Ptolemy Eupator

Ptolemy Eupator was the son of Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II,^[1] and for a short time in 152 BCE reigned as co-ruler with his father. It is thought that Ptolemy Eupator died in August of that same year.^[2]

Eupator is attested on small number of documents and inscriptions: he is mentioned in a demotic papyrus held by the British Museum, is referenced as a priest of the cult of Alexander during 158-157 BCE, and that he was a co-regent with his father in 152 BCE.^[2] Eupator was probably aged 12 or 13 when he died.^[3] He also appears in a list of deified Ptolemies.^[2]

When he was first discovered, there was a theory that he was an elder brother of his father, and reigned before him. As a result, some 19th-century texts count Ptolemy Philometor as "Ptolemy VII" (instead of "Ptolemy VI"), and increment the numbers of all later Ptolemies by one until "Ptolemy XVI Caesarion" (instead of "Ptolemy XV"). The epithets, which have come down from antiquity, are unchanged.

Notes

1. Dodson and Hilton (2004) p. 280
2. Dodson and Hilton (2004) p. 281
3. Ager (2004) p. 180

Bibliography

• Ager, Sheila L. (2006). "The Power of Excess: Royal Incest and the Ptolemaic Dynasty". Anthropologica. Canadian Anthropology Society. 48 (2): 165–186. JSTOR 25605309.
• Dodson, Aidan; Hilton, Dyan (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05128-3. Retrieved 2010-08-22.

Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. ISBN 0-500-05128-3