Abstract
Women of any age have tended to be unnoticed, as men usually claim the central role in most affairs. In studying these royal women, Thessalonice (c. 346 to 340 - 295 B.C.), Phila c. 350 - 267 B.C.), Stratonice (c. 317 - 254 B.C.), Laodice I (unknown but c. 280 - C.238 B.C.), Berenice I (c. 340 - 281 to 271 B.C.) and Arsinoe I (c. 316 - 270 B.C.), who lived nearly 2,300 years ago, the major difficulty has been to find reliable source material, which would enable a reasonable account of their lives to be given. The aim has been to find out as much as possible about their part in the social, political and religious life of their times.
To accomplish this task, many types of sources have been used. These included literary sources, epigraphic sources, papyri, coins and archaeological evidence. The literary sources have been subdivided into three categories; ancient, modern translated collections of ancient documents, and modern historical works about the Hellenistic period. The ancient sources had to be divided again into lost works and those which are still extant.
As a result of the year's study, some conclusions are possible. Though the area of research is still obscure, modern research, especially archaeology, offers hope for future discoveries, which may yet throw light on many unsolved controversies. These arguments arise when ancient sources give several differing accounts of the same event.
Evidence for the lives of the earliest queens studied (Thessalonice and Phila) is very sparse. Only the main facts of their lives, such as their births (Thessalonice), marriages and deaths are recorded. The
intervening years are unrecorded, even though they both lived long lives for the period. In Syria, more is recorded about the queens. However Stratonice remains a shadowy figure, except for her religious devotion. Her life, it seems, was arranged for her by her menfolk, yet we can only guess at what her reactions to this management was. These three women seem to have been contented and loving mothers and wives, but when necessary they could, and did, take control For the last three queens there is much more evidence. Berenice I also appears to have been mainly confined to domestic life. There is little record of her taking political advantage of her position and yet she managed to ensure that her son, and not the eldest son, succeeded his father on the throne. Like
Phila, she seems to have been able to use tact and discretion to gain her purpose .
Arsinoe II and Laodice I were women of purpose, who were ruthless in their struggle to achieve their ambitions. Their common aim was to secure the succession for their children, but they used more direct, and even violent methods, to attain their objects. Whether any of the queens was sincerely religious, even Stratonice, cannot be known from the evidence. The later women, or their menfolk,
seem to have made dedications, erected shrines, received homage and become part of the dynastic cults, but whether this was solely to maintain their political position is unclear. The prestige gained from the religious cults would certainly have pleased Arsinoe II and Laodice I.
A general idea of the six queens' lives and influence has been gained, though there are many areas of which nothing at all can be known.