Berenice II in Art and Artifacts

Abstract

Berenice II Euergetis has left her mark not only in ancient artifacts and works of art, but also in modern art. Numismatic evidence often gives us the only securely identified portraiture of Ptolemaic kings and queens. Coinage is therefore often employed for assigning sculptures to members of the royal house. An element of subjectivity is well-nigh unavoidable in this process, in which scholars should tread with caution. Objects in different media and material will pass the review in this iconographic section, in part to illustrate where possible aspects of the discussion in the other essays and also to illuminate the world in which Berenice lived at the courts of Cyrene and Egypt. Two examples of modern art dedicated to Berenice will have to suffice here. For, no attempt has been made at comprehensiveness as that would veer too far from the purpose of the present study.