Berenice I

Berenice I
Queen of Egypt
Berenice I from "Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum"
Born	c. 340 BC Macedonia
Died	between 279 and 268 BC Egypt
Spouse	Philip, a Macedonian nobleman Ptolemy I Soter
Issue	With Philip: Magas King of Cyrene Antigone (later queen of Epirus) Theoxena With Ptolemy I Soter: Arsinoe II Philotera Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Dynasty	Ptolemaic
Father	Magas
Mother	Antigone

Berenice I (Greek: Βερενίκη; c. 340 BC – between 279 and 268 BC) was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and through her marriage to Ptolemy I Soter, became the second queen, after Eurydice, of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.

Berenice was originally from Eordeaea. She was the daughter of obscure local noblemen called Magas and Antigone. Her maternal grandfather was a nobleman called Cassander who was the brother of Antipater, the regent for Alexander's empire, and through her mother was a relation to his family.

In 325 BC, Berenice married an obscure local nobleman and military officer called Philip. Philip was previously married and had other children. Through her first marriage, she bore Philip's son, King Magas of Cyrene; his daughter Antigone, who married King Pyrrhus of Epirus; and a daughter called Theoxena.

Magas dedicated an inscription to himself and his father, when he served as a priest of Apollo. Pyrrhus gave her name to a new city called Berenicis.

Philip died around 318 BC.

After the death of her first husband, Berenice travelled to Egypt with her children as a lady-in-waiting for her mother’s first cousin Eurydice who was the wife of Ptolemy I. Ptolemy I was one of the generals of King Alexander the Great and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Berenice caught the eye of Ptolemy I who married her in 317 BC. Berenice bore Ptolemy I: two daughters Arsinoe II, Philotera and a son Ptolemy II Philadelphus.