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

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, Am lie Kuhrt. Published 1993. Routledge ISBN 0-415-09095-4. At Google books. Accessed February 2008

ca:Aret fila de Cirene sv:Aretaphila av Kyrene