Second Horus name:ḥwnw ḥkn.tw-ḥr-nst-jt.f tjt-ḏsr(t)-nt-nsw-nṯrw stp-n-jmn-ḏs.fHunu hekentuhernesutitef titdjeser(et)netnesunetjeru setepenamundjesefThe youthful one, about whose father’s throne one is joyful, the sacred image of the king of the gods, chosen by Atum himself Third Horus name: ḥwnw ḥri-tp-pḏt zꜢ-wsjrj msj-n-Ꜣst šzp-n.f-nsyt-rꜤ-mꜤ-jt.fHunu heryteppedjet zausiry mesyenaset shesepenefnesytramaitefThe youthful one, leader of the Nine Bows, the son of Osiris, whom Isis has borne, who has received for himself the kingship of Ra from his father’s hand Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon[note 1] (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης Τρύφων, Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphōn, "Ptolemy the Benefactor, the Opulent"; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon (Φύσκων, Physkōn, "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.

Ptolemy V's reign had been dominated by the Fifth Syrian War (204–198 BC), in which the Ptolemaic realm fought against the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who ruled the Near East and Asia Minor.

In that war, Antiochus III had completely defeated the Ptolemaic forces, annexed Coele-Syria and Judaea to his empire, and reduced Egypt to a subordinate position.

[9] In October 170 BC, Ptolemy VIII, now about sixteen, was promoted to the status of co-regent and incorporated into the Ptolemaic dynastic cult as one of the Theoi Philomētores (Mother-loving gods) alongside his brother and sister, who had now been married to one another.

[1][10][11] John Grainger argues that these ceremonies were intended to paper over the factional differences that had developed in the court and to promote unity in the run-up to war.

[19][20] Antiochus IV responded by placing Alexandria under siege, but he was unable to take the city and withdrew from Egypt in September 169 BC, as winter approached, leaving Ptolemy VI as his puppet king in Memphis and retaining a garrison in Pelusium.

[26] However, the Ptolemies had appealed to Rome for help over the winter and a Roman embassy led by Gaius Popillius Laenas confronted Antiochus at the town of Eleusis and forced him to agree to a settlement, bringing the war to an end.

He went to the border between Egypt and Cyrene, waiting with a force of 1,000 Cretan mercenaries at a small town just west of Paraetonium for the results of the Roman negotiations with Ptolemy VI.

[40][41][42] However, when Torquatus and Merula arrived in Alexandria, Ptolemy VI successfully put them off until he heard about the revolt, at which point he refused their demands.

[48] An inscription from 155 BC, set up in the aftermath of the assassination attempt records Ptolemy VIII's will, in which he bequeaths Cyrenaica to Rome if he died childless.

While the exact details of their meeting remain uncertain, Athenaeus' references to Ptolemy VIII's Memoirs suggest the occurrence of a banquet hosted by Massinissa.

[56] During this event, Massinissa reportedly expressed astonishment at the Syracusans' preference for pet monkeys over children, an anecdote recounted by Ptolemy VIII.

[62] It is probably in this period that Ptolemy VIII gained a number of pejorative nicknames, including Physkōn ("fatty")[63] and Kakergetēs ("Malefactor") - a pun on his official epithet Euergetēs ("Benefactor").

According to Justin, Ptolemy VIII did the deed personally, on the night of his wedding to Cleopatra II in 145 BC, and the boy died in his mother's arms.

[65] By the late 140s BC, Ptolemy Memphites had been declared heir,[60] and was depicted as king on reliefs of the Temple of Edfu, although there is no evidence for any co-regency between him and his father.

Apparently in response to this new marriage and with the support of Cleopatra II, an Athamanian mercenary captain formerly in Ptolemaic service, Galaestes, initiated a revolt.

In Greece, he gathered an army of other Ptolemaic exiles, then announced that he had a young son of Ptolemy VI in his care and crowned this boy as king.

[69] In the same year, Ptolemy VIII received a Roman embassy, led by Scipio Aemilianus, which was intended to effect a peaceful settlement of all affairs in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Impressed by Paos' success against Harsiesi, they promoted him to command over the whole of Upper Egypt and put him in charge of the whole military apparatus - the first time that a native Egyptian had held such a prominent position.

[78][79][74] In order to prevent Demetrius II from returning once he had dealt with these revolts, Ptolemy VIII agreed to a request that he had received from a group of rebels in Syria, who had asked him to send them a royal pretender to lead them.

It is difficult to tell whether various anecdotes recording the bloody slaughter that Ptolemy VIII presided over belong to this event or to the earlier purge of 145 BC.

To solidify their reconciliation and restore peace and prosperity to Egypt, the royal trio issued the Amnesty Decree in April 118 BC, which survives in a number of papyrus copies.

[89] This decree pardoned all crimes other than murder and temple robbing committed before 118 BC, encouraged refugees to return home and reclaim their property, waived all back-taxes, confirmed land grants made to soldiers during the civil war, affirmed temple land holdings and tax privileges, and instructed tax officials to use standardised weights and measures on pain of death.

[38] At the start of his second reign in 145 BC, Ptolemy VIII was definitely incorporated into the dynastic cult, with him and Cleopatra II becoming the Theoi Euergetai ('Benefactor Gods').

From May 118 BC, shortly after the final reconciliation of the royal trio, a new king was incorporated into the dynastic cult, Theos Neos Philopatōr ("New Father-loving God").

In recent scholarship, Ptolemy Memphites is generally the preferred candidate, with his deification serving as an indication that the prince had posthumously reconciled with his father and murderer.

This new position was called the 'Hieros Polos (sacred foal) of Isis, Great Mother of the Gods' and was placed immediately after the priest of Alexander and ahead of all the priestesses of the previous queens in the order of precedence.

He is reported to have written a study of Homer at some point before 145 BC and twenty-four books of Hypomnemata ('Notes'), a miscellaneous collection of paradoxography, including stories about historical and contemporary monarchs, as well as exotic wildlife, and other topics.

[95] The Ptolemies had long retained a network of trading stations throughout the Red Sea, which enabled them to acquire gold, ivory, and elephants from the Horn of Africa.

However, to avoid causing confusion with a large body of accummulated literature already labeling him "Ptolemy VIII Euergetes", most scholars have continued to refer to him with that numbering.