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Berenice (b. 28 CE) was a member of the Herodian dynasty, the daughter of King Herod Agrippa I, and the sister of King Herod Agrippa II.

Biography

Berenice was a descendant of Herod the Great, the daughter of Herod Agrippa and Cypros, and the sister of Herod Agrippa II (Bel II 220; Ant XVIII 132.194).

Berenice's first husband was "Marcus [Julius Alexander], the son of Alexander [the Alabarch of Alexandria]" (Ant XIX 276), the brother of Tiberius Alexander and the nephew of Philo of Alexandria.

After Marcus' death in 44 CE, "Agrippa I gave her as a wife to his brother Herod, after asking Claudius to give him the reign of Chalcis" (Ant XIX 277). Berenice was "sixteeen years old" when she married her uncle (Ant XIX 354).

Berenice had two children from Herod, who died a few years later in 48 CE. Afterward, Berenice lived long as a widow at the court of her brother Herod Agrippa II. The Acts of the Apostles describe their arrival at Caesarea to visit the new Roman governor. Agrippa II (who was not married) and Berenice acted as a royal couple; soon rumors spread of an incestuous relationship between the two (see Juvenal). Berenice then married Polomon of Cilicia in 64 CE. The marriage however did not last long as Berenice soon deserted Polomon and returned to her brother's court (Ant XX 145-146).

Berenice and her brother Herod Agrippa II were loyal allies of the Romans, before, during and after the Jewish War. In 69 CE, the Year of the Four Emperors, Berenice and her brother Agrippa supported the Flavian rise to imperial power (Tacitus, Historiae II.81). In particular Berenice was instrumental in securing the support to Vespasian of her former brother-in-law Tiberius Alexander, then governor of Egypt.

The "love story" between with Berenice and Titus (who was eleven years younger) started in Judea during the Jewish War (Tacitus, Historiae II 2).

According to Cassius Dio, after Titus went back to Rome, the affair resumed in 75 CE when Agrippa and Berenice came to Rome. The affair fueled controversy in Rome and Titus had to send her away.

When Titus became emperor in 79 CE, Berenice returned to Rome, but Titus was too busy with restoring his reputation. Berenice was reluctantly yet quickly dismissed: "[Titus] sent Berenice from Rome at once, against her will and against his own" (7.2).

Berenice in ancient sources

Berenice is mentioned both in Jewish sources (Josephus, Acts of Apostles) and in Roman sources (Juvenal, Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Quintilian, Suetonius).

Josephus

Josephus introduces Berenice as a descendant of Herod the Great, the daughter of Herod Agrippa I and Cypros, and the sister of Herod Agrippa II (Bel II 220; Ant XVIII 132.194).

Berenice's first husband was "Marcus [Julius Alexander], the son of Alexander [the Alabarch of Alexandria]" (Ant XIX 276), the brother of Tiberius Alexander and the nephew of Philo of Alexandria.

After Marcus' death, in 44 CE, "Agrippa I gave her as a wife to his brother Herod, after asking Claudius to give him the reign of Chalcis" (Ant XIX 277). Berenice was "sixteeen years old" when she married her uncle (Ant XIX 354). In the Jewish War the event is presented from the Roman point of view: "[Claudius] bestowed the kingdom of Chalcis on [Agrippa's] brother Herod, who was also his son-in-law, by marrying [his daughter] Berenice" (Bel II 217). "Herod of Chalcis ... died in the eighth year of the reign of Claudius [48 CE], leaving three sons"--one from his first wife, and two from Berenice (Bel II 221; Ant XX 104).

Afterward, Berenice lived long as a widow, but when rumors spread of an incestuous relationship with her brother Agrippa II, she married Polomon of Cilicia. The marriage however did not last long as Berenice soon deserted Polomon and returned to her brother's court (Ant XX 145-146).

Juvenal

The Roman poet Juvenal also claims, in his sixth satire, that Berenice and Agrippa were lovers.

Acts of Apostles

The Acts of Apostles describes the arrival of Agrippa and Berenice at Caesarea in the year 60 CE and their encounter with Paul of Tarsus. This event is recorded only in Christian tradition.

"Berenice and Agrippa arrived at Caesarea to welcome [the new Roman governor] Festus (Acts 25:13). Since they were staying there several day, Festus laid Paul's case before the king (25:14)... On the next day Agrippa and Berenice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in" (25:23). After listening to Paul's speech "the king rose, and the governor and Berenice and those who were sitting with them; and as they were leaving they said to one another, This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment" (26:30-31).

Tacitus

In 69 CE, the Year of the Four Emperors, Berenice and her brother Agrippa supported the Flavian rise to imperial power. "Queen Berenice too, who was then in the prime of youth and beauty, and who had charmed even the old Vespasian by the splendor of her presents, promoted his cause with equal zeal" (Tacitus, Historiae II.81). She was instrumental in securing the support of her former brother-in-law Tiberius Alexander to Vespasian.

The "love story" between with Berenice and Titus (who was eleven years younger) started in Judea during the Jewish War (Tacitus, Historiae II 2).

Cassio Dio

According to Cassius Dio, after Titus went back to Rome, the affair resumed in 75 CE when Agrippa and Berenice came to Rome. The affair fueled controversy in Rome and Titus had to send her away. "Berenice was at the very height of her power and consequently came to Rome along with her brother Agrippa. [4] The latter was given the rank of praetor, while she dwelt in the palace, cohabiting with Titus. She expected to marry him and was already behaving in every respect as if she were his wife; but when he perceived that the Romans were displeased with the situation, he sent her away. [5] For, in addition to all the other talk that there was, certain sophists of the Cynic school managed somehow to slip into the city at this time, too; and first Diogenes, entering the theatre when it was full, denounced the pair in a long, abusive speech, for which he was flogged; and after him Heras, expecting no harsher punishment, gave vent to many senseless yelpings in true Cynic fashion, and for this was beheaded" (Cassius Dio, Roman History LXV.15).

Quintilian

That the influence of Berenice was very high, is testified by Quintilian: "I myself, when I appeared on behalf of Queen Berenice, actually pleaded before her" (Quintilian, Institutio oratoria IV.1).

Suetonius

When Titus became emperor in 79 CE, Berenice returned to Rome, but Titus was too busy with restoring his reputation. "Besides cruelty, he was also suspected... of unchastity because of... his notorious passion for queen Berenice, to whom it was even said that he promised marriage (Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus 7.1). Berenice was reluctantly yet quickly dismissed: "[Titus] sent Berenice from Rome at once, against her will and against his own" (7.2).

Berenice in Scholarship

References

• John A. Crook, "Titus and Berenice," American Journal of Philology 72.2 (1951) 162–175.

Berenice in Fiction

It was love, not politics, that attracted the artist's interest in the character of Berenice. In the 17th century, the novel, Lettres de Bérénice à Titus (1642), by Madeleine de Scudéry inaugurated a long series of works of fiction, devoted to the unhappy love story between Titus and Berenice, and produced a masterpiece such as Bérénice (1670 Racine), play. In the 18th and 19th centuries the subject remained highly popular and fostered the extraordinary success of Pietro Metastasio's drama, La clemenza di Tito (set to music by more than 40 composers), where however the presence of Berenice was only alluded. In the 20th century, the story was given an anti-Semitic turn by Robert Brasillach who praised the Roman hostility against Berenice as an example of racial awareness. In recent years, the interest in Berenice has been revived by some French authors.

References

• Ruth Yordan, Berenice (London: 1974)
• S. Akermann, Le mythe de Bérénice (Paris: 1978)

Related categories

• Titus (subject)
• Herod Agrippa (subject) / Herod Agrippa II (subject)
• Tiberius Alexander (subject)

External links

• Wikipedia