["Seleucid Empire 301 BC,"]
[Drawn by Gabagool, edited by TRAJAN, Source: Wikimedia Commons]
- Antigonos I, called Monophtalmus (One-eyed) for what I should assume were obvious reasons. He was not actually a Seleukid but I include him here because he ruled Babylon and the area around it until it was taken from Seleukos I.
- Seleukos I, called Nikator (Victor) because of his victory over Antigonos I, who had previously driven him out of Babylon, which had been allotted to him after Alexander’s death. No Hunger Games references please.
- Seleukos II, called Kallinikos (Beautiful victor) or Pogon (Bearded). Funny story, the coins depicting him don’t really show a beard. Maybe it just got worn off.
[Coin depicting Seleukos II, Reverse shows Apollo leaning on a tripod]
[Photographed by ESnible, Source: Wikimedia Commons]
- Seleukos IV, called Philopator (Father-loving). Note: this probably means simply that he venerated his father, but it’s worth pointing out that he married his own sister.
- Antiokos V, called Eupator (Of a good father). Considering his father was known as Epiphanes (God-manifest), I suppose that’s not surprising.
- Seleukos V, called Philometor (Mother-loving). Yeah, his mother had him assassinated less than a year into his reign.
- Antiokos VIII, called Grypos (Hook-nose), probably for obvious reasons.
- Demetrius III, called Eukairos (Timely One), possibly a misreading of Aikairos (Untimely One).
- Phillip II, called Philoromaios. He was the last king before the Romans deposed him and took over.
Obviously this isn’t all of them, but it’s a good list of the ones I find funny.
*A lot of people use the Romanized spellings: Seleucus, Antiochus, and Seleucid. I prefer the transliterations from Greek for two reasons. First, those are the spellings I learned
Sources:
Shipley, Graham. The Greek World After Alexander 323-30 BC. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Wikipedia. "Seleucid Empire." Accessed 12 Nov. 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid_Empire