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O.A. Davydova (Moscow) – Towards the Identification of Berenice II with Artemis

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Abstract

The paper discusses a limestone female figurine with a bow and quiver on her back from the British Museum, found during excavations at the Temple of Apollo in Idalion (Cyprus) in 1873. Scholars attribute it to Berenice II like Artemis. However, the main motive in the cult of the queen was, first of all, motherhood and patronage of the family, which does not correspond to the image of the virgin goddess Artemis. At the moment, the figurine can be considered the only surviving evidence of the identification of Berenice II with Artemis. Therefore, either Cyprus had a unique version of veneration of the Ptolemaic queen that requires interpretation, or the figurine does not actually depict Berenice II.

Keywords

Ptolemies, Berenice II, Artemis, dynastic cult, Cyprus, Hellenistic period

Olga A. Davydova

Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

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Acknowledgements: Russian Science Foundation, project no. 24-78-10152

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