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Elizabeth Donnelly Carney

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Arsinoe of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life (Women in Antiquity) Illustrated Edition

by Elizabeth Donnelly Carney (Author)

4.5 16 ratings

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The life of Arsinoë II (c. 316-c.270 BCE), daughter of the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, is characterized by dynastic intrigue. Her marriage to her full brother Ptolemy II, king of Egypt, was the first of the sibling marriages that became a dynastic feature of the Ptolemies. With Ptolemy II, she ended her days in great wealth and power. However, prior to that point she was forced to endure two tumultuous marriages, both of which led her to flee for her life. Arsinoë was the model for the powerful role Ptolemaic women gradually acquired as co-rulers of their empire, and her image continued to play a role in dynastic solidarity for centuries to come. Although Arsinoë was the pivotal figure in the eventual evolution of regnal power for Ptolemaic women--and despite a considerable body of recent scholarship across many fields relevant to her life--there has been no up-to-date biography in English of her life. Elizabeth Donnelly Carney, in sifting through the available archaeological and literary evidence, offers here an accessible and reasoned portrait. In describing Arsinoë's significant role in the courts of Thrace and Alexandria, Carney weaves discussions of earlier Macedonian royal women, the institution of sibling marriage, and the reasons for its longstanding success in Hellenistic Egypt, ultimately providing an expansive view of this integral Hellenistic figure.

ISBN-10

0195365518
ISBN-13

978-0195365511
Edition

Illustrated
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

February 26, 2013
Language

English
Dimensions

9.21 x 6.14 x 0.54 inches
Print length

240 pages
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Editorial Reviews

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"The Hellenistic Age continues to fascinate. One of the latest, and best, books it's stimulated in Arsinoë of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life, by that fine historian Elizabeth Donnelly Carney.... Parsing the propaganda, skillfully plugging the gaps in our tattered evidence, as compulsively readable as she's critically sharp, Carney offers us a work of high scholarship that's also a compulsive page-turner."--Peter Green, Times Literary Supplement

"An interesting and enriching book."--Jean Bartels, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Although Arsinoë II was probably the most influential queen in Hellenistic history, hitherto there has been no full-scale biography of her in English. Elizabeth Carney has filled this gap with this masterful study that firmly places Arsinoe's remarkable life in the context of early Hellenistic Macedon and Ptolemaic Egypt."--Stanley M. Burstein, California State University, Los Angeles

"Elizabeth Carney, the world's leading expert on royal women of the Hellenistic period, presents the first full-length English study of Arsinoe Philadelphus, sister and wife of Egypt's Sun-King, Ptolemy II. In this fascinating biography, Carney pieces together the rich and diverse evidence for a Ptolemaic Queen who takes second place only to the infamous Cleopatra VII."--Waldemar Heckel, University of Calgary

"A page-turner that never needs to compromise its scholarship in order to cater to its readers' pleasure." --Peter M. Green, The Classical Journal

Book Description

The first accessible biography of this fascinating queen

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Illustrated edition (February 26, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195365518
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195365511
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.21 x 6.14 x 0.54 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,357,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,519 in Historical Middle East Biographies
- #2,068 in Ancient Egyptians History
- #24,063 in Women's Biographies

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4.5 16 ratings

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Malcolm Thomson

A Remarkable tale

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2013

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Arsinoe is a remarkable story. The half sister of Cleopatra and her brother/husband revolt against Julius Caesar and Cleopatra almost assassinating Caesar. She winds up in Artimus and is killed.

2 people found this helpful

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JLee

An Astonishing Life

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2015

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Arsinoe Ii (Arsinoe Philadelphus) is a fascinating queen, and it is so sad that we really know so little of her. To say she lived a tumultuous life would be such an understatement. She was the daughter of Ptolemy, the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt, as a result of his friendship with Alexander the Great. Arsinoe was married first to Lysimachus, the ruler of Macedonia, with whom she had several children. After his death, she under peculiar circumstances, married her half-brother, Ptolemy Ceraunus. The consequences of that marriage were catastrophic. Incredibly, after her great tragedy, she married her brother, Ptolemy II of Egypt, and her fortunes soared.

Carney looks at all the evidence to put together Arsinoe’s story. She discusses and evaluates the theories as to why various events occurred and tries to understand why choices were made. It is fascinating reading.

3 people found this helpful

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Catherine Barner

greata bit of history

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2014

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The book is fascinating and well wrtten! I learned so very much and appreciate the knowledge and skill of the author.

One person found this helpful

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Brad K. Geagley

Cleopatra's Ancestress

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2013

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Arsinoe II was, until Cleopatra, the most important Queen of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and the first of the Macedonian Queens of Egypt to emulate the pharaonic custom of marrying her full brother, Ptolemy Philadelphus. Unfortunately, what this biography truly underscores is the paucity of information regarding this dynamic woman. We get Arsinoe in broad sweeps, while the detail is not to be found. This is certainly not the author's fault, for the historical data simply isn't there. Ms Carney writes clearly, if not compellingly; the entire book seems more a doctoral thesis than a true biography. Nevertheless, this short work fills a much-neglected gap. Perhaps in time, with new discoveries made, a more fleshed out biography will present itself.

5 people found this helpful

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Bernadette M. Kelly

No anorexia for Arsinoe please.

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2014

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if Duncan Sprott put too much flesh on Arsinoe's bones but created interest in her , in the first of his quartet on the Ptolemaic Pharaohs, and then in his second book [Daughter of the Nile] descended the slippery slimy slope of unsubstansiated slander, then this book,[Arsinoe] with its witheringly dry [? accurate ] academic, repetitive, and limited approach, certainly stripped it off again!

Also why are academics so ready to accept the notion of incestuous marriage between Arsinoe and Ptolemy11 when there is no evidence that this was a sexual relationship? This seems to me to be obviously a political marriage only, in order to share power and responsbility with a trusted person in a climate of distrust, political instability, political murder, and for women the only road to power was through a man.

2 people found this helpful

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Lauralee

Good, but Still Plenty to Be Discovered About Arsinoe II!

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2020

Arsinoe II was an early Ptolemaic queen who has been greatly eclipsed by the infamous last pharaoh in the Ptolemy dynasty, Cleopatra VII. Even though she was not as well-known as Cleopatra VII, Arsinoe II’s life was just as dramatic and colorful as Cleopatra’s. Arsinoe II’s story has inspired many operas to amplify her life with much pomp and fanfare, depicting her as scheming, manipulative, and murderous while also harboring romantic feelings for her brothers. Other operas have also portrayed her as a victim rather than a villain. In this biography of Arsinoe II, Elizabeth Carney proves that Arsinoe’s true story is more captivating than fiction.

I had read numerous books on Cleopatra VII ever since I had to write a book report on her in middle school. So, I was pleasantly surprised and elated when I found out that there was a biography on an early Ptolemaic queen! Arsinoe was the daughter of Ptolemy I, the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty and a general of Alexander the Great, and Berenice II. She married Lysimachus, the eventual ruler of Macedon and became one of his many wives. She bore him three sons. When Lysimachus eventually died in battle, Arsinoe and her three sons lived in Cassandreia, a powerful Macedonian city, and ruled there.

However, Arsinoe was not satisfied with her position. She wanted her eldest son, Ptolemy to become king of Macedonia. This encouraged her to marry her half-brother Ptolemy Ceraunus, King of Macedonia. Ptolemy Ceraunus promised to make Arsinoe his queen, that he would take no other wives, and make her sons his heirs. Ptolemy, Arsinoe’s son, disapproved and resented his mother’s marriage and left the city of Cassandreia, which would prove to be his great fortune. Shortly after Ptolemy Ceraunus arrived in Cassandreia and crowned Arsinoe queen of Macedonia, he killed her two sons who stayed behind with her and forced Arsinoe to flee the city. Elizabeth Carney believed the reason why Ptolemy Ceraunus tricked Arsinoe is because he wanted revenge on Arsinoe’s full brother Ptolemy II, whom he believed stole the throne of Egypt that belonged to him. Ptolemy Ceraunus did not reign long as king because he was killed and defeated by the Gauls.

Arsinoe gradually moved back to Egypt. Elizabeth Carney states that Arsinoe’s move to Egypt was her last resort and she believed that she went back in failure and disappointment because she could not make her son king of Macedonia. Therefore, what came after her move back to Egypt was truly a surprise for her. Arsinoe married her full brother Ptolemy II, which was an unprecedented move, and became his queen. Elizabeth Carney states that the reason the siblings decided to marry each other was to deify their dynasty. The marriage would greatly benefit Arsinoe and provided financial security for her last surviving son.

Overall, this was a very brief and comprehensive biography of Arsinoe. However, Arsinoe remains an elusive figure. This biography shows that there is still plenty we do not know of her and Arsinoe of Egypt and Macedon barely touches the surface. It is hard to define how much power she actually exercised with her husband Ptloemy II. Thus, the biography had to rely on speculation for Arsinoe’s motives. Still, Arsinoe’s story proves that her life was just as fascinating as Cleopatra VII. My hope is that more authors both fiction and nonfiction will continue to explore other Ptolemaic women and not just solely on Cleopatra VII so that they can bring stories of these forgotten women to the general public.

One person found this helpful

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P.F.G.

women in antiquity

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2013

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this is a scant subject as men are perceived as dominant, however Carney's scolarship takes small crumbs of facts from what may be known facts and adds brilliant deductions,I found myself altered in my perceptions about womens role in an ever evolving civilisation in process.

One person found this helpful

mauroalfredo

un libro dettagliato e profondo

Reviewed in Italy on December 5, 2013

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"Arsinoe regina di Egitto e Macedonia" e' un libro molto interessante l 'autrice delinea in maniera molto dettagliata la vita della regina,
ripercorrendo tutte le tappe della sua vita : adolescenza, matrimonio con Lisimaco, il suo rapporto con Tolomeo e infine la sua morte . La studiosa mostra molto chiaramente tutti gli effetti politici scatenati da Arsinoe, e delinea, a mio parere, molto bene il suo ruolo politico all'interno dell'Egitto ma sopratutto all'interno della storia antica.

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G. McGuire

"No ordinary royal housewife"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2013

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This excellent book can hardly be described as a biography of Arsinoe II and to be fair the author Elizabeth Carney is herself loath to describe it as such. Nevertheless what is offered is a better understanding of this central if sometimes shadowy Ptolemaic figure and the Hellenistic period she so clearly represented. Arsinoe of Egypt and Macedonia was no Cleopatra but thanks to Carney's efforts she provides a 'clearer' insight into this extraordinary Hellenistic Queen - well as a clear as one can glean from the scant evidence available to us.

4 people found this helpful

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