Name Ptolemy Eupator | Aunts Cleopatra II of Egypt | |
Role Ptolemy VI Philometor's son Parents Cleopatra II of Egypt, Ptolemy VI Philometor Grandparents Cleopatra I Syra, Ptolemy V Epiphanes Uncles Ptolemy VI Philometor, Ptolemy VIII Physcon Great-grandparents Antiochus III the Great, Ptolemy IV Philopator, Laodice III, Arsinoe III of Egypt Cousins Cleopatra III of Egypt, Cleopatra Thea, Cleopatra Selene I, Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator, Cleopatra IV of Egypt Similar People Ptolemy VI Philometor, Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator, Cleopatra Thea, Cleopatra III of Egypt, Ptolemy VIII Physcon | ||
Ptolemy Eupator was the son of Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II, and for a short time in 152 BCE reigned as co-ruler on Cyprus with his father. It is thought that Ptolemy Eupator died in August of that same year.
Eupator is attested on small number of documents and inscriptions: he is mentioned in a demotic papyrus held by the British Museum, is referenced as a priest of the cult of Alexander during 158-157 BCE, and that he was a co-regent with his father in 152 BCE. Eupator was probably aged 12 or 13 when he died. He also appears in a list of deified Ptolemies.
When he was first discovered, there was a theory that he was an elder brother of his father, and reigned before him. As a result, some 19th-century texts count Ptolemy Philometor as "Ptolemy VII" (instead of "Ptolemy VI"), and increment the numbers of all later Ptolemies by one until "Ptolemy XVI Caesarion" (instead of "Ptolemy XV"). The epithets, which have come down from antiquity, are unchanged. The discovery of his tomb on Cyprus was announced in 2017.