7 - Macedonia and Greece

Summary

ANTIGONUS GONATAS AND PYRRHUS

His victory over the Gauls at Lysimacheia left Antigonus Gonatas master of Macedonia; but for several years his hold on the country remained precarious, and was threatened by rivals whose elimination was his first concern. Of these the most dangerous were Cassander's nephew Antipater and Ptolemy, the surviving son of Lysimachus and Arsinoe; there was also a certain Arrhidaeus. Furthermore the port of Cassandreia was held by a Greek demagogue, Apollodorus. Using Gaulish mercenaries Antigonus had dealt with all the pretenders within a year. To expel Apollodorus he employed an arch-pirate, Ameinias, who later entered his regular service. Apollodorus was executed and Ptolemy, the son of Arsinoe, took refuge with Ptolemy II; he and his descendants are later found ruling the town of Telmessus in Lycia, which was assigned to him by Ptolemy II. Hardly were these rivals disposed of, however, when Antigonus had to face a more serious challenge. In the later months of 275 Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, returned home from the fiasco of his wars in Italy and Sicily (see vol. VII.2), and soon afterwards, perhaps in spring 274, he invaded Macedonia. Having defeated Antigonus at a spot Plutarch calls ‘the Narrows’ – it may be the Aous gorge south of Tepeleni in southern Illyria – he pursued him into Macedonia, whereupon the Macedonian army defected to the invader. Antigonus had to flee to Thessalonica, and very soon Pyrrhus was in control of both Macedonia and Thessaly.

The view has been advanced that in invading Macedonia Pyrrhus was acting as agent for Ptolemy II who, it is assumed, being now married to his half-sister Arsinoe, Lysimachus' widow, will have sought to secure the Cyclades against Macedonian attack by setting Arsinoe's son Ptolemy on the Macedonian throne.