Cypros II – The Jewish Queen who made a tapestry of the ancient world

Queen Cypros II was the wife of King Herod Agrippa I of Judea. Queen Cypros II was once an artist who made a map of the ancient world on a tapestry.^[1] Sadly, her tapestry has been lost to us in history.^[2] Queen Cypros II also had two coins made in her image.^[3] Thus, she was a respected and admirable queen.

Queen Cypros II was born in circa 10 C.E.^[4] She was the daughter of Salampsio (the daughter of King Herod the Great and his executed wife, Queen Mariamne I) and Phasael II (the nephew of King Herod the Great).^[5] Therefore, Cypros II was descended from both the Herodian and the Hasmonean royal dynasties.^[6] Cypros II was named after Cypros I, the mother of King Herod the Great.^[7]

Sometime after 23 C.E., Herod Agrippa I arrived in Judea after living in Rome. He married his cousin, Cypros II.^[8] According to Josephus, Herod Agrippa was often depressed because he lived in political obscurity within the Judean court and often contemplated suicide.^[9] In 25 C.E., Cypros II, fearing that her husband would actually commit suicide, wrote to Herodias (her sister-in-law) for a job promotion.^[10] With Herodias’s help, Herod Agrippa I was made the inspector of the markets of Tiberia.^[11] However, historian Tal Ilan doubts Josephus’s story because it seemed like a network connection between women who manipulated their husbands in politics.^[12] Cypros II gave birth to four children. They were Herod Agrippa II, Julia Berenice I, Mariamne, and Drusilla.

In 34 C.E., Herod Agrippa I was displeased with his post and resigned.^[13] He decided to return to Rome.^[14] Cypros II accompanied her husband to Alexandria while he was en route to Rome.^[15] Once she arrived, she obtained a loan from Alexander, the chief magistrate of the Jewish community in Alexandria. This loan funded her husband’s living expenses in Rome.^[16] In 36 C.E., Emperor Caligula made Herod Agrippa I the King of Judea.^[17] Thus, Cypros II became Queen of Judea.

King Herod Agrippa I had two coins of his wife that bear the inscription, “Cypros”^[18] or “Queen Cypros”^[19] on them.^[20] On one coin is Queen Cypros II’s bust.^[21] On another coin Queen Cypros II “is standing, face forward.”^[22] These coins are evidence that King Herod Agrippa I greatly respected his queen.^[23] King Herod Agrippa I also erected statues of his daughters in his palace in Caesarea.^[24] King Herod Agrippa I died in 44 C.E. Queen Cypros II outlived her husband.^[25] She died circa 50 C.E.^[26] She was said to be a great artist.^[27] There is an epigram of her that is attributed to Phillip of Thessalonica.^[28] It went:

“Modeling all with shuttle laboring on the loom, Cypros made a perfect copy of the harvest-bearing earth, all that the land-encircling ocean girdles, obedient to great Caesar, the grey sea too…it was a Queen’s duty to bring gifts so long due to gods.”^[29]

In this epigram, Dr Tal Ilan believes that it showed Queen Cypros II was a talented artist who made a tapestry of the ancient world that was greatly admired.^[30] This may have proven that Queen Cypros II may have been knowledgeable in both geography and cartography.^[31] While very few facts about Queen Cypros II are known, it is clear that she was a respected queen and an artist.^[32] She was deeply admired by her husband and her contemporaries. It is truly sad that her tapestry has not survived today.^[33]

Sources:

M. Brann (.1906). “Agrippa I. (M. Juliius Agrippa, also known as Herod Agrippa I.)”. The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved on April 28, 2023 from https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/912-agrippa-i.

Ilan, T. (2022). Queen Berenice: A Jewish Female Icon of the First Century CE. Netherlands: Brill.