Demetrius I the Fair or the Handsome ( gr, Δημήτριος ὁ Καλός, c. 285 BC–249 BC), known in modern ancient historical sources as Demetrius of Cyrene, was a
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
king of
Cyrene, who succeeded
Magas I.
Family
Demetrius was of
Macedonian ancestry. He was surnamed ''The Fair'', because he was an attractive man. He was born and raised in Macedonia. Demetrius was named after his father and was the youngest of the children of King
Demetrius I of Macedon
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 dynas ...
and his wife, Ptolemais. Demetrius I married Ptolemais as his fifth wife around 287 BC/286 BC in
Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
, while this was Ptolemais’ first marriage. Demetrius was the only child born into the marriage, as his father died shortly thereafter, in 283 BC. From his father's previous marriages, Demetrius had various paternal half siblings, who included king
Antigonus II Gonatas, as well as
Stratonice of Syria
Stratonice or Stratonica of Syria ( grc, Στρατoνίκη, c. 320 BC - 254 BC) was Queen of the Seleucid Empire from 300 BC until 294 BC and from 281 BC until 261 BC.
Biography
Stratonice of Syria was the daughter of king Demetrius Poliorcetes ...
, princess and later Queen of the
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
.
Demetrius’ maternal grandfather was the first Greek-Egyptian pharaoh
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedon ...
. Among his maternal aunts were Queen
Arsinoe II
Arsinoë II ( grc-koi, Ἀρσινόη, 316 BC – unknown date between July 270 and 260 BC) was a Ptolemaic queen and co-regent of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of ancient Egypt. She was given the Egyptian title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt", makin ...
of Egypt and among his maternal uncles were Pharaoh
Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Macedonian King
Ptolemy Keraunos
Ptolemy Ceraunus ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Κεραυνός ; c. 319 BC – January/February 279 BC) was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and briefly king of Macedon. As the son of Ptolemy I Soter, he was originally heir to the thron ...
(Keraunos was Ptolemais’ full blooded brother). Pharaoh
Ptolemy III Euergetes
, predecessor = Ptolemy II
, successor = Ptolemy IV
, nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land
, nebty_hiero ...
was a maternal cousin. His paternal grandparents were Macedonian king
Antigonus I Monophthalmus and
Stratonice, while his paternal uncle was the general
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
.
Cyrenaica
Not much is known about him until 249 BC. Greek Cyrenaean king
Magas of Cyrene died in 249 BC or 250 BC. His widow was the powerful Greek monarch
Apama II
Apama ( grc, Ἀπάμα, Apáma), sometimes known as Apama I or Apame I, was a Sogdian noblewoman and the wife of the first ruler of the Seleucid Empire, Seleucus I Nicator. They married at Susa in 324 BC. According to Arrian, Apama was the ...
. She was Demetrius' niece through his paternal half sister
Stratonice of Syria
Stratonice or Stratonica of Syria ( grc, Στρατoνίκη, c. 320 BC - 254 BC) was Queen of the Seleucid Empire from 300 BC until 294 BC and from 281 BC until 261 BC.
Biography
Stratonice of Syria was the daughter of king Demetrius Poliorcetes ...
and her husband
Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter ( grc-gre, Ἀντίοχος Σωτήρ, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus the Saviour"; c. 324/32 June 261 BC) was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned d ...
of the
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
.
Apama summoned Demetrius from Macedonia. She offered her daughter with Magas (her only child)
Berenice II in marriage to Demetrius. Demetrius in return would become King of
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
and protect Cyrenaica from the
Ptolemaic dynasty. Demetrius agreed to Apama's request and married Berenice. When he married Berenice and became king, there was no opposition in his rise to the throne, but he became ambitious to the point of recklessness.
Sometime after his marriage to Berenice, Demetrius and Apama became lovers. Jealous of her husband's affair with her mother, Berenice argued with both of them and consented to the assassination of Demetrius, who died in Apama's arms. The poem ''Coma Berenices'' by Greek poet
Callimachus
Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety ...
(lost, but known in a Latin translation or paraphrase by
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
), apparently refers to her coup against Demetrius: "Let me remind you how stout-hearted you were even as a young girl: have you forgotten the brave deed by which you gained a royal marriage?"
First marriage and children
Demetrius's first marriage was to an Olympias, a Greek noblewoman from
Larissa, the daughter of a nobleman, Polycletus or Polyclitus of Larissa. She probably died before 249 BC. Their children were
Antigonus III Doson
Antigonus III Doson ( el, Ἀντίγονος Γ΄ Δώσων, 263–221 BC) was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He was a member of the Antigonid dynasty.
Family background
Antigonus III Doson was a half-cousin of his predecessor, Demetr ...
, the later Macedonian King, and
Echecrates In ancient Greece, Echecrates ( el, Ἐχεκράτης) was the name of the following men:
*Echecrates of Thessaly, a military officer of Ptolemy IV Philopator, documented around 219–217 BC.
*A son of Demetrius the Fair (c. 285–250 BC) by Olymp ...
, a nobleman about whom not much is known apart from the fact that he had a son whom he named after his brother Antigonus. A few months before his paternal second cousin King
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...
’s death, Echecrates' son Antigonus revealed to Philip that Philip's son, the prince
Perseus of Macedon
Perseus ( grc-gre, Περσεύς; 212 – 166 BC) was the last king (''Basileus'') of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He was the last Antigonid to rule Macedon, aft ...
, had made false accusations against his brother, Philip's other son, Demetrius, whom Philip had then had put to death. Philip, indignant at Perseus’ conduct appointed Antigonus as his successor. When Philip died in 179 BC and Antigonus became king, Perseus ousted Antigonus and had him executed.
Ancestry
See also
*
Cyrene
*
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
*
List of Kings of Cyrene
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fair, Demetrius The
280s BC births
Kings of Cyrene
3rd-century BC Greek people
Year of birth unknown
Antigonid dynasty
250s BC deaths