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Honors
141
Ashley Boozer
Character Report to Class
September 5, 2002
Ptolemy XII, Neos Dionysos (Auletes - The Flute Player)
I. Historical context of the life of Ptolemy XII
A. Alexander the Great takes control of Egypt - 332
B. Italy and Egypt greatly influenced by Greek traditions in politics
and religion
C. Ptolemy XI dies, forcing Egypt to quickly acquire new ruler to
prevent threat of Roman interests in Egypt
D. Egyptian question - some Roman officials sought annexation of
Egypt into Roman Empire, others such as Cicero and Cato strongly
opposed
II. Brief Biography of Ptolemy XII
A. Illegitimate son of Ptolemy XI - mother unknown mistress
B. Succeeded Ptolemy XI and married Cleopatra Tryphaena
C. Set up as a puppet ruler to keep Rome's attention away from Egypt
D. Reigned 80-58 BCE, expelled from Alexandria in 58, restored in55
and kills daughter Berenike IV, dies in 51 BCE
E. Throughout his rein Ptolemy accumulated huge debts to Roman officials
including Pompey and Gabinius
F. An alcoholic, violent temper, played the flute (considered disgraceful),
made huge bribes to Roman officials
III. Principal Sources and their reliability for this person
A. Gregory Daugherty, Professor of Classics
B. Hornblower and Spawforth. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford,
p. 1273.
C. Chauveau, Michel. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra, pp.6-26.
D. Holbl, Gunther. A History of the Ptolemaic Empire, pp. 222-230.
E. Walker and Higgs. Cleopatra of Egypt, pp. 19-24.
F. Coin Images of Ptolemy XII: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/egypt/ptolemy_XII/i.html
G. House of Ptolemy Website: http://www.houseofptolemy.org
IV. Ancient and current assessment of character
A. Disgraceful and weak ruler - coped with troubles by drinking,
playing the flute, and taxing Alexandrians to fund his bribes
V. My assessment of Ptolemy XII
A. Started out badly - stuck in political position as a puppet ruler,
also illegitimate ruler with a bad temper
B. Used corrupt methods to run Egypt, bribed Roman officials for
various titles but eventually became desperate when he could not
fund the bribes
VI. Factual relationship to or interaction with Cleopatra
A. Left children in Egypt upon his fleet to Rome after fall of Cyprus
B. Left to Cleopatra a ruined Egypt, void of overseas provinces,
depleted wealth and devalued currency (by two-thirds)
C. Egypt very vulnerable to intervention by the Romans
VII. My assessment of that relationship
A. Alcoholism breaks family relationships and leaves scars on children
B. Ptolemy's abusive ways when drinking were passed through his
lineage and partly responsible for Cleopatra's cruelty during her
reign.
VIII. Casting for film of Ptolemy's biography
A. Ptolemy - Gerard Depardieu
Summary:
Kristen Bellamy Cleopatra's Egypt
Ptolemy XII
Ptolemy XII was the father of Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Both in his
time, and even now people see him as an alcoholic that didn't really
contribute anything to his kingdom to better it. In fact, when Ptolemy
finally died in 51 BC he left Cleopatra to rule a nation in ruins.
He was the son of Ptolemy IX and an unknown mistress. After his
father died he succeeded him to the throne of Egypt. Ptolemy XII
was not a strong ruler. Ptolemy's reign was characterized by his
attempts to bribe Roman officials, in order that they would not
annex Egypt as part of the Roman Empire. In doing this, he squandered
Egypt's wealth and was finally expelled from the capital at Alexandria
in 58 BC. The citizens of Alexandria hated him because of the heavy
taxes he levied on them in order to pay his debts. While in exile,
Ptolemy stayed in Rome with Pompey. He tried to convince Pompey
to give him money to raise an army in order that he would go back
and reclaim Egypt as his own. Pompey did not support Ptolemy's cause,
but others did. In 55 BC Ptolemy successfully took back Egypt with
the support received from these men. However, in the process he
killed both his wife and his daughter. He continued to rule Egypt
until his death in 51BC. At that time Cleopatra VII made her debut
on to the world stage.