Antiochus VIII Grypus

Antiochus VIII Epiphanes
Antiochus VIII Callinicus/Philometor
Co-regent of the Seleucid Empire (Co-regent of Syria)
Reign 125-121 or 123 BC
Coronation 125 BC
Predecessor Cleopatra Thea and Seleucus V Philometor
Co-regent Cleopatra Thea (his mother)
King of the Seleucid Empire (King of Syria)
Reign 121 or 123 BC- 96 BC (in oppostion to Antiochus IX Cyzicenus)
Predecessor Cleopatra Thea and himself
Successor Seleucus VI Epiphanes
Born Unknown
Died 96 BC
Queen Tryphaena
Dynasty Seleucid
Father Demetrius II Nicator
Mother Cleopatra Thea

Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus (hook-nose), was crowned as ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 125 BC. He was the son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea.

Biography

Childhood

Either he or his half brother Antiochus IX Cyzicenus is probably identical with the ephemeral child ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, who was crowned by Cleopatra Thea after the death of Antiochus VII but before Demetrius II returned to Antioch. The child Antiochus Epiphanes, who is known from coins, was deposed—but not killed—when Demetrius II was restored in 129 BC.

Rise to power

Antiochus Grypus was crowned as a teenager in 125 BC after his mother Cleopatra Thea had killed his elder brother Seleucus V Philometor, ruling jointly with her. After Antiochus defeated usurper Alexander II Zabinas in 123 BC his mother tried to poison him with wine, but the suspicious king forced her to drink the cup herself. (The story may have been inspired by the fact that Grypus was interested in toxicology; some poems about poisonous herbs believed to have been written by him are quoted by the famous physician Galen).

Reign as King of Syria

Coin of Antiochus VIII. The reverse shows Zeus enthroned, carrying Nike. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ (king Antiochus Epiphanes).

Despite political shortcomings, Grypus was a popular king. His ugly, lazy appearance on coins (common among the last Seleucids), together with stories of his lavish banquets, made posterity believe his dynasty was degenerated and decadent. This was however a conscious image, an invocation of the Hellenistic idea Tryphe - meaning good life, which the last Seleucids strove to be associated with, as opposed to the exhausting civil wars and feuds which troubled their reigns in reality.

A story of his luxurious parties claims he sent food home with guests who attended banquets, complete with a camel as beast of burden, as well as a with attendant to carry the guest himself. This should certainly have caused some strain on the already depleted treasury.[1]

Family

Coin of Antiochus VIII Grypus. Reverse: god Sandan standing on the horned lion, in his pyre surmounted by an eagle.

He married the Ptolemaic princess Tryphaena, but in 116 BC his half-brother and cousin Antiochus IX Cyzicenus (see Antiochus VII Sidetes) returned from exile and a civil war began. Cyzicenus' wife, also named Cleopatra, was a sister of Tryphaena and was eventually killed in a dramatic fashion in the temple of Daphne outside Antioch, on the order of Tryphaena. Cyzicenus eventually killed Tryphaena as revenge. The two brothers then divided Syria between them until Grypus was killed by his minister Heracleon in 96 BC.

Five of Grypus' sons later rose to kingship:

This contributed to the confusion of civil war amid which the Seleucid empire ended.

He also had at least one daughter:

See also

References

  1. Athenaeus 210D

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antiochus VIII Grypus.
Antiochus VIII Grypus
Born: Unknown Died: 96 BC
Preceded by
Cleopatra Thea
Seleucid King (King of Syria)
12596 BC
with Cleopatra Thea (126121/3 BC)
Succeeded by
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
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