Ptolemy XII Auletes 1st C. BCE

"Ptolemy XII “Auletes” (117–51 BC) reigned over Greek Egypt on two separate occasions: from 80 to 58 BC, and from 55 to 51 BC. As the illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX, he probably had his portrait recarved from one of a previous sovereign, in a bid to underwrite his disputed authority. The nose, mouth and chin have been restored, and the sideburns and frontal locks appear to have been erased.

A headband (mitra) identifying the king with Dionysus is just visible around the brow. The king referred to himself as “Theos Philopator Philadelphos Neos Dionysos” (“the God who worships his father and loves his brother, the new Dionysus"). His love of the Pan-pipes earned him the nickname Auletes (the “Flute-Player”).

He was father to Cleopatra VII, the Egyptian queen involved in the last tragic events of the Roman Republic."

-taken from Flickr link below


Ptolemy XII Auletes 1st C. BCE. Paris, Musée du Louvre.


Source/Quote:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/69716881@N02/9247558311/in/photostream/

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