Grandson of
Demetrius Poliorcetes & cousin of Demetrius
II,
who -- after the latter died in battle -- rescued Macedonia
& restored Antigonid control of Greece. Modern encyclopedic
articles sometimes mistakenly identify him as either the
"half-brother" or "nephew" of Demetrius II.
Given the complex family relations of Macedonian dynasties &
the tendency of Macedonian rulers to give children of different
wives the same name, such confusion is understandable. Doson's
father, however, was actually Demetrius the Fair [briefly king of
Cyrene], the
son of Demetrius Poliorcetes & his third wife,
Ptolemaïs [daughter of Ptolemy I & sister of
Ptolemy II].
It was Doson's father [Demetrius the Fair] who was
half-brother of the father of Demetrius II [Antigonus
Gonatas], who was Poliorcetes' son by his first wife,
Phila, Antipater's daughter & Cassander's sister
[see
chart below].
Beyond this fact there is only circumstantial inference from the
few surviving anecdotal reports to clarify Gonatas' background.
As Demetrius
Poliorcetes' namesake, Demetrius the Fair was not only
strikingly handsome but ambitious to the point of wrecklessness.
As the grandson of Ptolemy I Soter, he had been summoned from
Macedonia to marry Berenice, the heir to the vacant throne of
Cyrene [modern Libya]. But rather than content himself with his
young bride, Demetrius openly became lover of her powerful
mother, Apama. So the jealous bride took her revenge by having
him assassinated.
It is highly
improbable that Antigonus Doson was himself born of this
ill-fated Cyrenian venture. Given the lurid circumstances of his
father's death & the lack of any hint that he himself was in
line for any throne or had ever been in north Africa, it is more
likely that Doson was Demetrius' son by a prior, less
politically advantageous marriage & was left in Macedonia
when his father set off for Cyrene.
Even the meaning of
Antigonus' by-name is obscure & uncertain. Plutarch's
suggestion that it indicated that he did not live up to his
promises can hardly be correct since, once fate placed him in a
position of authority he used it more wisely & effectively
than any of his Antigonid predecessors.
Nor is there any
evidence that he was a power hungry usurper. Rather, the sources
are clear that, when Demetrius II died in battle (229 BCE), the
Macedonian nobility named Doson guardian of the nine year old
heir apparent [Philip V],
presumably since he was the child's sole surviving adult male
relative. Only after Doson demonstrated his
leadership abilities by succeeding (where his cousin Demetrius
had failed) in expelling the Dardanian invaders, was he persuaded
by other Macedonian leaders to claim the throne for himself by
marrying the widowed queen (227 BCE). Apparently, both the
Macedonian army & nobility thought the political situation
too volatile to wait for Philip V to mature enough to assume
command. Times of political crisis & uncertainty
always call for firm direction from experienced leadership. And
in this crisis Antigonus Doson was Macedonia's unanimous
choice. Unlike his Antigonid ancestors, he had no viable
rivals to challenge his right to rule. Yet, even as king he
apparently envisioned himself as caretaker for his cousin's son,
Philip V. For he was never accused of trying to make his own
sons heirs to his throne.
As king,
Antigonus III proved to be as much a master of tactical
diplomacy as of military strategy. In less than a decade of rule
he not only secured his nation's borders, he also reestablished
it as the dominant power in the region. Unlike previous
Macedonian rulers who attempted direct dominion over their
fiercely independent neighbors to the West & South, he
formed alliances with Epirus & the Achaean league.
When Sparta, the historic rival of the latter, attempted to
establish hegemony over the whole Peloponnese, Aratus of Sicyon
-- long the leader of Greek opposition to Macedonian domination
-- invited Antigonus to intervene (226 BCE). Establishing
his base on the heights above Corinth, Antigonus reconstituted a
broad-based Hellenic league (224 BCE) under his leadership
before launching his attack on Sparta. Outmatched by the
larger, better equipped Macedonian army, the Spartan forces were
so overwhelmed in the battle of Sellasia (222 BCE) that their
king [Cleomenes] had to seek refuge in Egypt.
Greece was finally at
peace. But Antigonus had no time to show how he would exercise
leadership over a pan-Hellenic confederacy. For, while his
forces were campaigning in the southern Peloponnese, Illyrians
[from modern Croatia] invaded Macedonia from the north.
Antigonus had to rush north to repel this new threat. But though
Macedonian forces were again victorious on the battlefield,
their commander died of a ruptured artery as he was shouting
orders to his troops.
References:
Justin, Epitome
28.3-4.
Plutarch, Aemilius Paulus 8;
_____, Cleomenes 16, 20-21, 23, 26-30, 34;
_____, Aratus.
Other resources on
line: