Arsinoe Philadelphus
Arsinoe Philadelphus was a deified queen who received burial and deification rites at Mendes after her death in 270 or 268 BC, where she had been a priestess. Ptolemy II established her cult throughout Egypt, requiring all temples to include her cult statue alongside the main deity of each sanctuary. She became patron goddess of the Arsinoite nome (Fayyum region) and was closely associated with protection from shipwrecks, worshipped as a genuinely popular goddess by both Greeks and Egyptians throughout the Ptolemaic period.
When
- First attested
- 270 BCE
- Attested period
- -270 – -100
- Historical notes
- Cult established by Ptolemy II after her death in 270 or 268 BC; annual priesthood documented from 269 BC; cult continued until late second century BC.
Relationships
- syncretized with
- Aphrodite Euploia
Sources
Source passages
“After her death, Ptolemy II established a cult of Arsinoe Philadelphus. She received burial and deification rites at Mendes, where she had been a priestess. All temples in Egypt were required to include a cult statue of Arsinoe II alongside the main deity”
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