For β, I want to have a look at someone who was not necessarily great in and of herself (though I think she had great potential), but who is an interesting character caught up in dramatic circumstances nearly forgotten in our time. Her name was Berenice.

Berenice was born into the Greek royal household of Egypt. Her father was Ptolemy II, who banished Berenice’s mother for supposedly plotting against him and instead married his sister – an Egyptian custom and a great way to keep power and territory within the family. At the time, the Greek dynasty of Syria, known as the Seleucids, and the Greek dynasty of Egypt, known as the Ptolemies, were on and off at war with each other.

One of these wars in Berenice’s youth ended when the Seleucids defeated the Ptolemies in a naval battle. To seal the peace treaty that followed, the Seleucid king Antiochus II exiled the wife he already had, a cunning woman by the name of Laodice, and married Berenice while declaring any children by her his heirs. Laodice, as you might imagine, was none too happy at having lost her home, her husband, her status and her children’s futures all in one fell sweep.

Only three years later, Ptolemy II died and Antiochus II immediately flew back into the arms of the wife of his choice, leaving Berenice and their young son. Laodice, however, was a woman scorned and poisoned her former husband in order to declare someone more manipulatable, i.e. her son Seleucus, king.

But, Berenice was still alive and acting as regent for her young son, with the support of an army. She turned to her brother Ptolemy III, now king of Egypt after their father’s death, for help. Alas, by the time he arrived in Syria Laodice had murdered both his sister and his nephew.

Thus began the Third Syrian War, often known as the Laodicean War. While avenging his sister, Ptolemy III brought Greek Egypt to the height of its power.

That’s it for β. Until it’s time for γ, feel free to nominate ancient great Greeks of any letter of the alphabet following β in the comments section!

About the author: E P Wohlfart is a twenty-something freelance writer with a Classical Archaeology degree, a laptop and a maxed-out library card. Aside from administrating PastPresenters.com, which she started in 2008, she works with several historical publications and is a regular contributor at Suite101.