As the army of Antiochus VII goes down in Media, Demetrius II returns to Syria after being released from Parthian captivity. Nobody is particularly happy to see him, including his (former) wife Cleopatra Thea, and the Syrians' hatred of their former king inspires the arrival of a Ptolemaic-backed claimant to the throne, Alexander II Zabinas. With three husbands having come and gone, Cleopatra makes her own bid for power as the sole ruler of kingdom, willing to eliminate any who oppose her - including her own children.Episode Notes:(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/07/02/123-the-seleucid-empire-wrath-of-the-goddess/)Episode Transcript:(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/123-the-seleucid-empire-wrath-of-the-goddess-transcript.pdf)Family Tree - Demetrius II to Antiochus VIII:(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/reign-of-demetrius-ii-to-antiochus-viii.pdf)Social Media:Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod)Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/)Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social)Show Merchandise:Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod)ImperialWares (https://tinyurl.com/ybmpk7xd) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u)Donations:Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast)Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast)Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)