Pythodorida of Pontus
| Pythodorida | |
|---|---|
| Queen of Pontus Queen consort of the Bosporan Kingdom Queen consort of Cilicia Queen consort of Cappadocia |
|
| Born | 30 BC or 29 BC Smyrna |
| Died | AD 38 (aged 67 or 68) Pontus |
| Spouse |
King Polemon I of Pontus King Archelaus of Cappadocia |
| Issue |
Artaxias III of Armenia Polemon II of Pontus Antonia Tryphaena, Queen of Thrace |
| Father | Pythodoros of Tralles |
| Mother | Antonia |
Pythodorida or Pythodoris of Pontus (Greek: Πυθοδωρίδα or Πυθοδωρίς, 30 BC or 29 BC – 38) was a Roman client queen of Pontus, the Bosporan Kingdom, Cilicia, and Cappadocia.
Pythodorida is also known as Pythodoris I and Pantos Pythodorida. According to an honorific inscription dedicated to her in Athens Greece in the late 1st century BC, her royal title was Queen Pythodorida Philometor (Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑ ΠΥΘΟΔΩΡΙΔΑ ΦΙΛΟΜΗΤΩΡ). Philometor means "mother-loving" and this title is associated with the Greek Pharaohs and Queens of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt.
Pythodorida was born and raised in Smyrna (modern İzmir, Turkey). She was the daughter and only child of wealthy Anatolian Greek and friend to the late triumvir Pompey, Pythodoros of Tralles and Antonia. Pythodorida was half Roman and half Anatolian Greek. She was the namesake of her father.
Her maternal grandparents were the Roman triumvir Mark Antony and Antonia Hybrida Minor, who were paternal first cousins, however Pythodorida’s paternal grandparents are unknown. Pythodorida seems to the first-born grandchild born to the triumvir Antony.
The successive marriages of Pythodorida illustrate how elite women, like Rome's client states, were shuffled around in the game of power politics. About 14 BC, Pythodorida married King Polemon Pythodoros of Pontus as his second wife. By this marriage she became Queen of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom. Polemon I was previously widowed by his first wife and had no natural children, except for a stepson.
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