Lysandra (

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 ...

: Λυσάνδρα, meaning "Liberator, Emancipator"; lived 281 BC) was a Queen of Macedonia, daughter of

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 Macedo ...

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the na ...

or Berenice. She was married first to her maternal cousin

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 ...

, one of the sons of

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 conte ...

, King of Macedonia. After Alexander’s death, Lysandra married her other maternal cousin

Agathocles Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory". Other personalities named Agathocles: *Agathocles ...

, the son of

Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus wa ...

and

Nicaea of Macedon Nicaea ( el, Nίκαια, – ) was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and was a daughter of the powerful regent Antipater. Her mother's name is unknown. She was born and raised in Macedonia while her father was governor of Macedonia during the reign ...

. By this second marriage (which took place, according to Pausanias, after the return of Lysimachus from his expedition against the

Getae The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...

, 291 BC) she had several children, with whom and with Agathocles' paternal half-brother

she fled to Asia after the murder of her husband by Lysimachus, at the instigation of Agathocles’ stepmother

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 ...

, and besought assistance from

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 ...

. The latter in consequence marched against Lysimachus, who was defeated and slain in the Battle of Corupedium, 281 BC. From an expression of Pausanias, it appears that Lysandra must at this time have accompanied Seleucus I, and was possessed of much influence, but in the confusion that followed the death of Seleucus I a few months after there is no further record either of her or her children.

References

Sources

* 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 ...

''
"Lysandra"

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) * {{SmithDGRBM, title=Lysandra, url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/ACL3129.0002.001/873?rgn=full+text;view=image;q1=lysandra Ancient Macedonian queens consort Ptolemaic princesses 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC Greek women