the Great on Coele-Syria including Judea, and the great Egyptian victory of Raphia (217), where Ptolemy himself was present, secured the northern borders of the kingdom for the remainder of his reign.

The arming of Egyptians in this campaign had a disturbing effect upon the native population of Egypt, leading to the secession of Upper Egypt under pharaohs Harmachis (also known as Hugronaphor) and Ankmachis, (also known as Chaonnophris) thus creating a kingdom that occupied much of the country and lasted nearly twenty years.

Philopator was devoted to orgiastic forms of religion and literary dilettantism. He built a temple to Homer and composed a tragedy, to which his favourite Agathocles added a commentary. He married (about 220 BC) his sister Arsinoë III, but continued to be ruled by his mistress Agathoclea, sister of Agathocles.

Ptolemy is said to have built a giant ship known as the tessarakonteres ("forty"), a huge type of galley. The forty of its name may refer to its number of banks of oars. The only recorded instance of this type of vessel, in fact, is this showpiece galley built for Ptolemy IV, described by Callixenus of Rhodes, writing in the 3rd century BCE, and by Athenaeus in the 2nd century AD. Plutarch also mentions that Ptolemy Philopater owned this immense vessel in his Life of Demetrios. The current theory is that Ptolemy's ship was an oversize catamaran galley, measuring 128 m 420 ft.

Ptolemy IV is a major protagonist of the apocryphal 3 Maccabees, which describes purported events following the Battle of Raphia, in both Jerusalem and Alexandria.

External links

* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Egypt/_Texts/BEVHOP/7*.html Ptolemy Philopator I at LacusCurtius] — (Chapter VII of E. R. Bevan's "House of Ptolemy", 1923)
* [http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Egypt/ptolemies/ptolemy_iv.htm Ptolemy IV] — (Egyptian Royal Genealogy)
* [http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~tebtunis/lecture/revolt.html#philae The great revolt of the Egyptians:205–186 BC] (2004)
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/ptolemy_4.html Ptolemy IV Philopator] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith

References

*1911


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ptolemy IV Philopator — King 221 204 BC.     The son of *Ptolemy III, Ptolemy IV took the name of Philopator which means father loving ; according to the custom of this dynasty, he married his sister, Arsinoe III.     He defeated Antiochus III of Syria at the battle of… …   Ancient Egypt

  • Ptolemy IV Philopator — ▪ Macedonian king of Egypt (Greek: Loving His Father) born c. 238 BC, –d. 205 BC       Macedonian king of Egypt (reigned 221–205 BC), under whose feeble rule, heavily influenced by favourites, much of Ptolemaic Syria was lost and native uprisings …   Universalium

  • Ptolemy XIV Philopator — (c. 59–44 BC)    Younger son of Ptolemy XII and possibly Cleopatra VI Tryphaena. He replaced his older brother as consort of Cleopatra VII, but his position was purely nominal, and he was probably murdered by her. Historical Dictionary Of Ancient …   Ancient Egypt

  • Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometer — (47–30 BC)    Son of Cleopatra VII, who namedIulius Caesaras the father. The boy was nicknamed Caesarion. He was made joint ruler of Egypt with his mother in 44 BC upon the death of his uncle, Ptolemy XIV. He was executed while trying to escape… …   Ancient Egypt

  • Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator — ( el. Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Φιλοπάτωρ, Ptolemaĩos Néos Philopátōr ) was an Egyptian king of the Ptolemaic period. His reign is controversial, and it is possible that he did not reign at all, but was only granted royal dignity posthumously.Even his… …   Wikipedia

  • Ptolemy V Epiphanes — (Greek: polytonic|Πτολεμαῖος Ἐπιφανής, Ptolemaĩos Epiphanḗs , reigned 204–181 BCE), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoe III of Egypt, was the 5th ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became ruler at the age of five, and under a series of… …   Wikipedia

  • Ptolemy III Euergetes — Ptolemy III Euergetes, (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης, Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs , reigned 246 BC ndash;222 BC) was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was the eldest son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his first wife, Arsinoe I, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Ptolemy (name) — The name Ptolemy or Ptolemaeus comes from the Greek Ptolemaios , which means warlike. There have been many people named Ptolemy or Ptolemaeus, the most famous of which are the Greek Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus and the Macedonian… …   Wikipedia

  • Ptolemy III–XV — (r. 246–30 BC) Macedonian kings of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Ptolemy III Euergetes ( Benefactor ) (fl. 246–221) defeated the ruler of the Seleucid dynasty in the Third Syrian War (245–241). Ptolemy IV Philopator ( Father loving ) (r.… …   Universalium

  • Ptolemy XII Theos Philopator Philadelphus Neos Dionysius — (d. 51 BC)    Illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX by an unknown mistress. He was chosen as ruler upon the murder of Ptolemy XIand soon gained the nickname Auletes, or flute player. He was expelled in 58 BC, following his failure to support his brother …   Ancient Egypt

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”