Ptolemaic Coins as an Indicator of Changing Roles for Ruling Women

This is a paper I am working on for a class on Greco-Roman Women. If anybody can give me some more suggested reading on the subject, in particular articles, or some more examples it would be appreciated. Any critiques on it are also welcome.

With the beginning of the Hellenistic Period, many changes began to take place for Greek Women. One of the places this is most apparent was in Ptolemaic Egypt among the upper class. In the book, Women in the Classical World, it is noted that during the Classical period of Athens, among upper class women that they would only take two journeys in their life: “From their father’s house to their husband’s, the next from their husband’s house to the grave.”[1] Although this view that women mostly stayed in the house was only true for upper class women, and even then was probably exaggerated, it certainly kept them out of the public eye. However, with the changes taking place in the Hellenistic Period, these women gained more and more recognition. One of the places where this change can be seen in abundance is on the coinage struck during this period. The properties of these coins show the changing nature of women in power. In particular, the portraits on the coins the composition will be examined to show how they reflect the changing times for women of that period. Before the changes in the coins can be discussed, a little information is need on coins prior to the Hellenistic Period.

During the time before the Hellenistic Period, it was still not a “Man’s World” as one might expect from other sources.[2] During these times, the theme that pervaded design elements was the gods. In this respect, gender played little difference. It was just as common to see coins with Zeus or another male god as it was to see a female god. Athena and Nike were particularly popular for their representations of wisdom, warfare, strategy, and victory. In addition to the gods on coins, symbols of the power of a state were often popular. It was rare that a ruler would be portrayed on a coin during this time period. If there was an individual on a coin, besides a god, it was usually a famous person or character being honored. When the transition to the Hellenistic Period began, one of the major changes that had been brought in by Alexander the Great was the idea that living rulers should appear on coins. While gods and symbols were still often found on coins, there was a surge in the coins with individual rulers on them. This new tradition leads to the discussion at hand, putting women rulers on coins and how it symbolized the transitions that were occurring in society at the time.

One of the first things that is interesting about coinage relating to women from this time period is how they appear on the coins themselves. There are two distinctions to make here. The first is the double portrait, which showed both the queen and king that was ruling at the time. The second is when a woman’s portrait appeared alone on a coin. In the first case, the portraits of the two rulers were overlapping as seen in this coin minted under Ptolemy II in 265 B.C.E.:

This type of coin clearly shows both king and queen. While it is clearly honoring both of them at the same time, it is clear that gender roles are still in place with Arsinoe behind Ptolemy II. However, this brings an interesting case forward. A coin struck by Alexander Balas in 150 B.C.E. to commemorate his marriage to Cleopatra Thea shows her in front of him.[3] A number of things could have occurred in this case. She was from the Ptolemaic line, but was married to Alexander to unite the Seleukid throne with the Ptolemy, thus it could indicate her link to that power. It could also potentially be because of the occasion it symbolized. Finally, she was a very powerful woman, eventually becoming sole ruler for several years. While the case for this particular coin is not clear, the reason for the dual portraits on many coins during this time period is. Because there was no clear succession line after Alexander died, the new rulers had to find a way to legitimize their power. One way to do this was to issue coinage with their images on it, like Alexander did, to reinforce this image. This might include an appeal to the women of the upper class with their new found political freedom. There was also one final way to legitimize their authority. Egyptian rule was closely associated with the idea that the king was a kind of god. This is reinforced on the coin seen above. On the obverse the inscription reads “of the siblings” while the reverse reads “of the gods.”[4] This reinforcement of the idea that the rulers were gods would help legitimize the rulers. However, it is important to note that this idea of deification was only available to the dead. The reverse with the inscription thus bears to portraits of the Ptolemy II’s parents, Ptolemy I and Berenike I. But, this idea of deification doesn’t stop there. The coin also sets up a cult for the current rulers when they die. When Arsinoe dies, Ptolemy II begins to issue new coins which bear only her portrait.

The single portrait coins for women were fairly rare. There are two of particular note: the coins minted for Arsinoe II after her death, and the coins minted for Cleopatra VII as a ruler. In the first case, it was out of an issue of legitimacy and deification that the coins were minted. These coins were made to help bring a cult around her after death. This cult eventually became one of the most popular cults in the Ptolemaic kingdom.[5] This helps to legitimize the Ptolemy line and coins bearing her image were minted even under the reign of Ptolemy VI, over a hundred years later, testifying to her lasting image as a person who kept the power of the kingdom in the hands of her family. While she was a very powerful woman after death, another powerful woman featured alone on coinage was the last person to rule Egypt during the Hellenistic Period, Cleopatra VII. Although Cleopatra ostensibly ruled with several male counterparts, she was featured on coinage by herself. This is a testament to the power that she now wielded. This is the final pinnacle of the Hellenistic Period and it is capped by a woman ruling, showing the full transition from the society before to a new more open world for women.

The final issue with regards to coinage is their metal content. While this might seem to be a kind of random topic, it actually shows what sphere of the society the coin was directed towards. In the first coin pictured, they were only minted from gold. This large denomination, called a oktadracham, would have only been used for very large purchases such as land and buildings. They would have also been held by aristocrats. It was thus a sign of power to the aristocratic women to have the queen on the coins, helping to back up the king. Once again, with the second coin pictured, it was produced in gold, thus playing to the aristocratic audience. However, these were also produced in silver decadrachm as well.[6] The drachm was a denomination that was used for many common purchases. As such, this allowed the cult of Arsinoe II to spread among many different layers of the public as the currency would have been widely used. Cleopatra VII’s coinage was primarily produced in silver and copper. Because of this, it would have circulated throughout most of the public sphere. In this way, she reinforced the idea that she was the ruler rather than the others who also claimed this power.

In the end, these women who were pictured on the coins of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, were placed on the coins to further the dynasty. In the first case, Arsinoe II was placed on the coins first to back up her husband and then was placed on the coins as a symbol of her deification. In the second case, Cleopatra VII placed herself on coins in order to solidify her place as a ruler. In both of these cases, the primary goal was to reinforce the kingship. They did this by playing to different groups of people to create a good base. However, these also show the progress that was made from the previous Greek times, showing aristocratic women that they didn’t have to stay in the house, but could be powerful in this new time period.

[1] Elaine Fantham, Helene Peet Foley, Natalie Boymel Kampen, Sarah B. Pomeroy, and H. A. Shapiro, Women in the Classical World: Image and Text, (New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 1994), Pg. 140.

[2] Wayne Sayles, Ancient Coin Collecting II: Numismatic Art of the Greek World, (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2007), Pg. 143.

[3] Sayles, Pg. 144.

[4] Sitta von Reden, Money in Ptolemaic Egypt: From the Macedonian Conquest to the End of the Third Century BC, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008), Pg. 50.

[5] Ibid., 52.

[6] Ibid.

Bibliography
Fantham, Elaine, Helene Peet Foley, Natalie Boymel Kampen, Sarah B. Pomeroy, and H. A. Shapiro. Women in the Classical World: Image and Text. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 1994.
Reden, Sitta von. Money in Ptolemaic Egypt: From the Macedonian Conquest to the End of the Third Century BC. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Sayles, Wayne. Ancient Coin Collecting II: Numismatic Art of the Greek World. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2007.
All Photos Accessed from www.Wildwinds.com

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Very good! You hit up all the important aspects of woman on Ptolemaic coinage: the importance of coinage in legitimization, the differences in images on the baser metals versus the precious. One other thing you might mention: the women, and indeed ALL the Ptolemies, look almost exactly like Ptolemy I.

Take a look at a similar paper I wrote for a similar class a few years back:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Constantine and Propaganda

One point regarding your grammar/syntax: decide which tense you want to work in. You seem to switch back and forth between the past tense and the historical present a few times.

 

very good

 

Thanks for the comments. It was suggested by another member via pm that I post this on the forum ancient coins site to get more responses, which I am planning on doing. I need to make it a little longer, so I was looking at adding more information about the rulers in each case, which is where I could talk about the appearance of the women on the coins. In addition, after reading your article, I think I will add some analysis on the reverse of Cleopatra VII's coins and their reverses as undermining her rivals.

I will go back through and clean up those grammar issues.

I still have one more paper due for this class on the Roman side of Greco-Roman, so you will probably see one more from me!

Thank you!

 

Thank you for posting a very interesting article. I don't know much about ancient coins, but the article really held my interest.