History For Weirdos
Episode 149: Potbelly - the Infamous Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt
Mon, 31 Mar 2025
In this week's episode of History For Weirdos, Andrew and Stephanie journey back to ancient Egypt to explore the bizarre yet captivating story of the infamous pharaoh affectionately—or perhaps mockingly—nicknamed "Potbelly." Known formally as Pharaoh Ptolemy VIII Physcon, his moniker literally translates to "fat belly," but his strange nickname pales in comparison to the disturbing reality of his reign. While undeniably intelligent, displaying strategic political savvy and a keen understanding of governance, his intelligence was overshadowed by his ruthless cruelty and utter lack of charm. Potbelly's rule was marred by scandal, betrayal, and a penchant for violence that made him deeply unpopular among his subjects and contemporaries. From poisoning family members to publicly humiliating rivals, his despotic actions plunged Egypt into turmoil, undermining the very kingdom he sought to control. Yet, his keen mind managed to secure his power repeatedly, displaying a twisted genius in statecraft that kept historians both fascinated and repulsed. Join us as we unpack the enigmatic life of one of ancient Egypt’s most paradoxical rulers. Was Pharaoh Potbelly merely a victim of historical exaggeration, or was he truly as vile and despised as records suggest? Tune in to find out why this despicable pharaoh remains one of history's most intriguingly unpleasant figures - Thank you for listening Weirdos! Show the podcast some love by rating & subscribing on whichever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Your support means so much to us. Let's stay in touch 👇 Email: [email protected] IG/Threads: @historyforweirdos Website: historyforweirdos.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who are the hosts of History for Weirdos?
Hello and welcome to History for Weirdos.
We're your hosts, Andrew and Stephanie. And we're going to take you on a journey into the strange, obscure, and relentlessly entertaining corners of human history.
Now listen up, friends, because it's about to get weird.
Weirdos, welcome back to another episode of History for Weirdos.
Do you know what episode number it is?
Oh, I have no idea. Same. I stopped doing the episode numbers and the introductions like...
a long time ago who knows how many episodes ago i don't know it's like probably either 140s maybe 150 something like that wow we've been doing this already a long time yeah i remember doing our 50th and like 50th episode right before we traveled to rome like years ago oh wow yeah it was like the last episode we did uh and it was that special like q a episode
Did we do it here at Spotify?
Okay.
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of Pharaoh Potbelly's nickname?
And I was like, did you also not play bartender and mix the drinks for them?
And I was like, no.
We had slightly different childhood experiences.
You know, just slightly.
Just slightly.
There we go. That was better.
That's a little bit better.
Oh, maybe not.
Oh, my God. Shut up, babe. Okay, okay, okay. There we go. I'm going to have you cut the deck.
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Chapter 3: Who were Potbelly's family members and what was their dynasty?
I remember you talking about that and how important it was and how she had a very clear plan and was very intelligent.
She was super smart. She was really well loved. And so people were very, very sad when she passed away. I'd say even more so than when her husband passed away. Oh, snap. Yeah, so moving forward, pretty much from this point on, there's going to be sibling marriage or close relative marriage for the Ptolemies all the way to Cleopatra VII. Gross.
Great.
And I want to say, I think I said this in the Cleopatra episode, but just to reiterate here, these are not symbolic unions. They are expected to consummate the marriage. They are expected to provide heirs. To have lots of children actually is going to be the queen's job. And first degree incest is not common practice in Egypt at the time.
Though there had been some instances of it in the pharaohs in the new kingdom, it wasn't common for them either.
Right.
The relationships that the Ptolemies have would have been considered taboo for anyone else. But that's part of why the Ptolemies engage in sibling marriage and engage in close relative incest. It's because it elevates them to the level of the gods.
Which did do that.
The gods were allowed to do that. For example, Isis and Osiris, as well as Zeus and Hera, are lovers and siblings. so they're really trying to show the common people like we are divine we're not an everyday person right which makes sense which makes sense even though it's gross okay so going back to the siblings co the siblings you know that just got married um
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Chapter 4: Why did the Ptolemies practice sibling marriage?
But Potbelly says no. He's like, I am so much smarter than both of you. I know what you're doing. And I say, no, I don't want to marry your 13 year old daughter.
Yeah, not because she's 13.
No, but because I don't want you telling me who to marry. Oh, my God.
And he's just so awful.
Mm hmm. So he says no. And they're like, OK, he's not going to marry our daughter. But they're like on friendly terms, like fake friendly terms.
Yeah.
Basically, they don't want to piss off Rome. And Rome is really annoyed at Potbelly because they're like, we gave you some military aid and you couldn't even hold Cyprus. You couldn't even hold an island.
Yeah. And he had like manipular legions. Like those were like they're the elite fighting force of the Mediterranean.
Mm hmm. He's he goes to Rome and he's like trying to kiss. But he's like, please don't be mad at me. And he's like, how about I marry Cornelia, the widow of Tiberius Gracchus? He was a big war hero and politician in Rome. I don't know if you knew this.
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