Demetrius II Aetolicus (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Δημήτριος ὁ Αἰτωλικός) was the son of
Antigonus II Gonatas and
Phila who reigned as king of
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...
ia from the winter of 239 to 229 BC.
Biography
Demetrius II belonged to the
Antigonid dynasty and was born in 275 BC.
He had already distinguished himself during his father's lifetime by defeating
Alexander II of Epirus at
Derdia and so saving Macedonia
There is a possibility
that his father had already elevated him to position of power equal to his own before his death. If this had occurred it would be in 256 or 257 BC.
On his accession, Demetrius faced a coalition of enemies which included the two great leagues. Usually rivals, the
Aetolian
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 unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous River separates Aetolia ...
and
Achaean League
The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...
s now became allies against the Macedonian power. He succeeded in dealing this coalition severe blows, wresting
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
from their alliance. The revolution in
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
, which substituted a republican league for the monarchy, gravely weakened his position.
During his reign, his kingdom extended
into
Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...
,
Magnesia,
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
and its environs, excluding
Dolopia
Dolopia ( grc, Δολοπία) is a mountainous region of Greece, located north of Aetolia.
Geography
Dolopia was located between Epirus and Thessaly, eventually absorbed into the latter. It was a mountainous district in the southwestern corner of ...
and possibly
Peparethos
Skopelos ( el, Σκόπελος) is the main town on the island of Skopelos. The island is located east of mainland Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea and is part of the regional unit of the Sporades in the region of Thessaly. It has a port ...
and
Achaea Phthiotis
Achaea Phthiotis ( grc, Ἀχαΐα Φθιῶτις, "Achaea of Phthia") or simply Phthiotis (Φθιῶτις) was a historical region of ancient Thessaly in ancient Greece.
It lay in southeastern Thessaly, between Mount Othrys and the northern s ...
.
In 236 BC, he invaded
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
, making the Boeotians submit
immediately.
In 234 BC due to a federal republic
replacing the monarchy in Epirus, which led to the events of 231 BC, Demetrius hired
Agron for military aid against the advancing
Aetolians. His kingdom was not
threatened by the Illyrian
Ardiaei
The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its righ ...
, ruled by Agron, despite them having gathered the greatest force in their history (c. 231 BC), but Epirus needed some sort of force to deter them.
At the end of his reign, Demetrius defended his domain from the tribal peoples of the north. A battle with the
Dardani
The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
ans
turned out disastrously, and he died shortly afterwards, leaving
Philip, his son by Chryseis, still a child, on the throne.
Marriage and family
Demetrius married four times, though the chronology of these marriages is a matter of dispute.
*
Stratonice of Macedon Stratonice ( el, Στρατονίκη, ''Stratoníkē''; lived in the 3rd century BC) of Macedonia was the daughter of Stratonice of Syria and of the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter (281–261 BC). She was married to Demetrius II (239–229 ...
, his aunt/cousin, the daughter of the Seleucid king
Antiochus I
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 du ...
and his aunt
Stratonice, by whom he had a daughter called
Apama III
Prusias I Cholus (Greek: Προυσίας ὁ Χωλός "the Lame"; c. 243 – 182 BC) was a king of Bithynia, who reigned from c. 228 to 182 BC.
Life and Reign
Prusias was a vigorous and energetic leader; he fought a war against Byzantium ...
who married
Prusias I of Bithynia
Prusias I Cholus (Greek: Προυσίας ὁ Χωλός "the Lame"; c. 243 – 182 BC) was a king of Bithynia, who reigned from c. 228 to 182 BC.
Life and Reign
Prusias was a vigorous and energetic leader; he fought a war against Byzantium ...
. Stratonice left him after he married his second wife.
*
Nicaea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...
, the widow of his cousin
Alexander of Corinth
Alexander ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος) (died 247 BC) was a Macedonian governor and tyrant of Corinth. He was the son of Craterus who had faithfully governed Corinth and Chalcis for his half-brother Antigonus II Gonatas. His grandmother was Phila, ...
, c. 245/244 BC.
*
Phthia
In Greek mythology Phthia (; grc-gre, Φθία or Φθίη ''Phthía, Phthíē'') was a city or district in ancient Thessaly. It is frequently mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'' as the home of the Myrmidones, the contingent led by Achilles in the ...
(239 BC)
the daughter of
Alexander II of Epirus.
* Chryseis, probably a former war prisoner turned concubine, whom he married around 237 BC after they had a son,
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 ...
. After Demetrius' death, she remarried to his successor,
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 ...
.
Information
regarding the life of Demetrius is drawn mainly from inscriptions, as only
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 hi ...
writes of him, in
Life of Aratus, and
Polybius[cf.2.44.1-2] makes scarce mention of him.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetrius 02 Of Macedon
229 BC deaths
3rd-century BC Macedonian monarchs
Ancient Macedonian monarchs
3rd-century BC rulers
Year of birth unknown
Antigonid dynasty