BERENICE (BERNICE). - Sister of Agrippa II, daughter of King Herod Agrippa I (d. 44 AD). She married Herod, king of Chalcis, her father's brother. Left a widow at 21, she lived scandalously with her brother. Later she married Polemon I, king of Cilicia, but soon abandoned him to return to her brother. During this period, around 60, Agrippa II and B., passing through Caesarea Maritima, were invited by the procurator Festus to hear the defense of St. Paul, who had appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:13-26:12). Subsequently B. succeeded in seducing the already aged Vespasian, and Titus, who would have married the Jewish woman had he not feared the disapproval of the Roman people.

Besides Flavius Josephus (Antiq. Iud., XIX, 5, 1 and 9, 1; XX, 7, 2; Bell. Iud., II, 15, 1 and 17, 6; Vita, 65), those who speak of B. include: Cassius Dio, 66, 18; Juvenal, VI, 155-160; Tacitus, Hist., II, 2, 81; Suetonius, Titus, 7, 1. The tragedies of Racine (Bérénice) and of Corneille (Titus et Bérénice) are well known.

Pietro De Ambroggi

@incollection{ec2_berenice_bernice, author = {De, Ambroggi Pietro}, title = {Berenice (Bernice)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {II}, pages = {1378}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/berenice-bernice} }

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