Philip (first husband of Berenice I of Egypt)
Encyclopedia
Philip was a Greek
Macedonian
nobleman that lived in the 4th century BC.
Philip was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother. He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek King Alexander the Great. Philip was known in commanding one division of the Phalanx in Alexander’s wars and commanded one of the divisions of the Phalanx
at the Battle of the Granicus
in May 334 BC. His name doesn’t subsequently appear in the campaigns of Alexander, but can be at least distinctly identified.
Based on the implying of Plutarch
(Pyrrhus 4.4), before Philip married Berenice
he was previously married and had children, including daughters born to him. The identities of his former wife and children are unknown.
In c.325 BC, Philip married Berenice I as her first husband. Pausanias
(1.7.1), criticises his marriage to Berenice I and describes him as ‘a Macedonian but of no note and of lowly origin’. The ancient sources don’t say anything else about him and there is no evidence against this. Philip must have been a nobleman of some social status and influence as he married the great-niece of the powerful Regent
Antipater
and the grandchild of Antipater’s brother Cassander
.
Berenice bore Philip three children:
Philip had died of unknown causes. After his death, Berenice and their children travelled to Egypt, where they were a part of the entourage of Berenice’s second maternal cousin Eurydice
. Eurydice was then the wife of Ptolemy I Soter
. By 317 BC, Berenice married Ptolemy I and became the Queen mother of the Ptolemaic dynasty
.
As a posthumous honor to Philip; his son Magas when he served as a Priest of the Greek God Apollo
, had dedicated an honorific inscription proudly naming him as the ‘the eponymous priest’ and ‘Magas son of Philip’.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
Macedonian
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
nobleman that lived in the 4th century BC.
Philip was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother. He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek King Alexander the Great. Philip was known in commanding one division of the Phalanx in Alexander’s wars and commanded one of the divisions of the Phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
at the Battle of the Granicus
Battle of the Granicus
The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire...
in May 334 BC. His name doesn’t subsequently appear in the campaigns of Alexander, but can be at least distinctly identified.
Based on the implying of Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
(Pyrrhus 4.4), before Philip married Berenice
Berenice I of Egypt
Berenice I was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and through her marriage to Ptolemy I Soter, became the first Queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.-Family:...
he was previously married and had children, including daughters born to him. The identities of his former wife and children are unknown.
In c.325 BC, Philip married Berenice I as her first husband. Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
(1.7.1), criticises his marriage to Berenice I and describes him as ‘a Macedonian but of no note and of lowly origin’. The ancient sources don’t say anything else about him and there is no evidence against this. Philip must have been a nobleman of some social status and influence as he married the great-niece of the powerful Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Antipater
Antipater
Antipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...
and the grandchild of Antipater’s brother Cassander
Cassander (brother of Antipater)
Cassander was a Greek Macedonian nobleman that lived in the 4th century BC.Cassander was the son of Iolaus by an unnamed mother and brother of the powerful Regent and general Antipater. Cassander’s family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty...
.
Berenice bore Philip three children:
- Son, MagasMagas of CyreneMagas of Cyrene was a Greek Macedonian nobleman. Through his mother’s second marriage he was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became King of Cyrenaica and he managed to wrestle independence for Cyrenaica from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt.-Family Background & Early Life:Magas...
- Daughter, AntigoneAntigone of EpirusAntigone was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman. Through her mother’s second marriage was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and through marriage was a Queen of Epirus....
- Daughter, TheoxenaTheoxena of SyracuseFor others of this name see Theoxena Theoxena was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman. Through her mother’s second marriage, she was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and through marriage was a Queen of Sicily....
Philip had died of unknown causes. After his death, Berenice and their children travelled to Egypt, where they were a part of the entourage of Berenice’s second maternal cousin Eurydice
Eurydice of Egypt
Eurydice was daughter of Antipater and wife of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus. The period of her marriage is not mentioned by any ancient writer, but it is probable that it took place shortly after the partition of Triparadisus, and the appointment of Antipater to the regency, 321 BC. She was the...
. Eurydice was then the wife of Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
. By 317 BC, Berenice married Ptolemy I and became the Queen mother of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
.
As a posthumous honor to Philip; his son Magas when he served as a Priest of the Greek God Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
, had dedicated an honorific inscription proudly naming him as the ‘the eponymous priest’ and ‘Magas son of Philip’.