Hypsicratea or Hypsikrateia (fl. 63 BC), was the concubine, and perhaps wife, of King Mithridates VI of Pontus.
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Nothing is known of the family background of Hypsicratea, although it has been noted that her name suggests that her family came from the Cimmerian Bosporus. All the information about her relates to the final years of Mithridates' reign.
Hypsicratea accompanied Mithridates during his escape around the east coast of the Black Sea, following his final defeat by Pompey in 66 BC. She probably died during an uprising in Phanagoria in 63 BC.
After Mithridates' defeat, Hypsicratea broke free of Pompey's blockade and while the rest dispersed she was one of only three who remained by the King's side. Plutarch wrote that she was:
Valerius Maximus reports:
In 2004, a brief epitaph of Hypsicratea was discovered by archaeologists in Phanagoria. The epitaph uses the masculine version of her name, Hypsicrates - thus confirming what Plutarch said about her. It calls her "wife of King Mithridates Eupator Dionysos."
The epitaph was inscribed on a block of marble, which formed part of the base of a bronze statue of Hypsicratea. The statue has not survived, and it is impossible to know how it depicted her.
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