Aristodemus of Miletus ( el, Ἀριστόδημος; lived 4th century BC) was one of the oldest and most trusted friends of

Antigonus Monophthalmus Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Μονόφθαλμος , 'the One-Eyed'; 382 – 301 BC), son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, general, satrap, and king. During the first half of his life he serv ...

. He is described by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

as an arch-flatterer of Antigonus. Antigonus frequently used him on important diplomatic missions and occasionally entrusted him with military commands as well.

Career

He is first mentioned in 319 BC when he brought Antigonus the news of Antipater's death.

Greece

In 314 BC Antigonus sent him to the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

with 1,000 talents, ordered him to maintain friendly relations with

Polyperchon Polyperchon (sometimes written Polysperchon; el, Πολυπέρχων; b. between 390–380 BCafter 382 BC according to Billows, R., 'Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State' (1990), p. 172, n. 20 – d. after 304 BC,Heckel ...

and his son

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, to collect as large a body of mercenaries, and to conduct the war against

Cassander Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a cont ...

. On his arrival in

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

, he obtained permission from the

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

ns to engage mercenaries in their country, and thus raised an army of 8,000 men in the Peloponnese. In this Aristodemus was outstandingly successful. The friendship with Polyperchon and his son Alexander was confirmed, and the former was made governor of the peninsula. The ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt,

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, who was allied with Cassander, sent a fleet against the general and the allies of Antigonus, and Cassander made considerable conquests in the Peloponnese. After his departure, Aristodemus and Alexander at first endeavoured in common to persuade the towns to expel the garrisons of Cassander, and recover their independence. But Alexander soon allowed himself to be made a traitor to the cause he had hitherto espoused, and was rewarded by Cassander with the chief command of his forces in the Peloponnese. In 314 BC Aristodemus invited the Aetolians to support the cause of Antigonus; and having raised a great number of mercenaries from among them, he attacked Alexander, who was besieging Cyllene, and compelled him to raise the siege. He then restored several other places, such as

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

and

Dyme Dyme ( grc, Δύμη), or Dymae, was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and the most westerly of the 12 Achaean cities, from which circumstance it is said to have derived its name. The location of Dyme is near the modern Kato Achaia. ...

Aetolia Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous ...

, to what was then called freedom. In 312 BC Aristodemus was reinforced by Antigonus's nephews Polemaeus and

Telesphorus Telesphorus can refer to: * Telesphorus (general), 4th century BC general in ancient Greece * Pope Telesphorus (died c. 137), Catholic pope and Catholic and Orthodox saint * Telesphorus of Cosenza, a name assumed by a 14th century pseudo-prophet d ...

who both sailed their armies to the Peloponnese.Richard A. Billows, ''Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State'', p.373. Under the command of Polemaeus they brought all of Greece south of Thermopylae, except for Athens, into Antigonus's controle. Cassander thereupon opened negotiations with Polemaeus; Artistodemus was one of the negotiators. He was also sent to negotiate with Ptolemy in Egypt. Through his negotiations he helped bring about the peace of 311 BC. In 307 BC Aristodemus accompanied

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

on his great expedition to Greece to liberate Athens.

, ''

Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

'', ''Demetrius'', IX. After Demetrius captured

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

Aristodemus was sent into Athens to negotiate with

Demetrius of Phaleron Demetrius of Phalerum (also Demetrius of Phaleron or Demetrius Phalereus; grc-gre, Δημήτριος ὁ Φαληρεύς; c. 350 – c. 280 BC) was an Athenian orator originally from Phalerum, an ancient port of Athens. A student of Theophrast ...

, Cassanders's officer in charge of Athens. As a result Cassander's forces withdrew from Athens, and Demetrius was able to proclaim the restoration of Athenian Democracy.

Back in Asia

When Antigonus commanded Demetrius to sail against Ptolemy's forces in Cyprus, Aristodemus accompanied him there.

, ''

'', ''Demetrius'', 17,2-18,1. He was present during the great naval battle near Cyprian Salamis, where Demetrius annihilated Ptolemy's fleet and captured the island. Aristodemus was chosen to bring the news of the victory to Antigonus at his new city of Antigoneia-on-the-Orontes in Syria. There he was instrumental in an elaborate charade to have Antigonus elevated to kingship. Aristodemus landed from his ship alone and refused to give any indication of the news he bore, he advanced slowly to the royal palace, gathering a large crowd. Meeting the by now worried Antigonus at the palace gate, he cried aloud, "Hail, King Antigonus!" and described the great victory won. Enthused the assembled crowd proclaimed Antigonus king.

Return to Miletus

After his great moment in Antigoneia Aristodemus went back to Miletus where he entered high office.Richard A. Billows, ''Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State'', p.374.

Sources

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

''
"Aristodemus (5)"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aristodemus Of Miletus Ancient Milesians Generals of Antigonus I Monophthalmus 4th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek diplomats 4th-century BC diplomats