Comments for BERENICE:

According to an ancient myth, Berenice was a beautiful wife of an Egyptian king, who went to a war leaving his wife home grief-stricken and worry-sick. Berenice promised to cut off her gorgeous hair as a tribute to the gods if they let her husband come home unharmed, and when the king eventually returned alive, she kept her promise and sacrifised her hair to the gods, placing the cut hair into an empty temple. Shortly after that the king, longing to see his wife's beautiful hair again, visited the temple only to find no sight of Berenice's hair. It appeared that the gods had enjoyed their gift so much that they had placed Berenice's hair in the sky, where it shimmered every night as a constellation. That's why there still is a constellation called Berenice's hair.

'Berenice' is also the title of a horror short story by Edgar Allan Poe, which features, quite obviously, a character who bears this name.

-- Soul  8/16/2005

Berenice was the name (or the English form) of Cleopatra VII's older sister.

-- Anonymous User  1/6/2007

I know of someone who pronounces this name "bur-NEES" (as if it was "Bernice"). In my frank opinion, coupling that pronunciation with the spelling "Berenice" gives the name a certain elegance; it just rolls off one's tongue that way. Pronounce it "ber-e-NIE-see" or "be-re-NEE-che"? No offence, but I'm afraid that doesn't hold with me.

-- seraphine_eternal  6/13/2007

Pronounced beh-reh-nees in French.

-- Anonymous User  11/9/2007

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