Polemon II of Pontus
Roman Client King of Pontus, Colchis and Cilicia
Years: 12BCE - 74
Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon II of Pontus and Polemon of Cilicia (12 BCE/11 BCE – 74) is a prince and Roman Client King of Pontus, Colchis and Cilicia.
Polemon II is the second son and middle child of the Pontic Rulers Polemon Pythodoros and Pythodorida of Pontus.
His eldest brother is Zenon, also known as Artaxias III, who is Roman Client King of Armenia, and his youngest sister is Antonia Tryphaena, who is married to Cotys VIII, King of Thrace.
The Pontic royal family is of mixed Anatolian Greek and Roman origin.
His paternal grandmother is unknown, however his paternal grandmother could have been named Tryphaena, while his paternal grandfather was Zenon, a prominent orator and aristocrat, who was an ally to Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.
His maternal grandparents were Pythodoros of Tralles, a wealthy Greek and friend of Pompey, and Antonia.
Polemon II is the namesake of his parents and his maternal grandparents.
Through his maternal grandmother he is a direct descendant of Mark Antony and his second wife Antonia Hybrida Minor.
Antony and Antonia Hybrida were first paternal cousins.
He is Antony’s second-born great grandson and great grandchild.
Polemon II is the only known male descendant of Mark Antony that carries his name.
The other male descendant of Mark Antony who carries a form of his name, Antonius, is the consul Quintus Haterius Antoninus.
Through Antony, his great maternal aunt was Queen Cleopatra Selene II of Mauretania.
Through Antony, he is a distant cousin to Roman Client King Ptolemy of Mauretania and the princesses named Drusilla of Mauretania.
Through Antony, he is a distant cousin to Roman Emperors Caligula, Claudius and Nero and Roman Empresses Valeria Messalina, Agrippina the Younger and Claudia Octavia.
