Athenais Philostorgos II

Who is Athenais Philostorgos II?

Athenais Philostorgos II her surname can be spelt as Philostorgus, she is sometimes known as Athenais of Pontus was a Princess from the Kingdom of Pontus and through marriage was a Roman Client Queen of Cappadocia.

Athenais was a Princess of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. She was the child of King Mithridates VI of Pontus from his second marriage to the Anatolian Greek Macedonian noblewoman and Pontian Queen Monime. When Athenais was born, her parents gave her a traditional ancient Greek name. She was born and raised in the Kingdom of Pontus.

Athenais married the Cappadocian Prince and later King Ariobarzanes II Philopator, who was of Persian and Greek descent. Ariobarzanes II succeeded his father as King in 63 BC-62 BC, when his father Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios abdicated his throne. When Ariobarzanes II became King, Athenais became Cappadocian Queen and she also inherited the honorific title of Philostorgos, which was the honorific surname of the mother Ariobarzanes II, Athenais Philostorgos I.

Athenais was related to the previous Kings and monarchs of Cappadocia, as her paternal aunt Laodice of Cappadocia was a Queen; her paternal cousins: Ariarathes VI, Ariarathes VII, Ariarathes VIII and her paternal half-brother Ariarathes IX served as previous Kings of Cappadocia. Through her Seleucid and paternal lineage, Athenais was related to the ancestors of Ariarathes VI.