Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) meaning loving his sister
One of the emperor Alexander the Great's successors was Ptolemy I Soter (366–282 BCE). In addition to ruling Egypt, he was the forerunner of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which comprised the notorious Cleopatra VII.
Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) meaning loving his sister: ascended the throne of Egypt in 285 BC
One of the Ptolemaic kings and son of King Ptolemy the First He was chosen without his older siblings, which created an atmosphere of hostility between him and his brothers, which caused a lot of internal and external unrest.
He was very interested in developing Alexandria and making archaeological and scientific landmarks in it he walked on the great Alexandr way,, The greatness of the Ptolemies reached its zenith during the reign of Ptolemy II, He built the Alexandria Lighthouse to guide ships and it was the first lighthouse in the world, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Its location was on the edge of the Pharos Peninsula, and it is the present-day location of Qait Bey Citadel in the city. It is considered the first lighthouse in the world that was erected by zippers during the reign of Ptolemy II in 280 BC. It rose 120 meters and was later destroyed in a violent earthquake that struck Alexandria in 1303 AD.
Ptolemy II married his older sister Arsinoe the second. It has not been heard before in the Greek world that the marriage of two brothers is a legitimate matter, despite its popularity among the patriots of the Egyptians, following the traditions of the pharaohs; The people were ashamed of that, and their anxiety prolonged, the men king made it a common situation so the comparing it to Zeus' marriage to his older sister, the goddess Hera. This marriage established a marriage pattern that was repeated again and again in the Ptolemaic court.
Ptolemy II was the cause of the Ptolemy's conversion from the cult of Alexander the Great, which Ptolemy I established as the official religion of the Ptolemaic state. After the death of Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II assuming power alone, Ptolemy II declared his father and mother Bernice I deities, and declared them the two savior deities. About the year 272 BC. Ptolemy II declared himself and his sister Arsinoe the second goddess, describing them as two brother deities. And became the priest of the worship of Alexander the Great, the priest of the worship of Alexander the Great, and the two brother deities. Then this became a royal custom, and every royal couple was added to the title of a priest from then until the end of the second century AD. In artistic drawings commemorating the gods, divine features such as the truncheon of Hercules and the elephant head mask, which was associated with Alexander the Great, were added to Ptolemy the Second, while Arsinoe II is depicted with a pair of horns with a small ram's horn behind the ear.
Ptolemy also added divine status to a number of his relatives. After the death of his sister and wife Arsinoe in the second year of 269 BC. Ptolemy honored her by making her a goddess alone - not like he did before when he paired her with him as two brother deities - and he ordered the addition of a statue of her in all the temples of Egypt, as a special goddess of those temples worshiped alongside the gods of those temples. Which made her time one of the favorite deities of the Egyptians in the Ptolemaic period. Ptolemy II also made his other sister Philotera a goddess. Rather, he added to his concubine Pellestekhi an attribute of holiness, and she became likened to the goddess Aphrodite.