Ptolemy II Philadelphus

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Timeline

From 282 BCE to 246 BCE

Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, sole reign c.282–246 BCE. Aristeas associates him with Greek Torah translation; royal sponsorship details lack independent confirmation.

Text

Ruler and setting

Ptolemy II ruled Egypt in the third century BCE. UCL dates his sole reign c.282–246 BCE and describes Alexandrian cultural activity.^[1]

Narrative and limits

The later Letter of Aristeas casts him as patron of Hebrew-law translation, not its author. It is not a contemporary court record.^[2]

Image

The coin dates to his reign, c.261–246 BCE, but depicts Arsinoe II. It is neither his portrait nor evidence of translation.^[3]

References and notes

University College London, Digital Egypt for Universities (2002). Ptolemy II Philadelphos. Entry gives sole reign 282–246 BCE and Alexandrian cultural context; it does not document a royal Torah-translation order. Return to the text ↑
Max Leventhal (2022). Envisioning the Art of Empire in the Letter of Aristeas. The Cambridge Classical Journal 68, pp.164–180. doi:10.1017/S175027052200001X. Introduction and note 4: literary narrator, Alexandrian Jewish author and second-century BCE dating. Other sections not used to establish translation history. Return to the text ↑
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gold oktadrachm of Ptolemy II Philadelphos, 30.115.23 / object 253074. Alexandria c.261–246 BCE; portrait of Arsinoe II. Museum identity, date and rights; not translation evidence. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.