Philip (husband of Berenice I of Egypt)
Philip (Greek: Φίλιππος, died about 318 BC) was a Greek Macedonian nobleman who lived during the 4th century BC.
Early life
Philip was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother.[1] He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek king Alexander the Great. Philip was known to have commanded one division of the phalanx in Alexander’s wars[2] and, in particular, he commanded one of the divisions of the phalanx at the Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC.[3] His name does not subsequently appear in the campaigns of Alexander, but can be at least distinctly identified.[4]
Based on information provided by Plutarch (Pyrrhus 4.4), before Philip married Berenice he was already married and had children from those marriages.[5] The identities of his first wife and children are unknown.
Marriage to Berenice I
In c. 325 BC, Philip married Berenice I as her first husband.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
Berenice bore Philip three children:
Death
Philip died of unknown causes. After his death, Berenice and her 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 honour 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 eponymous priest" and "Magas, son of Philip".[12]
Family tree of Philip
| Cassander nobleman | Antipater regend of Macedonian Empire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amyntas | Magas of Macedon | Antigone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Philip military officer | Berenice I | Ptolemy I Soter king of Egypt | Eurydice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apama II daughter of Antiochus I Soter Seleucid emperor | Magas of Cyrene king of Cyrene | 3.Theoxena | Agathocles tyrant of Syracuse king of Sicily | 2.Alcia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Demetrius the Fair king of Cyrene Antigonid dynasty | Berenice II | Ptolemy III Euergetes king of Egypt | Antigone | 1.Pyrrhus I king of Epirus | (2) Lanassa | 2.Demetrius I Poliorketes king of Macedon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magas of Egypt | Alexander II king of Epirus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- Ancient Library article: Philippus no. 5
- Ancient Library article: Magas no.1
- Arrian, Anab. 14.3
- Ancient Library article: Philippus no. 5
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I, Footnote 6
- Berenice I article at Livius.org
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I, Footnote 5
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Magas of Cyrene, Footnote 2