General Notes

[2280151.ged]
Berenice II (b. c. 269--d. 221 BC), daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene (in
modern Libya), whose marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes reunited her
country with Egypt.
Magas' queen, who favoured an alliance with the Seleucid dynasty of
Syria, tried to thwart the marriage by summoning Demetrius the Fair, a
Macedonian prince, as a husband for Berenice. The princess, however,
arranged Demetrius' murder and married Ptolemy about 245. When Ptolemy
set forth to avenge the murder of his sister (the widow of Antiochus II)
in Syria, Berenice dedicated a lock of her hair for his safe return.
According to the court astronomer, it was transferred to heaven, where it
formed a new constellation that was consequently named Coma Berenices,
"Hair of Berenice." Berenice and Ptolemy had four children: the future
Ptolemy IV Philopator, Arsinoe III, Magas, and Berenice, who died as a
child. The queen survived her husband, but her son Ptolemy IV linked her
to a plot with her father, Magas, and had her poisoned.