Cleopatra Thea

Here is a revised memorial biography for Cleopatra Thea, based strictly on well-supported facts:

Cleopatra Thea (Koine Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Θεά, "Cleopatra the Goddess"), also surnamed Eueteria (Greek: εὐετηρῐ́ᾱ, “good‑harvest” or “fruitful season”), was born around 164 BC in Egypt as the daughter of Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II of Egypt.(en.wikipedia.org)

As a Ptolemaic princess, she became intertwined with the Seleucid dynasty through her marriages. Around 150 BC, she first married Alexander Balas, whom her father supported as a client king of Syria; this union produced at least one son, Antiochus VI.(en.wikipedia.org) After Alexander’s death, she married Demetrius II Nicator in 145 BC; they had several children, including Seleucus V and Antiochus VIII Grypus.(en.wikipedia.org) Following Demetrius' capture by the Parthians, Cleopatra married his brother Antiochus VII Sidetes around 137 BC, bearing him at least one son, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus, and possibly other children.(en.wikipedia.org)

Cleopatra Thea distinguished herself as a rare case of female rulership in the Seleucid realm. Around 126 BC, she became the first woman in the dynasty to rule in her own right over parts of Phoenician Syria, initially ruling alone and then as co-regent with her son Antiochus VIII Grypus until her death.(onlinelibrary.wiley.com) Following Demetrius II’s assassination in 125 BC—on her orders—she elevated and shared power with Grypus, ruling jointly from 125 to about 121 BC.(en.wikipedia.org)

Her life ended dramatically: in approximately 121 BC, she allegedly attempted to poison her son Grypus; he, however, thwarted her plan and forced her to drink the poison herself, resulting in her death.(en.wikipedia.org)

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This narrative condenses the key, verifiable facts about Cleopatra Thea’s lineage, marriages, regency, and death into a respectful and factual memorial.