Ptolemy I Soter

Founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt. Conventionally the son of Lagus and Arsinoe; Pausanias also reports a claim that Philip II was his father. Greek poetry presents his deification and Heraclean descent. His Egyptian titulary invokes Re and Amun as royal patrons, not as his biological parents.

Parentage

Recorded default; alternative parentage accounts are listed separately below.

• father: LagusConventional Lagid parentage; the Philip II report is a separate account.Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.1.1 (primary); Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
• mother: Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy IArsinoe is named as the mother of Ptolemy Soter.Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)

Parentage accounts

Each account is a separate source claim. The parentage and children listed outside these accounts use the recorded default. Selecting an account in the interactive app updates its lineage, descent classification and inherited-power candidates. Linked pedigree accounts are selected together; other records retain their recorded parentage. Claims of ancestry are not proof of biological descent or attested powers.

• Satyrus: transmitted divine ancestryFollow the full transmitted maternal pedigree to Heracles and Dionysus. The source is a royal descent claim and may omit generations, particularly around Amyntas and Bocrus; it does not establish a biological percentage or make either god Ptolemy's direct parent. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.

  Claimed divine ancestry; fraction unquantified because the account is incomplete.

  • father: LagusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • mother: Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy ISatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  Complete cited pedigree (23 ancestral accounts)

  • Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy IOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Meleager, father of ArsinoeSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Meleager, father of ArsinoeOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: BocrusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • BocrusThe quotation places Bocrus directly after Amyntas. Bennett notes a chronological gap and a conjecture of omitted generations; those conjectures are not inserted here. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Amyntas I of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Amyntas I of MacedonOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Alcetas I of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Alcetas I of MacedonOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Aeropus I of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Aeropus I of MacedonOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Philip I of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Philip I of MacedonThe transmitted quotation omits Argaeus between Perdiccas and Philip. Herodotus 8.139 is preserved as a separate account. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Perdiccas I of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Perdiccas I of MacedonOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: TyrimmasSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • TyrimmasOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Coenus of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Coenus of MacedonOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Caranus of MacedonSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Caranus of MacedonOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: AristodamidasSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • AristodamidasOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: AcousSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • AcousOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Thestius, son of MaronSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Thestius, son of MaronOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Maron, son of CeisusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • Maron, son of CeisusOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: CeisusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • CeisusOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: TemenusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • TemenusOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: AristomachusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • AristomachusOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: CleodaeusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • CleodaeusOnly the named father is supplied by this passage; the mother remains unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: HyllusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • HyllusOnly the parents named in the transmitted passage are included. Missing coparents remain unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: HeraclesSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    • mother: DeianiraSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • HeraclesThe quoted pedigree explicitly calls Heracles son of Zeus but does not name his mother. Other accounts remain separately available. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: ZeusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • DeianiraThe pedigree names Dionysus and Althaea; the Oeneus account is preserved separately. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: DionysusSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    • mother: AlthaeaSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
  • AlthaeaOnly the parents named in the transmitted passage are included. Missing coparents remain unknown. This is a dynastic ancestry claim, not established biological history.
    • father: Thestius of AetoliaSatyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
    Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
• Lagus and Arsinoe — conventional parentageThe conventional named parents. This does not resolve the competing paternity report preserved by Pausanias.

  mortal by descent in this account.

  • father: LagusPausanias, Description of Greece 1.1.1 (primary); Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
  • mother: Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy ISatyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
  Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.1.1 (primary); Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
• Philip II and Arsinoe — reported alternativePausanias reports a Macedonian claim that Philip II fathered Ptolemy before Arsinoe married Lagus. This is a reported claim, not established biological paternity. Selecting this account follows the sourced paternal pedigree through Philip II; its historical reports remain distinct from Satyrus’s claimed genealogy.

  Descent unresolved; fraction unquantified because the account is incomplete.

  • father: Philip II of MacedonPausanias, Description of Greece 1.6.2 (primary)
  • mother: Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy ISatyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary); Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.6.2 (primary)
  Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.6.2 (primary); Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
  Complete cited pedigree (11 ancestral accounts)

  • Philip II of MacedonThe immediate parents are historical reports. Upstream links carry their individual sources; the group name does not attribute every generation to Herodotus.
    • father: Amyntas III of MacedonDiodorus Siculus, Library of History 15.60.3 (primary)
    • mother: Eurydice, mother of Philip IIJustin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 7.4 (J. S. Watson translation) (primary); Strabo, Geography 7.7.8, Greek text: Eurydice daughter of Sirras (primary)
    Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 15.60.3 (primary); Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 7.4 (J. S. Watson translation) (primary); Strabo, Geography 7.7.8, Greek text: Eurydice daughter of Sirras (primary)
  • Amyntas III of MacedonDiodorus’s paternal report; the competing Menelaus account is a separate choice.
    • father: Arrhidaeus, father of Amyntas IIIDiodorus Siculus, Library of History 15.60.3 (primary)
    Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 15.60.3 (primary)
  • Arrhidaeus, father of Amyntas IIIThis connecting generation is mediated through Bennett; it does not amend Satyrus.
    • father: Amyntas, son of Alexander IThis step is reported by Bennett’s genealogy discussion.Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Arsinoe, note 2.v (reporting Syncellus p. 500 and Beloch, Griechische Geschichte IV.2, p. 177) (secondary)
    Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Arsinoe, note 2.v (reporting Syncellus p. 500 and Beloch, Griechische Geschichte IV.2, p. 177) (secondary)
  • Amyntas, son of Alexander ISecondary reporting of Syncellus, not the conjectured insertion into Satyrus’s text.
    • father: Alexander I of MacedonSyncellus is consulted through Bennett, not independently collated.Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Arsinoe, note 2.v (reporting Syncellus p. 500 and Beloch, Griechische Geschichte IV.2, p. 177) (secondary)
    Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Arsinoe, note 2.v (reporting Syncellus p. 500 and Beloch, Griechische Geschichte IV.2, p. 177) (secondary)
  • Alexander I of MacedonThe immediate father is explicit in Herodotus; the group continues through his earlier king-list.
    • father: Amyntas I of MacedonHerodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
    Herodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
  • Amyntas I of MacedonThe Macedonian ancestry given in Histories 8.139. This account includes Argaeus between Perdiccas and Philip; it is not silently merged with the Satyrus quotation.
    • father: Alcetas I of MacedonHerodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
    Herodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
  • Alcetas I of MacedonThe Macedonian ancestry given in Histories 8.139. This account includes Argaeus between Perdiccas and Philip; it is not silently merged with the Satyrus quotation.
    • father: Aeropus I of MacedonHerodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
    Herodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
  • Aeropus I of MacedonThe Macedonian ancestry given in Histories 8.139. This account includes Argaeus between Perdiccas and Philip; it is not silently merged with the Satyrus quotation.
    • father: Philip I of MacedonHerodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
    Herodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
  • Philip I of MacedonThe Macedonian ancestry given in Histories 8.139. This account includes Argaeus between Perdiccas and Philip; it is not silently merged with the Satyrus quotation.
    • father: Argaeus I of MacedonHerodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
    Herodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
  • Argaeus I of MacedonThe Macedonian ancestry given in Histories 8.139. This account includes Argaeus between Perdiccas and Philip; it is not silently merged with the Satyrus quotation.
    • father: Perdiccas I of MacedonHerodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
    Herodotus, Histories 8.139 (primary)
  • Eurydice, mother of Philip IIHer mother is unnamed in the adopted Greek text. Arrhabaeus is a grandfather, not a direct parent.
    • father: SirrasGreek text and the inscription discussed by Landucci support Sirras as her father. Some older translations print a different reading.Strabo, Geography 7.7.8, Greek text: Eurydice daughter of Sirras (primary); Franca Landucci Gattinoni, Illyrians and Macedonians in the Fifth Century BC: An impossible peace, Karanos Supplement I (2024), pp. 125-126 and notes 28-35 (secondary)
    Strabo, Geography 7.7.8, Greek text: Eurydice daughter of Sirras (primary); Franca Landucci Gattinoni, Illyrians and Macedonians in the Fifth Century BC: An impossible peace, Karanos Supplement I (2024), pp. 125-126 and notes 28-35 (secondary)

Children

• Eirene, daughter of Ptolemy I
• Lagus, son of Ptolemy I
• Leontiscus

Epithets

• stp-n-Ra mrj-Jmn — Chosen by Re, beloved of Amun EgyptianEgyptian royal throne name; it expresses divine favor rather than biological parentage.Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Ptolemy I, notes 12 and 15: Stele Vienna 153; Gauthier, Livre des Rois IV, p. 216 (V) (secondary)

Relations

• father: LagusConventional Lagid parentage; the Philip II report is a separate account.Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.1.1 (primary); Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
• mother: Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy IArsinoe is named as the mother of Ptolemy Soter.Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
• father (dynastic pedigree): LagusNamed parent in the Satyrus pedigree; select that account to display the claimed lineage.Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
• mother (dynastic pedigree): Arsinoe, mother of Ptolemy INamed parent in the Satyrus pedigree; select that account to display the claimed lineage.Satyrus, dynastic genealogy preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (Greek text) (primary)
• lover: ThaisPlutarch describes Thais as Ptolemy’s mistress. This partner relationship does not establish a legal marriage.Plutarch, Alexander 38.1-2 (primary)
• reported spouse: ThaisAthenaeus reports marriage after Alexander’s death. Bennett considers marriage probable; Bevan treats Thais as a concubine. Formal status and precise date remain uncertain; Plutarch’s earlier mistress description does not by itself contradict a later marriage.Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 13.576d-e (C. D. Yonge translation, 1854) (primary); Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Thais, notes 2-5 (secondary); E. R. Bevan, The House of Ptolemy (1927), chapter II, pp. 52-53 (secondary)
• father of: Lagus, son of Ptolemy IAthenaeus names this child of Ptolemy and Thais.Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 13.576d-e (C. D. Yonge translation, 1854) (primary)
• father of: LeontiscusAthenaeus names this child of Ptolemy and Thais.Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 13.576d-e (C. D. Yonge translation, 1854) (primary)
• father of: Eirene, daughter of Ptolemy IAthenaeus names this child of Ptolemy and Thais.Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 13.576d-e (C. D. Yonge translation, 1854) (primary)
• spouse: ArtakamaMarriage at Susa; continuation or dissolution after Alexander’s death is not established.Arrian, Anabasis 7.4.4-8 (E. J. Chinnock translation), especially 7.4.6 (primary)
• sibling: Menelaus, son of LagusThe source calls Menelaus Ptolemy's brother without establishing their shared maternity.Plutarch, Demetrius 15.2 and 16.1-4 (primary)
• reported father: Philip II of MacedonAlternative paternity reported by Pausanias; excluded from the conventional parentage.Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.6.2 (primary)
• descendant of: HeraclesTheocritus presents Heracles as an ancestor of Ptolemy. This is a distant descent claim, not direct parenthood.Theocritus, Idyll 17.13-33 (primary)
• descendant of: DionysusThe transmitted Satyrus pedigree is available as a complete selectable claimed ancestry account. It is not independently established biological history.Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
• beloved of: AmunThe Egyptian throne name calls the ruler beloved of Amun. This is royal favor, not a father-child relationship.Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Ptolemy I, notes 12 and 15: Stele Vienna 153; Gauthier, Livre des Rois IV, p. 216 (V) (secondary)
• chosen by: RaThe Egyptian throne name calls the ruler chosen by Re. This is royal election, not biological descent.Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Ptolemy I, notes 12 and 15: Stele Vienna 153; Gauthier, Livre des Rois IV, p. 216 (V) (secondary)

Sources

• Royal career, chronology and disputed paternity.: Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.6.2 (primary); Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Ptolemy I, notes 1-4 and 7-11 (secondary)
• Named parents in the transmitted dynastic pedigree.: Satyrus, FGrH 631 F 2, preserved in Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.7 (primary)
• Posthumous divine honor and claimed Heraclean descent.: Theocritus, Idyll 17.13-33 (primary)
• Egyptian throne name invokes Re and Amun.: Chris Bennett, Egyptian Royal Genealogy, Ptolemy I, notes 12 and 15: Stele Vienna 153; Gauthier, Livre des Rois IV, p. 216 (V) (secondary)