Ptolemy II, Philadelphus 308-246BC
King of Egypt

He was the son and successor (246BC) of Ptolemy I, Soter, and under him the power of Egypt attained its greatest height. He was generally successful in his external wars, founded the Museum and Library, purchased many valuable manuscripts of Greek literature, and attracted leading Greek intellectuals to his court. The Egyptian history of Manetho was dedicated to him, but the story that he commissioned the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures (the Septuagint) is open to doubt.

Bibliography: E R Bevan, The House of Ptolemy: A History of Egypt Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty (rev edn, 1968)