502 
E G Y P T. 
Almighty-God for their deliverance, and obtained it : 
for on the third day, when Ptolemy had taken his feat, 
and the elephants were let loofe upon the trembling pri- 
feners, thofe powerful animals, indead of alfailing the 
captive Jews, turned the whole of their rage upon the 
fpeCtators, foldiers, and affidants, and dedroyed great 
numbers of them ; which, together with fome Angular 
appearances in the air, fo terrified Philopator, that he 
immediately gave orders for the liberation of the cap¬ 
tives; publicly acknowledged the power of their God, 
and drove to deprecate his wrath by reinfiating the Jews 
in their former privileges, bellowing upon them many fa¬ 
vours, and loading them with prefents at their departure. 
In the ninth year of this reign, two ambafladors arrived 
at Alexandria to propofe a renewal of the ancient friend- 
fliip and alliance that had fubfided between the Romans 
and Egyptians. Shortly after this embalfy, Ptolemy had 
an opportunity of obliging the-Romans, by refeuing one 
of their mod illudrious officers from captivity, and by 
honouring him with his favour and protection. Arfinoe, 
the queen, who had for fieveral years been barren, was at 
length delivered of a fon, ftirnamed Epiphanes, or the II- 
luftrious. His birth occafioned great rejoicings in the 
kingdom ; and many of the Syrian and Phoenician nobles 
went to Alexandria to congratulate Ptolemy on the occa- 
fion: but the king, pm fuing his cudomary diverlions, 
devoted his time to drinking, gaming, and intemperance. 
Arfinoe, (hocked at his infamous conduct, reproached 
him with fnch feverity, that orders were given to Sofibius 
for her alfaffinatton. Soon after the death of this prin- 
cefs, Ptolemy fixed liis affeCtions upon Agathoclea, a 
woman of mean extraction ; and was fo abl'olutely go¬ 
verned by her, by CEnanthcs her mother, and Agatho- 
cles her brother, that his power was literally veiled in 
their hands, and all the civil and military offices were 
filled with their creatures and favourites. Tire murder 
of Arfinoe incenfed the populace fo violently againd So¬ 
fibius, that Ptolemy was obliged to difmifs him, and to 
raife to the office of prime-minider a young man of qua¬ 
lity named Tlepolemus, who had fignalized himfelf in 
the army, and was at that time the king’s treafurer. 
Ptolemy, having exhauded a robud conditution bv in¬ 
temperance and debauchery, died in the thirty-feventh 
year of his age, and the feventeenth of his reign. He 
was one of the mod wicked princes that ever governed a 
kingdom. He began his career with the murder of an in¬ 
nocent brother, and terminated it with the alfaffination 
of an affectionate wife. His whole time was devoted to 
the gratification of his ruling paffions, fome of which 
were of the moll detedable nature : his fubjeCts groaned 
beneath the oppredion of his abandoned courtiers; and 
the date of his affairs was in the utrnod eonfudon. He 
is, however, celebrated for his liberality towards the 
Rhodians, who were involved in the deeped diltrefs by 
an earthquake ; for his encouragement of learning ; and 
for His erection of a magnificent temple in honour of 
Homer, whofe datue was placed in the center of the 
edifice, and lurrounded with the reprefentations of the 
feveral cities that claimed the honour of his birth. As 
the only p'erfons prefent at the death of the king were 
Agathocles, his filter, and their creatures, they concealed 
the news as long as poIUble, and in the mean time appro¬ 
priated to their own ufe all the money, jewels, and other 
valuables, found in the palace; they alio formed a pro¬ 
ject for ufurping the. regency during the minority of the 
young prince, and vainly fuppofed that the death of 
Tlepolemus, the new minider, would efiablilh their de- 
fign. When, therefore, they thought proper to publilli 
the king’s death, they affembled a council of thofe Alex¬ 
andrians who were of the Macedonian race; informing 
them that Philopator had, with his departing breath, re¬ 
commended his young fuccedbr to the care of Agatho¬ 
cles ; and exhorted them to take vengeance on Tlepole¬ 
mus, who had formed the ambitious deligis of afeending 
the throne. Agathocles, who fpoke to this purport in 
the adembly, imagined this weak artifice would have 
exafperated the people againd Tlepolemus ; but his ma¬ 
licious contrivance was fo ill difguifed, that he drew upon 
his own head the dedruction which he had planned for 
the minider. The people of Alexandria, recollecting 
the numerous crimes and oppreffiows of Agathocles and 
his party, rofe in a general tumult, and having placed 
the young king on the throne in the hippodrome, brought 
before him Agathocles, Agathoclea, and their mother 
CEnan lies, and caufed them to be put to death ; after 
which their bodies were dragged through the dreets, and 
torn in pieces by the multitude. 
Ptolemy Epiphanes, the fon and fuccefior of Philo¬ 
pator, was but five years old at the time of his father’s 
death, before Chrid 204. During his minority Antiochus 
the Great, and Philip of Macedon, fubdued the provinces 
of Ceelo-Syria and Paledine; but were foou obliged to 
relinquifli them to Aridomenes, the prime-minider of 
Egypt. In the third year of his reign three deputies were 
fent to Alexandria to notify the victory which the Romans 
had gained over Hannibal, and the treaty of peace con¬ 
cluded between Rome and Carthage; (fee Carthage,) 
to thank Epiphanes for his faithful attachment to the 
republic, at a time when the neighbouring nations had 
renounced her alliance through,cowardice; and to intreat 
him alfo to continue his amity with the Romans, in cafe 
Philip ffiould compel them to carry the war into Mace¬ 
don. The Egyptian nobles, who were guardians to the 
prince, encouraged by this embalfy, thought it advifable 
to place their young king and his dominions under the 
protection of the Roman fenate ; which they accordingly 
did, by fending a deputation to Rome fur that purpole. 
The fenate, in compliance with their requed, empowered 
M. Lepidus to take upon hinrthe guardianlhip, which, 
after a fiiort day at Alexandria, he conferred upon Arido¬ 
menes, an experienced minider, and perfectly acquainted 
with the aftairs of Egypt. He accordingly accepted the 
honourable charge, and acquitted himfelf in it with pru¬ 
dence and fidelity. In the commencement of his admini- 
dration he perfuaded Ptolemy to offer the mod unequi¬ 
vocal proofs of friend fit ip to the Romans; and prudently 
renewed the ancient alliance between the kingdom of 
Egypt and the republic of Achaia. . 
Ptolemy Epiphanes, having arrived at the age of four¬ 
teen, was folemnly crowned and inveded with full aS;hc- 
rity, in the year before Chrid 195. But no fooner had he 
aifumed the reins of government, than he became the 
prey of flatterers and para.fites, who foon_abliterated from 
his mind the judicious councils of his tutor, and rendered 
the latter part ot his reign tyrannical and infamous. 
Aridomenes did not indeed tamely fubmit to this conta¬ 
mination of his royal pupil's difpofition, but frequently 
prefumed to give him advice, and befought-him to adopt 
a mode of life that might prove more advantageous to his 
fubjeCts and honourable to himfelf. Epiphanes was fo 
highly offended at this liberty, that he palled a fentence 
of death upon his affectionate cenfor ; and abandoned him¬ 
felf fo entirely to every fpecies of intemperance, that the 
Egyptians began to ffirink from his tyrahnic power, and 
formed a confpiracy for the purpole of driving him from 
the throne. At this perilous ends he raifed Polycrates, 
a man of abilities and experience, to the office of prime- 
minider, and by his prudence obliged the leaders of the 
rebellion to fubmit upon certain conditions ; but, after 
promiling them life and liberty, he treated them in the 
mod cruel manner, and caufed them all to be put to death. 
This treachery involved him in frefh difficulties, but he 
was again extricated by the policy of Ids faithful minider. 
He maintained a drict friendlhip with the Romans during 
the whole of his reign ; and offered them a thoufand 
pounds weight of gold, and twenty thoufand of diver, to 
profecute tlie war againd’his father-in-law Antiochus, 
king of Syria. He hated Antiochus on account of the. 
didurbances he had occafioned in Egypt, and his queen 
was (hocked at the cruelty of her parent, who fee ms to 
have 
