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Elizabeth A.Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Arsinoe II

b. circa 316 B.C.E., Thrace (modern-day Greece and Bulgaria); d. 270 B.C.E., ancient Egypt

Arsinoe II was, first, queen of Thrace, then co-ruler of Egypt with her brother and husband, Ptolemy II. She and Ptolemy shared all power, appearing on coinage together and jointly making all decisions of state. After her death, he continued to rule using her name on documents and her image on coins.

Head of Ptolemy II Philadelphus with Arsinoe II. From Barclay Vincent Head, Guide to the Principal Gold and Silver Coins of the Ancients from circa BC 700 to AD 1 (London: British Museum, 1889)

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