Laodice I (, Laodíkē, meaning "justice of the people"; flourished 3rd century BC) was a Greek noblewoman of Anatolia who was a close relative of the early Seleucid dynasty and was the first wife of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos.
Family background
Laodice was the daughter of Achaeus, a wealthy nobleman who owned estates in Anatolia. Her mother is unknown. Her family had power in Anatolia with strong royal connections. She had one sister, Antiochis, who mothered Attalus I of Pergamon.
Her father, Achaeus, was the second son of King Seleucus I Nicator and his first wife, Apama I. Her name implies a strong Seleucid connection, as she was the namesake of her paternal aunt and her paternal great-grandmother of this name.
Life and marriage
Her birth date is unknown, and little is known on her early life. Laodice I married her paternal first cousin Antiochus II Theos before 266 BC as his first wife.
Divorce with Antiochus II
In 252 BC after the Second Syrian War, Antiochus II was obliged to make peace with the Egyptian Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Antiochus made peace with the Pharaoh by divorcing Laodice and marrying the daughter of Ptolemy II, Berenice, with the understanding that any children born from their union would inherit the Seleucid throne.
Although she was no longer queen, Laodice was still a very powerful and political influential figure. In their divorce settlement, Antiochus gave Laodice various land grants throughout Anatolia which are known through inscriptions. Laodice I owned a large estate in the Hellespont, other properties near Cyzicus,
In a clause in the divorce settlement, Laodice was allowed to sell or donate land in which she had the right to choose which attachment of a city were to be passed on to the new landlord, unless Laodice had taken care of the matter herself. Antiochus gave her a grace period to settle matters on her land before she decided whether to hold on to the land or dispose it. She may have been given the revenue of two harvests with which to pay a nominal purchase price to set at the valuation of the land for tax purposes.
Deaths of Antiochus II and his second family
During Antiochus II's marriage to Berenice, they had a son called Antiochus. Laodice lived at Ephesus.