Ptolemy

Who was Ptolemy?

Ptolemy was the oldest son of king Pyrrhus of Epirus and his first wife Antigone, who probably died in childbirth. He was named in honour of his mother's stepfather, king Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt, who was a benefactor to Pyrrhus in his youth.

In 272 BC Ptolemy accompanied his father on a military campaign in the Peloponnese, where he commanded his personal guard. During the retreat from Sparta he was attacked by a Lacedaemonian force under Eualcus and slain by the Cretan Oroissus of Aptera. His father avenged his death killing Eualcus, but fell a few days later in the streets of Argos.

Ptolemy had an older sister called Olympias and two younger half-brothers, Alexander and Helenus.