Fun fact #2: Was there a "Philadelphia" in ancient Egypt?

There was a city of Philadelphia (which meant, in ancient Greek, “City of Brotherly Love”) located in Egypt, about 75 miles to the southwest of modern day Cairo, founded during the Ptolemaic Period (305-30 BCE).  Much about what we now know of this ancient Philadelphia is due to a discovery in the early 1900s of more than 2000 documents written on papyrus that give us insight into all aspects of society in the 3rd century BCE.  This ancient city was dedicated to Queen Arsinoe II, the sister/wife of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BCE). Queen Arsinoe II was the king's second wife, reigning with him for about seven years.   Influential at court, she was clearly beloved by her brother.  Both of these rulers were given the nickname or epithet "brother-loving" due to their sibling relationship.  While this brother-sister marriage may have been shocking to the Greek population resident in Egypt, there was a long tradition of royal and divine brother-sister pairs in Egyptian history and tradition, the best known being the gods Isis and Osiris.

<--Back to #1 -- Fun Fact #2 -- Forward to #3-->

Look for the Year of Egypt Funfacts in the University City Review!