Ptolemy Euergetes, the Benefactor, son of Ptolemy Philadelphus and Arsinoe II, was the third of his race to become king of Egypt. He ascended the throne when past his early youth, and appears to have remained unmarried until this time. We know little of his early life, and one writer suggests that the all-pervading power and influence of his stepmother, Arsinoe II, may have caused him to absent himself from his native land, but this is merely hypothesis.

He chose for himself, or his father chose for him, Berenike, daughter and heiress of Magas, King of Cyrene, who at the time of their marriage was reigning queen in her father’s stead, the Egyptian prince having been declared Lord of Cyrene, and on this marriage King Consort, while she now became Berenike II of Egypt. Magas was the son of Berenike I, the grandmother of Euergetes by a marriage previous to that with Ptolemy Sotor, hence there was a sort of cousinship between Euergetes and his bride. Personal acquaintance there may have been also, and real affection, of which it is pleasant to read, appears between them. It is said too that no breath of scandal touched Ptolemy Euergetes’[386] name, which is indeed an unique record in his family. Like many other princes, and others of a later day, Euergetes may have been sent abroad to complete his education and see some thing of the world. If these travels led him to Cyrene, as appears likely, since he was proclaimed Lord of the same on the death of Magas, he may have become familiar with the lady of his choice and seen or heard tales of her prowess. A brave and valiant figure, this same Berenike II, warm-hearted, affectionate and courageous to a degree. Stories are told of her valor in rescuing her father, when in the midst of enemies, by riding in among and putting them to flight. Like the late Empress of Austria she was a splendid horsewoman, was accustomed to break horses for the Olympian games and performed other equestrian feats.

An individual figure was she, like her predecessor on the throne of Egypt, Arsinoe II, but a very different one, save in the fact that the husband of both seemed devoted to them. With these experiences behind her Berenike could not have been very young when she became queen of Egypt. Such as she was, doubtless handsome, intrepid and fascinating, she won the heart of a prince to whom she seems to have given her own unreservedly; even so the course of true love did not run quite smooth. Her mother, Berenike, also opposed the match, for reasons not given, but did not succeed in breaking it off. One line by a poet of the time gives an attractive touch to the picture of the new queen.

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“He who seated facing thee sees and hears thy laughter sweet.”

Of her, too, we have portraits on the coins, beautiful, regular-featured and conventional. These were gold octadrams and others. In some she appears with the king, in some alone, with diadem, veil and necklace. Others are remarkable for the absence of the veil, there is a cornucopia and it is accompanied by a single star. Berenike II was the first Egyptian queen who bore her title on the coins.

Shortly before the accession of Ptolemy III and his marriage, which occurred 247 B. C., had come the tragic news of the murder of his sister Berenike, the young queen of Syria, of which it is uncertain whether his father was aware. Euergetes, apparently the most personally valiant and warlike of the three first Ptolemies, set out to avenge her death.

Queen Berenike II implored the gods to restore her beloved husband, and vowed to Venus the tresses of her hair, bright, beautiful and abundant, in case of his safe return. Fragments of papyri, found by Professor Petrie, confirm the fact that the king was successful in his war, and came again in triumph. With what rejoicing he was received by his wife we can well imagine, who faithfully carried out her vow and this “woman’s crown” was placed in the sanctuary. The king, while highly appreciating this token of affection, must have felt some regret at the sacrifice. It recalls a story of later date where the Duchess of Marlborough, of the time of William III, cut off her beautiful hair, not to dedicate it[388] to the gods, but to throw it indignantly at her husband’s feet, as revenge for some act of his of which she did not approve. She had not even the satisfaction of rousing him, for he took no notice, but after his death she found locked up in a drawer her heavy curls, which he had always admired.

Berenike’s hair, however, was stolen from the temple, to the grief and indignation of the king. To account for it courtiers and poets devised legends and the mathematician Conon said it had been raised to the heavens to become a constellation, the “Coma Berenice,” a small group of stars still to be seen. Of this miracle Catullus wrote:
“Behold we stream along the liquid air,
A radiant lock of Berenice’s hair,
Which the fond queen with hands uplifted vow’d
A welcome offering to each favoring god.”

And speaking of the king it continues:
“Speed his return, with triumph crown his stay,
And subject Asian realms to Egypt’s sway;
This once attained, among the gods I shine,
Absolving all thy oaths a new made sign.”
“That the yellow tresses of my fair
Sacred to love might gild the illumed air.”

And the hair, impersonated by the poet, laments its separation from its mistress’s head. These flights of fancy were no doubt very pleasing to the king.

Like her mother-in-law, if to a less degree, Berenike II seems to have taken an active interest in the affairs of the kingdom. At Canopus, an old trading post, a temple was erected to the king and queen, who were there deified as “Benefactor[389] Gods,” referring probably to the active measures which they took to avert a threatened famine. From the Canopus decree which bears some resemblance to the celebrated Rosetta stone, and from a gold plaque found in the ruins of tombs we obtain this information. In the sanctuary at Philae is still a pedestal placed here by Euergetes and his wife, on which stood the sacred boat with the image of Isis, and on a wall in the same temple is his father Ptolemy Philadelphus offering incense and pouring water on the altar.

To the Princess Berenike, probably the first child of this marriage, who had died, a statue was set up, beside the gods. The head-dress of young Berenike differs in that it has two ears of corn, in the midst of which is the asp-shaped diadem, behind is a papyrus-shaped sceptre, about which the tail of the diadem’s serpent is wound.

The year after the Canopus decree, the tenth of his reign, Ptolemy Euergetes went with great pomp to the refounding of the temple of Edfu, in Upper Egypt, one of the most splendid with which the Ptolemy name is connected, and where a great feast was held for six days.

We know but little definitely about the private life of the king and queen, but one or two incidents connected with her are preserved. Other wives or mistresses, claimants on her husband’s affection, made no figure, if they existed, so we may believe Berenike’s marriage relations to have been more than usually peaceful and happy. One pleasant anecdote is told of her which Mahaffy gives in a footnote. While the king was one day playing at dice, an officer came to him to[390] read out a list of criminals to be condemned, but the queen gently took it away and would not allow him to decide so important a matter so hastily, and at such a time, and it further states that the king yielded to her wishes. That the queen thus dared to interfere and the king so readily accepted her action seems to give proof of the peculiarly amiable relations existing between them.

The queen is also spoken of as a patroness of various aromatic oils, toilette articles, etc., which leads us to suppose she was particular about and careful of her personal appearance. Ptolemy Euergetes was, like his predecessor, fat and handsome, with a full, voluptuous face. The early Ptolemies all had full, voluptuous faces, but handsome, while in the cases of their successors the features were less regular, the nose sharper, and the chin more prominent.

The............