| Antiochus VIII Epiphanes | |
|---|---|
| Antiochus VIII Callinicus/Philometor | |
 Coin of Antiochus VIII | |
| King of Syria | |
| Reign | 125–96 BC |
| Coronation | 125 BC |
| Predecessors | Cleopatra Thea,Seleucus V,Alexander II |
| Successors | Antiochus IX,Seleucus VI |
| Co-ruler | Cleopatra Thea (125–121 BC) |
| Contenders | Alexander II (125–123 BC) Antiochus IX (116–96 BC) |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 96 BC |
| Spouses | Tryphaena Cleopatra Selene |
| Issue | Seleucus VI Antiochus XI Philip I Demetrius III Antiochus XII Laodice, Queen of Commagene |
| Dynasty | Seleucid |
| Father | Demetrius II Nicator |
| Mother | Cleopatra Thea |
Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamedGrypus (Greek:Γρυπός, "hook-nose"), was the ruler of theHellenisticSeleucid Empire from 125 to 96 BC. He was the younger son ofDemetrius II andCleopatra Thea. He may have spent his early life inAthens and returned to Syria after the deaths of his father and brotherSeleucus V. At first he was joint ruler with his mother. Fearing her influence, Antiochus VIII had Cleopatra Thea poisoned in 121 BC.
Political instability affected most of Antiochus VIII's reign. From 116 BC he fought a civil war against his half-brotherAntiochus IX. Antiochus VIII's wife, thePtolemaic Egyptian princessTryphaena, had her sister and the wife of Antiochus IX, the formerCleopatra IV of Egypt, murdered in 112 BC; Antiochus IX killed Tryphaena in revenge. In 102 BC, Antiochus VIII's auntCleopatra III of Egypt, the mother of the two rival queens, gave him the hand of her daughterCleopatra Selene in marriage. Antiochus VIII was assassinated in 96 BC.
In 193 BCCleopatra, aSeleucid princess, married KingPtolemy V ofEgypt. Their granddaughterCleopatra Thea of thePtolemaic dynasty married the claimantAlexander Balas half a century later in 150 BC.[1] She later marriedDemetrius II of Syria, and they had two sons.[note 1] Demetrius II was captured and held as a prisoner by theParthian Empire. Antiochus VIII's uncleAntiochus VII took the throne and married Cleopatra Thea, but died in 129 BC while fighting against the Parthians; Demetrius II then returned to the throne, and died in 125 BC while waging a war for the Syrian throne against the claimantAlexander II. Demetrius II's eldest sonSeleucus V became king after his death, but was soon killed by Cleopatra Thea. She made Antiochus VIII king, ruling as his co-regent.[2]
Shortly after taking the throne, Antiochus VIII married his cousin, the Ptolemaic princessTryphaena. Silver and bronze coins issued during the co-regency (125–121 BC) of Antiochus VIII and Cleopatra Thea show the head of the queen appearing at front with her son's head behind hers. Her name is also the first listed on the coinage. These facts signify that she was the senior co-ruler.[3] He defeated usurperAlexander II Zabinas in 123 BC. In 121 BC, Antiochus decided to rid himself of his influential mother.[4] According toJustin, his mother tried to poison him with wine, but the suspicious king forced her to drink the cup herself.[5] However, it was Grypus himself who would become famous for his interest intoxicology.[4][6] Some poems about poisonous herbs believed to have been written by him are quoted by the famous physicianGalen.[citation needed]
Despite political shortcomings, Grypus was a popular king. His ugly, lazy appearance on coins (common among the last Seleucids), together with stories of his lavish banquets, made posterity believe his dynasty was degenerate and decadent. This was, however, a conscious image invoking the Hellenistic concept ofTryphe - meaning good life, which the last Seleucids strove to be associated with, as opposed to the exhausting civil wars and feuds which troubled their reigns in reality.[7]
A story of his luxurious parties claims he sent food home with guests who attended banquets, complete with a camel as beast of burden, as well as an attendant to carry the guest himself. This should certainly have caused some strain on the already depleted treasury.[8]
In 116 BC his half-brother and cousinAntiochus IX Cyzicenus returned from exile and acivil war began. Cyzicenus' wife, also namedCleopatra, was a sister of Tryphaena and was eventually killed in a dramatic fashion in the temple ofDaphne outsideAntioch, on the order of Tryphaena. Cyzicenus eventually killed Tryphaena as revenge. The two brothers then dividedSyria between them until Grypus was killed by his minister Heracleon in 96 BC.
He married thePtolemaic princessTryphaena ca. 125,[4] and had six children by her:
In 102,Cleopatra III of Egypt gave him her daughterCleopatra Selene I in marriage, but she gave him no children. Afterwards, she went to marryAntiochus IX Cyzicenus.[4]
Antiochus VIII Grypus Born: Unknown Died: 96 BC | ||
| Preceded by | Seleucid King(King of Syria) 125–96 BC withCleopatra Thea (126–121/3 BC) | Succeeded by |
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