Berenice I was Queen of Egypt by marriage to Ptolemy I Soter. She became the second queen, after Eurydice, of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.
Berenice I with her second husband Ptolemy I Soter
Portraits of Berenice I and Ptolemy I Soter on a golden octodrachm minted in Alexandria in c. 265 BC
Ptolemy I Soter was a Macedonian Greek general, historian, and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt and led by his progeny from 305 BC – 30 BC. Ptolemy was basileus and pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 305/304 BC to his death, during which time Egypt became a thriving bastion of Hellenistic civilization and Alexandria a great seat of Greek culture.
Bust of Ptolemy I Soter, located at the Louvre.
Ptolemaic coin showing Alexander the Great wearing an elephant scalp, a symbol of his conquest in India
Coin of Ptolemy I, British Museum, London
Ptolemy I gold stater with elephant quadriga, Cyrenaica