Glaphyra

Glaphyra was a Cappadocian princess and queen consort who lived during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. She was of Greek, Armenian and Persian descent.

Glaphyra's father was Archelaus, the last king of Cappadocia, a Roman client king under Roman emperor Augustus. Her mother was likely an Armenian princess, possibly connected to the Artaxiad Dynasty. She had two brothers, Archelaus II of Cilicia and Sisines.

Glaphyra was married three times. Her first marriage was to Alexander, son of King Herod the Great of Judea and his Hasmonean wife Mariamne. This marriage was arranged to strengthen ties between the Herodian and Cappadocian royal families. They had three children: Tigranes V, Alexander, and a daughter who married a prince of Arabia. However, Alexander was executed in 7 BC on suspicion of plotting against his father, Herod.

After Alexander's death, Glaphyra returned to Cappadocia. Her second marriage was to Juba II, the king of Mauretania, following the death of his first wife Cleopatra Selene II. This marriage was brief.

Glaphyra's third marriage was to Herod Archelaus, the Ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, and a half-brother to her first husband, Alexander. This marriage scandalized Jewish society, as Herod Archelaus was already married. Josephus notes that Glaphyra was considered to have violated Jewish law by marrying two brothers. She later had a dream that she was being punished for this and shortly after she died.