Berenice II of Egypt e, born around -267 and murdered in -221, was the daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene and his wife Apamae. She was the first queen to mint coins bearing her image.
At the Nemean Games and the Olympic Games
In -249, Berenice II married a Macedonian prince, Demetrios Kallos. But Demetrios, arriving in Cyrene, becomes the lover of Berenice's mother, Apamae. Jealous, Bérénice has him murdered in Apamae's room.
In -246, she married Ptolemy III with whom she exercised the co-regency for fourteen years. Berenice had no children with Demetrios, but she had five with Ptolemy:Ptolemy IV, Magas, Lysimachus, Alexander, Arsinoe III and Berenice. After the birth of Ptolemy IV, she built a temple to the goddess Bastet, goddess of motherhood.
Between -245 and -241, Berenice is said to have participated in the Nemean Games, one of the four most important pan-Hellenic sports competitions, as well as in the Olympic Games at an indefinite period.
Bérénice's hair
During a campaign of Ptolemy in Syria, Berenice II would have made a vow to the Goddess Aphrodite to sacrifice her hair to her in exchange for the return of her husband. The offering having disappeared mysteriously, the court astronomer, Conon of Samos explained it by pointing to a star cluster and saying that the offering had pleased the goddess so much that she had carried it to the heavens and placed it in the stars. This constellation is also called the hair of Berenice.