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Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian) · other

Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy II Philadelphos and Queen Arsinoe II

Source of record: Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the heads of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, facing to the right. The back (reverse) portrays the head of Ptolemy I and Berenice I, facing to the right. The son and daughter of Ptolemy I inherited the crown of Egypt jointly. Following the customs of Egyptian pharaohs, Ptolemy II (reigned 285–246 BCE) and Arsinoe II (reigned 276–270 BCE) married and ruled as both siblings and spouses. To celebrate their partnership they commissioned this remarkable coin. On his coins, Ptolemy I presented himself as a Greek, and specifically a Macedonian, king.

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1

English description

Obverse: A°E°ØΩN [of the siblings] Reverse: _ EΩN [of the gods]

Cross-references (1)

  • ARTIC-id 4434 tier-2
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian).
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.