Arsinoe of Macedon (
Greek: Ἀρσινόη; lived 4th century BC) was a
Macedonian noblewoman and the mother of
Ptolemy (323 – 283 BC),
Pharaoh of
Egypt.
Arsinoe was of the
Argead dynasty, and originally a
concubine of
Philip II, king of
Macedon, and it is said she was given by Philip to
Lagus, a
Macedonian nobleman, while she was pregnant with Ptolemy I Soter, but it is possible that this is a later myth fabricated to glorify the
Ptolemaic Dynasty.[1] Alternately, Ptolemy's lineage to the
Argead dynasty was found through his mother, Arsinoe, in this case Arsinoe is daughter of Meleager, who was a cousin of
Amyntas III and son of Balacrus, son of Amyntas, son of
Alexander I of Macedon. Contemporary and modern research concludes the latter claim much more valid than Philip II as Ptolemy’s father, now dismissed as a myth.[2][3][4][5][6]