The Battle of Lysimachia was fought in 277 BC between the Gallic tribes settled in Thrace and a Greek army of Antigonus at

Lysimachia ''Lysimachia'' () is a genus consisting of 193 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family wa ...

Thracian Chersonese The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

. After the Greek defeat at Battle of Thermopylae, the Gauls retreated out of Greece and moved through Thrace and finally into Asia. Antigonus father,

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty ...

, had been driven from the Macedonian throne by

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

and Lysimachus in 288 BC. Tired of war, Demetrius surrendered himself to

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

in 285 BC, leaving Antigonus as the Antigonid heir to the Macedonian throne. In 277 BC Antigonus organized an expedition to take Macedon from

Sosthenes of Macedon Sosthenes ( Greek Σωσθένης; died 277 BC) was a Macedonian general who may have been a king of the Antipatrid dynasty. During the reign of Lysimachus he was his governor in Asia Minor. Sosthenes was elected King by the Macedonian army, but h ...

. He sailed to the Hellespont, landing near

at the neck of the

. The site of the landing was the territory of wild Gallic tribes, who had settled the place after being driven out of Greece. When an army of Gauls under the command of Cerethrius appeared, Antigonus laid an ambush. He abandoned his camp and beached his ships, then concealed his men. The Gauls looted the camp, but when they started to attack the ships, Antigonus's army appeared, trapping them with the sea to their rear. In this way, Antigonus was able to inflict a crushing defeat on themDiogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 17, 141. and claim the Macedonian throne. It was around this time, under these favorable omens, that his son and successor,

Demetrius II Aetolicus Demetrius II Aetolicus (Greek: Δημήτριος ὁ Αἰτωλικός) was the son of Antigonus II Gonatas and Phila who reigned as king of Macedonia from the winter of 239 to 229 BC. Biography Demetrius II belonged to the Antigonid dynasty a ...

was born by his niece-wife Phila.

Citations

Diogenes Laertius, ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers'', R.D. Hicks, Ed.

References

277 BC

Ancient Thrace

History of the Gallipoli Peninsula {{AncientGreece-battle-stub