Seleucus, son of Bithys


Seleukos, son of Bithys, was a Ptolemaic governor of Cyprus and admiral in the second century BC.

Life

Seleucus had citizenship of Alexandria and Rhodes. In 157/6 BC, he was honoured at Delphi for his diplomatic intervention with King Ptolemy VI on behalf of the city. Probably immediately after the coronation of Ptolemy VIII in 145 BC, Seleucus was appointed governor of Cyprus and ex officio High Priest of the island. In honour of him, the priests of Aphrodite at Paphos dedicated a statue of him and a second statue was probably dedicated to him by the officers of the Cilician regiment of the Ptolemaic garrison on the island. By 141/0 BC at the latest, Seleucus had acquired the rank of admiral in the Ptolemaic navy – as stated by at least three inscriptions. He retained the governorship and the admiralty until around 130 BC when he must have died at an advanced age. His successor was Crocus.

Family

Seleucus was married to Artemo I, daughter of Theodorus, who had the priestly role of 'basket-bearer' of the deified Arsinoe II in Alexandria in 177/6 BC. She had a son and two daughters: