128 BC story
Ptolemy and Cleopatra III re-invade Egypt, banishing Cleopatra II to Syria, where her daughter Cleopatra Thea is queen consort, but is constantly displeased with the reign of her incompetent husband, King Demetrius. Cleopatra seeks the aid of Demetrius in regaining her throne, but when he fails, his wife orders his slaughter in a temple where he has sought refuge. Her intention is to proclaim herself queen regnant, and her favorite younger son Grypus a puppet co-ruler, but she is forestalled by her elder son Seleucus, who proclaims himself king instead, allowing her to be only the Queen Mother of Syria. She tries to make a puppet ruler of him instead, but when he resists her influence she poisons him at the dinner table. After his death, Grypus finally becomes King of Syria, but with time comes to dislike his mother's increasing desire for power and influence over him. Meanwhile, Ptolemy announces a sudden change of character - henceforth he is to be known as Ptolemy the Benign. He makes up with his sister Cleopatra II and allows her to return to Egypt from Syria and be a queen once more, much to the dislike of his wife and co-ruler, Queen Cleopatra III, who still sees her mother as a rival. Cleopatra III and Ptolemy's eldest son and daughter, Chickpea and Cleopatra IV, get married, again to Cleopatra's great dislike (because they are in love with each other, but she hates him because he is a product of rape), and their second daughter, Cleopatra Tryphaena, is married to her cousin Grypus, who then, persuaded by her, begins to resist his mother's influence. When his mother tries to kill him, he forces her to drink the poison and she dies.
18 total · 1 choice · 10 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| courtly intrigues | choice | The plot turns on people jockeying for power in the royal courts of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria in the years surrounding 128 BC. Ptolemy VIII "Pot Belly" was calculating in his efforts to maintain his hold on power. Cleopatra Thea masterminded a nefarious plot that saw her eldest son, Seleucus, poisoned and her favorite son, Grypus, installed as king of Syria. |
| civil war | major | Cleopatra II seized power by appealing to "the mob", and forced Ptolemy VIII "Pot Belly" and Cleopatra III to flee Alexandria for Crete, causing a schism. |
| controlling family member | major | Grypus came to resent taking orders from his mother, Cleopatra Thea. When he asserted himself, she tried to poison him. |
| disciplined leadership vs. flexible leadership | major | Ptolemy VIII "Pot Belly" explained his philosophy of leadership: since he couldn't be loved he would settle for being feared. This not working out so well, he later decided to change tack. |
| filicide | major | Cleopatra Thea reluctantly accepted the title of Queen Mother, rather than Queen proper, of Syria when her son Seleucus seized the throne. She resorted to poisoning him at the dinner table to make way for her much preferred younger son, Grypus. She later tried the same tactic on Grypus, but he was wise to the danger and forced her to drink the poison herself. |
| husband and wife | major | Ptolemy VIII "Pot Belly" made up with his sister-wife Cleopatra II and allowed her to return to Egypt from Syria and be a queen once more. Ptolemy VIII "Pot Belly" was also married to his niece Cleopatra III. |
| incest in society | major | The viewer is confronted with the prevailing norm in the Ptolemaic court of marrying within the family to preserve the royal line. |
| life in the ancient Greco-Roman world | major | The story is set in the royal courts of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria in the years surrounding 128 BC. |
| poison murder | major | Cleopatra Thea reluctantly accepted the title of Queen Mother, rather than Queen proper, of Syria when her son Seleucus seized the throne. She resorted to poisoning him at the dinner table to make way for her much preferred younger son, Grypus. She later tried the same tactic on Grypus, but he was wise to the danger and forced her to drink the poison herself. |
| regicide | major | Cleopatra Thea reluctantly accepted the title of Queen Mother, rather than Queen proper, of Syria when her son King Seleucus seized the throne. She resorted to poisoning him at the dinner table to make way for her much preferred younger son, Grypus. She later tried the same tactic on Grypus, but he was wise to the danger and forced her to drink the poison herself. It was a point of outrage that King Demetrius had been murdered in a sacred temple, where the principle of sanctuary was presumed. |