Category:Berenice (subject)

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

Berenice in ancient sources

Berenice in mentioned both in Jewish sources (Josephus, Acts of Apostles) and in Roman sources (Suetonius)

The Acts of Apostles describes the arrival of Agrippa and Berenice at Caesarea and their encounter with Paul. "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).

Berenice in Scholarship

During the Jewish War, Berenice and her brother sided with the Romans, and supported the Flavian rise to imperial power.

Her love story with Titus fueled controversy in Rome and never ended in marriage.

Berenice in Fiction

It is love, not politics, that has 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 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 Brasillach who praised the Roman rebellion against Berenice as an example of racial awareness. In recent years, the interest in Berenice have been revived by some French authors.

External links

• Wikipedia