Aretaphila of Cyrene

Aretaphila of Cyrene (flourished c. 50 BC, Cyrene, an ancient Greek colony in North Africa) was a Cyrenean noble woman who according to Plutarch in his work De mulierum virtutes (On the Virtues of Women), deposed the tyrant Nicocrates.^[1]^[2]

Aretaphilia was compelled to marry the tyrant Nicocrates after he had killed her husband, Phaedimus. She first tried to poison Nicocrates but was discovered and tortured. She then, arranged a marriage of her own daughter to the tyrant's brother, Leander. She was then able to convince Leander to murder Nicocrates.^[1]^[2]

She went on to manoeuvre Leander into a war with the native Libyans, which ended with his capture and execution.^[1]

Seen as a heroic liberator, Aretaphila was invited to join the new government of her country, but she declined, and returned to a domestic life.^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Brooklyn Museum Dinner party database
^ ^a ^b Images of Women in Antiquity. By Averil Cameron, Amélie Kuhrt

References

Aretaphilia of Cyrene at the Brooklyn Museum Dinner party database of notable women. Accessed February 2008
De Mulierum Virtutibus by Plutarch as published in Vol. III of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1931. Accessed February 2008
Images of Women in Antiquity By Averil Cameron, Amélie Kuhrt. Published 1993. Routledge ISBN 0415090954. At Google books. Accessed February 2008

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Name	Aretaphila Of Cyrene
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