#archagathus (son of agathocles)

[gardenofkore]

The Egyptian descendants of Agathocles of Syracuse and his third wife Theoxena

ARCHAGATHUS OF LYBIA (Άρχάγαθος) son Agathocles by his third wife Theoxena, a Greek Macedonian noble. When only a child, he was forced to leave Syracuse with his mother and sister Theoxena the Younger. They found refuge in Egypt, at the court of his maternal grandmother Berenice I and his step-grandfather Ptolemy I. Given his family background, Archagathus was a man of high status. He served as an epistates under Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II (who was Archagathos’ half-uncle) and possibly even under Magas (his full blooded maternal uncle) when he served as Ptolemaic Governor and later became King of Cyrene. At some point, he married a noblewoman named Stratonice. Together with his wife, Archagathus made a dedication of a temenos to Isis and Serapis at Alexandria on behalf of his uncle Ptolemy II and his grandmother Berenice. No mention is made anywhere about any children fathered by Archagathus.

THEOXENA THE YOUNGER see

AGATHOCLES (Ἀγαθοκλῆς) son of Theoxena the Younger and her unnamed husband. Agathocles, born and raised in Egypt, was named after his maternal Sicilian grandfather, Agathocles tyrant of Syracuse. Despite being closely related to the Ptolemaic royal family, very little is known about him. He married an  Egyptian Greek noblewoman called Oenanthe, who bore him four children: Agathocles, Agathoclea and two unnamed daughters. After his death, his widow remarried to Theogenes (also known as Theognetos or Diognetos), a prominent Egyptian Greek. 

AGATHOCLES (Ἀγαθοκλῆς) son of Agathocles (son of Theoxena the Younger) and his wife Oenanthe. Thanks to his mother’s meddling, he was introduced to Ptolemy IV (his father Agathocles’ half-second cousin) and took advangate of his own sister’s affair with the Pharaoh to increase his influence over the court. In  216/215 BC Agathocles served as eponymous priest of the Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great.  When Ptolemy died in 205 BC, Agathocles, his sister Agathoclea and their party tried to kept the event secret to get the chance to plunder the royal treasure without any interference. When the plan to name Agathocles the new Pharaoh failed, together with Sosibius (chief minister of the late Ptolemy IV), his sister plotted to make the same Agathocles the regent for the new young King Ptolemy V. To achieve this, the Queen mother Arsinoe was murdered. When Ptolemy and Arsinoe’s death were made public, Sosibius presented the young Ptolemy V and crowned him as the new King. Sosibius later read out Ptolemy IV's will (Polybius thought that it was a forgery produced by Sosibius and Agathocles themselves), which made Sosibius and Agathocles regents and placed Ptolemy V in the personal care of Agathoclea and her mother Oenanthe. At some point Agathocles may have killed his former ally Sisibius, although all particulars of these events are lost to us.  Soon the Egyptians and Greeks of Alexandria grew exasperated at Agathocles' outrages and in 203/202 BC rose against him. They surrounded the palace in the night, and forced their way in. Agathocles was killed by his friends, who wanted to spare him a more cruel ending. 

AGATHOCLEA (Ἀγαθόλεια), daughter of Agathocles (son of Theoxena the Younger) and his wife Oenanthe. Like her brother, thanks to her mother’s meddling, she was introduced to Ptolemy IV and quickly became his mistress. Agathoclea’s influence over the Pharaoh didn’t diminish even after he married his sister Arsinoe in 220 BC. In late  210 BC, Agathoclea may have bore Ptolemy IV a son, who have died shortly after his birth. When Ptolemy died in 205 BC, Agathoclea and her party tried to kept the event secret to get the chance to plunder the royal treasure without any interference. When the plan to name her brother the new Pharaoh failed, together with Sosibius (chief minister of the late Ptolemy IV), she plotted to make Agathocles the regent for the new young King Ptolemy V. To achieve this, the Queen mother Arsinoe was murdered. Ptolemy IV's (likely forged) will placed Ptolemy V in the personal care of Agathoclea and her mother Oenanthe. In 203/202 BC the Egyptians and Greeks of Alexandria rose against Agathocles and his party. They surrounded the palace in the night, and forced their way in. Agathoclea, with her sisters and mother, had taken refuge in a temple. With no regard of the sacredness of the place, they were dragged out by the angry mob, stripped, led to the stadium naked on horseback and tore their body limb from limb. 

TWO UNNAMED DAUGHTERS of Agathocles (son of Theoxena the Younger) and his wife Oenanthe. Nothing is known about these girls, except they shared the horrible fate of their infamous mother and sister. After being dragged out of their shelter, they were slaughtered and mutilated by the crowd.

see here the Epirote descendants of Agathocles

see here the Syracusan descendants of Agathocles

[gardenofkore]

The Syracusan descendants of Agathocles of Syracuse and his first wife, the Widow of Damas

ARCHAGATHUS (Ἀρχάγαθος) was a Syracusan Greek prince, son of tyrant Agathocles by his first wife, the Widow of Damas. He shared his name with his younger half-brother, Archagathus of Lybia. In 310 BC he joined his father’s African expedition. After being defeated by the Carthaginians in the Battle of Himera and being besieged in Syracuse, Agathocles feared for his rulership. As his dominance over the other Sicilian cities was based on Syracuse’s military supremacy, the tyrant knew he had to stop Carthage, possibly on its own soil. While in Africa, Archagathus was publicly accused during a banquet by a man named Lyciscus (at that moment quite drunk) to have committed incest with his step-mother, Alkeia. Affronted by the accuse, Archagathus mortally wounded the man, shocking the bystanders. The murder almost cost the prince’s life as Lyciscus’ friends together with many other outraged soldiers asked Agathocles to hand them over his son so that he may be put to death. If the tyrant refused, then he had to die instead of Archagathus. Since he knew the Carthaginians were actively trying to have his men change side, and fearing he might end up being handed over to his enemy, Agathocles judged it was preferable risking his life amid his people. He then put aside his regal clothes and stood unprotected in the middle of the crowd. After giving a passionate speech, he motioned as if he was going to kill himself with his sword. The crowd stopped him and urged him to put on his royal garbs once more. Moved and thankful, Agathocles obliged while being acclaimed by the people. He had managed thus to protect his own as well his son’s life, strengthened his position and won a symbolic victory over the Carthaginians. In 307 BC, Agathocles had to go back to Sicily to stop the Siceliot city of Akrágas  to challenge Syracuse’s power. Archagathus, as the tyrant’s eldest son, was left in charge of the African expedition. After a series of military victories, the army led by Archagathus was defeated thrice and was forced to seek refuge in Tunis. Knowing that his son was struggling, Agathocles returned to Africa to help him. The tyrant found a decimated and disgruntled army, on the verge of mutiny. Unfortunately for Agathocles, his attempt to rile up his men met with a bitter loss which cost the life of 300 soldiers, the execution of 3000 prisoners at the hands of the Carthaginians, and the mutiny of 10000 allied soldiers. Sensing the army’s hostility, the tyrant chose to hastily abandon Africa, leaving his sons behind. Without his father’s backup, Archagathus together with his brother Heracleides became an easy target for the angry soldiers, who ordered they had to be put to death. The murder of his children angered Agathocles to the point he ordered the massacre of all the relatives of those Syracusan soldiers who were part of the African expedition. Children, women and old people, nobody was spared, making this the most tragic slaughter ordered by Agathocles.

HERACLEIDES (Ἢρακλείδης) was a Syracusan Greek prince, son of tyrant Agathocles by his first wife, the Widow of Damas. According to Greek author Polyenus, Heracleides’ good-looking was instrumental in his father’s plot to eliminate Macedonian former hetairos (Alexander’s companions), Ophellas, at that time Ptolemaic governor of Cyrenaica. Once allied, Agathocles grew quickly disaffected with the Macedonian, to the point of planning to get rid of him. Knowing that Ophellas liked pretty boys, Agathocles offered him his son Heracleides as a hostage to prove his goodwill and desire to form an anti-Carthaginian alliance with the Macedonian warrior. Heracleides’ received secret instruction from his father to entice Ophellas, but in the meantime to resist the older man’s overtures. The plan succeeded as Ophellas fell madly in love with that beautiful boy, and tried his best to convince Heracleides to give himself to him. While he was in his tent courting the boy, Agathocles barged in. Feigning shock and disgust, Agathocles accused his former ally to have betrayed him, trying to seduce his son. Caught off guard, Ophellas didn’t even had the chance to defend himself before Agathocles killed him. The wronged father then took his son back to the Syracusan camp. Without a leader, the Cyrenaic troops were incorporated by Agathocles’. Heracleides took part in the disastrous African expedition together with his brother and father, sharing Archagathus’ tragic end at the hands of the Syracusan soldiers.

ARCHAGATHUS (Ἀρχάγαθος) was a Syracusan Greek prince, son of Archagathus (firstborn of Agathocles) by an unknown woman. Described as a young man with great virility and strength, on account of these qualities, after his father’s death in Lybia, he must have thought he was to be his grandfather’s heir. Unfortunately for him, Agathocles had already decided to have his namesake son, Agathocles II, succeeding him. Seeing as his dreams of power were about to be shattered, Archagathus planned to kill both his grandfather and half-uncle and secure by himself his succession. He dragged in the murderous plan a certain Menon, a Segesta-born slave, who was ordered to put poison on the quill the older Agathocles used to clean his teeth after eating. As for the younger Agathocles, he was lured by his half-nephew on an island. There, Archagathus had the unsuspecting uncle getting drunk, then he killed him. Agathocles junior’s body was then thrown into the sea (perhaps hoping it would disappear forever), being later washed ashore by the waves, where some people recognized him. In the meantime, the agonizing tyrant (the poison didn’t kill immediately, but caused him a slow death), now aware of his grandson’s terrible scheming, publically denounced Archagathus, asking the Syracusan to avenge his death and, in exchange, granting them the freedom. He declared the tyranny decayed and announced Syracuse was once again a democracy. As for Archagathus, he fled away from Syracuse together Menon, who later killed him, smug with the idea of having been the one who had successfully overthrown Agathocles’ despised tyranny. 

see here the Egyptian descendants of Agathocles

see here the Epirote descendants of Agathocles

[gardenofkore]

Agathocles, therefore, when the pain of his disease and his anxiety of mind were grown intolerable, the one being increased by the severity of the other, resolved on embarking his wife Texena, and two infant sons that he had by her, with all his treasure, and servants, and regal furniture (in which no king at that time was richer), and sending her back to Egypt, from whence he had received her, fearing that they would find the usurper of his power their enemy. His wife, however, long entreated that she might not be separated from her sick husband, that the affliction of her departure might not be added to the atrocities of his grandson, and that she might not be made to appear as cruel in forsaking her husband as he in attacking his grandfather; saying that, “by marrying him, she not only engaged to share his good fortune, but all his fortune; nor would she unwillingly purchase, with the hazard of her own life, the privilege of receiving her husband’s last breath, and of performing, with all the care of conjugal duty and affection, the last offices at his funeral; which, when she was gone, no one would take upon himself to discharge.” The little children, at parting, embraced and clung to their father with doleful lamentations; while the wife, who was to see her husband no more, could not desist from kissing him. Nor were the tears of the old man less moving; the children wept for their dying father, the father for his banished children. They bewailed the forlorn condition of their parent, a sick old man; he lamented that his offspring, born to the prospect of a throne, should be left in want. At the same time the whole palace resounded with the cries of those who were witnesses to so cruel a separation. The necessity for departure, however, at length put a stop to their weeping, and the death of the prince followed the leave-taking of his children.

Marcus Junianus Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, book 23, 2

Theoxena (also known as the Younger or Theoxena of Egypt to distinguish her from her mother) was a Siceliot princess born in Syracuse in the 2nd half of IV century BC. Her parents were Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse and later basileus of Sicily, and his third wife the Greek-Macedonian princess Theoxena. She had a full brother, Archagathus, and four half siblings (Archagathus, Agathocles, Heracleides and Lánassa) from her father’s previous marriages. Her maternal grandparents were the Macedonian princess Berenice (greatniece of general and Regent Antipater of Macedonia and later second Ptolemaic queen of Egypt as spouse of Ptolemy I) and her first husband Philip, an obscure Greek Macedonian nobleman who had served under Alexander the Great.

Before dying in 289 BC, Agathocles disposed for his wife and younger children to leave Syracuse and seek shelter in Egypt. The basileus feared that his grandson Archagathus (son of his first born Archagathus), after killing his uncle Agathocles, might have decided to harm the queen Theoxena and the younger princes.

The young Theoxena and her brother spent then their youth in Egypt, at the court of their grandmother Berenice I and her husband Ptolemy I. 

At some point, the Syracusan princess married a man whose name is lost and gave birth to two children: a child whose name too was unrecorded and a boy called Agathocles after his grandfather.

During the reign of Ptolemy II, a son of Ptolemy I and Berenice I (283 BC -246 BC), Theoxena was sent to exile to the region of Thebaid, perhaps in Coptos. She had falsely accused some people she knew in the presence of her half uncle the pharaoh. Regrettably, the names recorded on a papyrus were lost after it was damaged. It’s possible that Theoxena’s banishment is to be linked to the exile of Ptolemy’s wife Arsinoe I. Accused of plotting against her husband, the queen was repudiated and convicted in exile in Coptos. It is extremely likely that the one who managed to convince the pharaoh to banish his wife was Princess Arsinoe, sister of Ptolemy II and half-aunt of Theoxena. After that, Arsinoe would marry her brother and co-rule along with him as Queen Arsinoe II of Egypt.

Nothing is known about the fate of Theoxena.    

[gardenofkore]

The Wives of Agathocles tyrant of Syracuse (361 BC -289 BC)

1. The Widow of Damas (IV century BC - III century BC) Her name has been lost to history and it is only known she was the widow of Damas, the wealthy patron and erastès of young Agathocles. By marrying his former lover’s widow and taking possession of her riches, the future tyrant reinforced his position and used his newly acquired wealth as a stepping stone in his conquest of power. This unnamed woman gave Agathocles two sons: Archagathus and Heracleides.

2 Alkeia (IV century BC - III century BC) Mother of Agathocles II and Lánassa, queen of Epyrus as spouse of Pyrrhus I. Alkeia is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus in his account of the Syracusan expedition in Africa. After getting drunk during a dinner party, a soldier called Lyciscus insinuated Agathocles’ son Archagathus had a secret affair with his step-mother Alkeia. Angered for having been insulted in front of his father, Archagathus slayed Lyciscus with a spear. This murder shocked the soldiers who revolted against Agathocles and his family. During the uprising, the Princes Archagathus and Heracleides were executed by the troops. As revenge of his sons’ deaths, Agathocles sent to death all the families of the rioters. Following his brothers’ deceases, Alkeia’s son Agathocles II became his father’s successor but was killed in 289 BC by his own half-nephew Archagathus. Embittered by his grandson’s horrific act, a dying Agathocles proclaimed as his heir the people of Syracuse, thus reinstating the democracy.

3 Theoxena of Syracuse (before 317 BC - after 289 BC)  Her mother was Greek Macedonian princess Berenice, great-niece of the general and Regent Antipater of Macedonia, and later second Ptolemaic queen of Egypt as spouse of Ptolemy I. While her father was Berenice's first husband Philip, a Greek Macedonian nobleman who had served under Alexander The Great. Theoxena had two full siblings: Magas (later king of Cyrene), and Antigone, first wife of Pyrrhus I of Epyrus. She was also step-sister of Ptolemy II of Egypt, Arsinoe II and Philotera from her mother’s marriage to Ptolemy. After Philip’s death in 381 BC, Berenice took her children to Egypt to live at the court of her second maternal cousin Eurydice, first wife of Ptolemy I. The king soon fell in love with Berenice and divorced from Eurydice to marry his beloved. Theoxena grew up as a Ptolemaic princess and her marriage to Agathocles of Syracuse was part of Ptolemy’s diplomatic strategy to create and strenghten various allegiances with other Ellenistic sovereigns. While in Syracuse, she gave birth to two children: Archagathus of Lybia and Theoxena the Younger. Just before Agathocle’s death, Theoxena had to leave Sicily with her children on the order of her husband, who feared for their lives. Theoxena spent her remaining years living in Egypt, at the court of her mother and step-father. Her chilren and their descendants played important roles under the reigns of her step-brother Ptolemy II, nephew Ptolemy III and great-nephew Ptolemy IV.

Quotes sources:

1 Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History, book 19, 3

2 Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History, book 20, 33

3  Marcus Junianus Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, book 23, 2