Pythodorida of Pontus

Pythodorida of Pontus

Pythodorida of Pontus, or Pythodoris of Pontus (Pythodorida in Greek: η Πυθοδωρίδα or Pythodoris in Greek: η Πυθοδωρίς, 30 BC or 29 BC - 38) was the Roman client Queen of Pontus, Bosporus and Cappadocia during the 1st century BC & 1st century.

Origins and Early Life

Pythodorida is also known as Pythodoris I and Pantos Pythodorida. According to an honorific inscription dedicated to her in Athens Greece in the late 1st century BC, her royal title was Queen Pythodorida Philometor or in Greek ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑ ΠΥΘΟΔΩΡΙΔΑ ΦΙΛΟΜΗΤΟΡΑ. Philometor means ‘mother-loving’ and this title is associated with the Greek Pharaohs and Queens of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

Pythodorida was born and raised in Smyrna (modern İzmir, Turkey). She was the daughter and only child of wealthy Anatolian Greek and friend to the late triumvir Pompey, Pythodoros of Tralles and Antonia. Pythodorida was half Roman and half Anatolian Greek. She was the namesake of her father.

Her maternal grandparents were the Roman triumvir Mark Antony and Antonia Hybrida Minor, who were paternal first cousins, however Pythodorida’s paternal grandparents are unknown. Pythodorida seems to the first-born grandchild born to the triumvir Antony.

Queen

About 14 BC, Pythodorida married King Polemon Pythodoros of Pontus as his second wife. She became Queen of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom when she married Polemon. Polemon was previously widowed by his first wife and had no natural children, except for a step-son.

Pythodorida and Polemon had two sons and one daughter, who were:
* Zenon, also known as Zeno-Artaxias or Artaxias III, who became King of Armenia in 18 and reigned until his death in 35
* Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon II of Pontus
* Antonia Tryphaena who married King of Thrace, Cotys VIII

Polemon died in 8 BC and Pythodorida became the sole Queen of Pontus until her death. Pythodorida was able to retain Colchis but the Bosporan Kingdom, she was unable to retain. The Bosporan Kingdom, was succeeded by her first husband's step-son Tiberius Julius Aspurgus.

After Polemon died, she married King Archelaus of Cappadocia. Archelaus and Pythodorida had no children. Through her marriages, she became Roman client Queen of Pontus and Cappadocia. Pythodorida had moved with her children from Pontus to Cappadocia to live with Archelaus. When Archelaus died in 17, Cappadocia became a Roman province and she returned with her family back to Pontus.

In later years, Polemon II assisted his mother in the administration of the kingdom. When Pythodorida died, Polemon II succeeded her. Pythodorida was a friend and contemporary to the Greek geographer Strabo. Strabo is said to have described Pythodorida as a woman of virtuous character. Strabo considered her to have a great capacity for business and considered that under Pythodorida’s rule, Pontus had flourished.

ee also

*List of Kings of Pontus

ources

*French version of Wikipedia
*Vassal - Queens and Some Contemporary Women of the Roman Empire by Grace Harriet Macurdy (1937)
*http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2962.html
*http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/turkey_substates.htm
*http://www.geocities.com/christopherjbennett/ptolemies/cleopatra_vii.htm#Cleopatra.42

External links

* [http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/csad/Images/00/Image05.html An Athenian Honorific Inscription dedicated to Queen Pythodorida, which is displayed at the Epigraphical Museum (inventory no. EM 9573) in Athens, Greece]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Polemon I of Pontus — Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon I or Polemon I of Pontus (Greek:ο Πολέμων Πυθόδωρος, flourished 1st century BC, died 8 BC) was the Roman Client King of Cilicia, Pontus, Colchis and the Bosporan Kingdom. Polemon was the son and heir of… …   Wikipedia

  • Mithridates VI of Pontus — Mithridates the Great redirects here. For other people, see Mithridates. Mithridates VI King of Pontus Mithridates VI from the Musée du Louvre Reign …   Wikipedia

  • Mithridates IV of Pontus — or known by his full name Mithridates Philopator Philadelphus[1] (Greek: Mιθριδάτης ὁ Φιλoπάτωρ Φιλάδελφoς, which means Mithridates the father loving, brother loving ; flourished 2nd century BC, died ca. 150 BC) was a prince and sixth King of the …   Wikipedia

  • Mithridates V of Pontus — Mithridates V Euergetes (Greek: Μιθριδάτης ὁ εὐεργέτης, which means Mithridates the benefactor ; flourished 2nd century BC, reigned 150 BC – 120 BC); also known as Mithridates V of Pontus, Mithradates V of Pontus and Mithradates V Euergetes,[1]… …   Wikipedia

  • Mithridates III of Pontus — Mithridates III (Greek: Mιθριδάτης) was the fourth King of Pontus, son of Mithridates II of Pontus and Laodice. Mithridates had two sisters who were Laodice III the first wife of the Seleucid King Antiochus III the Great and Laodice of Pontus. He …   Wikipedia

  • Mithridates I of Pontus — Mithridates I Ctistes (in Greek Mιθριδάτης Kτίστης; reigned 302 BC – 266 BC) was the founder (this is the meaning of the word Ctistes) of the kingdom of Pontus in Anatolia. Plutarch mentions that Mithradates was son of a man named Ariobarzanes.… …   Wikipedia

  • Darius of Pontus — (flourished 1st century BC) was a Prince from the Kingdom of Pontus. He was a monarch of Iranian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. Darius was the first child born to King Pharnaces II of Pontus [1] and his Sarmatian wife. [2] He had two younger… …   Wikipedia

  • Mithridates II of Pontus — Mithridates II (in Greek Mιθριδάτης; lived 3rd century BC), third king of Pontus and son of Ariobarzanes, whom he succeeded on the throne. He was a minor when his father died, but the period of his accession cannot be determined. It seems… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Kings of Pontus — This page lists Kings of Pontus, an ancient kingdom in Anatolia.Kings of Pontus*Mithridates I Ktistes 302 266 BC *Ariobarzanes 266 c. 250 BC *Mithridates II c. 250 c. 220 BC *Mithridates III c. 220 c. 185 BC *Pharnaces I c. 185 c. 170 BC… …   Wikipedia

  • Dynamis (Bosporan queen) — This article is about Dynamis, Queen of the Bosporan Kingdom. For the philosophical concept, see Potentiality and actuality. Dynamis named Philoromaios (Greek: Δύναμις Φιλορώμαίος, Dynamis, lover of Rome, c. 67 BC – 14 BC) was a Roman Client… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”