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Demetrius I (337-283 BC), surnamed Poliorcetes
("Besieger") (modern Greek Δημήτριος ο Πολιορκητής
), son of Antigonus I of Macedon and Stratonice, was
a king of Macedon (294 - 288 BC). He belonged to the
Antigonid dynasty.
At the age of twenty-two he was left by his father
to defend Syria against Ptolemy the son of Lagus; he
was totally defeated in Battle of Gaza, but soon
partially repaired his loss by a victory in the
neighbourhood of Myus.
After an unsuccessful expedition against Babylon,
and several campaigns against Ptolemy on the coasts
of Cilicia and Cyprus, Demetrius sailed with a fleet
of 250 ships to Athens. He freed the city from the
power of Cassander and Ptolemy, expelled the
garrison which had been stationed there under
Demetrius of Phalerum, and besieged and took
Munychia (307 BC). After these victories he was
worshipped by the Athenians as a tutelary deity
under the title of Soter ("Preserver").
In the campaign of 306 BC against Ptolemy he
defeated Menelaus, Ptolemy's brother, in the naval
Battle of Salamis, completely destroying the naval
power of Egypt. In 305 BC, now bearing the title of
king bestowed upon him by his father, he endeavoured
to punish the Rhodians for having deserted his
cause; his ingenuity in devising new instruments of
siege in his unsuccessful attempt to reduce the
capital gained him the appellation of Poliorcetes.
Head of Demetrius I
Poliorcetes (337-283 BC), right side Poseidon
Coin of Demetrius I
of Macedon. Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ ([coin] of King Demetrius).
From 1889 edition
of Principal Coins of the Ancients.
He returned a second time to Greece as liberator.
But his licentiousness and extravagance made the
Athenians long for the government of Cassander. He
also roused the jealousy of Alexander's Diadochi;
Seleucus, Cassander and Lysimachus united to destroy
him and his father. The hostile armies met at the
Ipsus in Phrygia (301 BC). Antigonus was killed, and
Demetrius, after sustaining a severe losses, retired
to Ephesus. This reversal of fortune stirred up many
enemies against him—the Athenians refused even to
admit him into their city. But he soon afterwards
ravaged the territory of Lysimachus and effected a
reconciliation with Seleucus, to whom he gave his
daughter Stratonice in marriage. Athens was at this
time oppressed by the tyranny of Lachares, but
Demetrius, after a protracted blockade, gained
possession of the city (294 BC) and pardoned the
inhabitants for their former misconduct.
Demetrius siege
tower (Helepolis) used
in siege of
Rhodes(305 BC/304 BC)
In the same year he established himself on the
throne of Macedonia by murdering Antipater II, the
son of Cassander. But his new position was
continually threatened by Pyrrhus, who took
advantage of his occasional absence to ravage the
defenceless part of his kingdom (Plutarch, Pyrrhus,
7 if.); at length, the combined forces of Pyrrhus,
Ptolemy and Lysimachus, assisted by the disaffected
among his own subjects, obliged him to leave
Macedonia in 288 BC.
He passed into Asia and attacked some of the
provinces of Lysimachus with varying success. Famine
and pestilence destroyed the greater part of his
army, and he solicited Seleucus' support and
assistance. But before he reached Syria hostilities
broke out, and after he had gained some advantages
over his son-in-law, Demetrius was totally forsaken
by his troops on the field of battle and surrendered
to Seleucus. His son Antigonus offered all his
possessions, and even his person, in order to
procure his father's liberty. But all proved
unavailing, and Demetrius died after a confinement
of three years (283 BC). His remains were given to
Antigonus and honoured with a splendid funeral at
Corinth. His descendants remained in possession of
the Macedonian throne till the time of Perseus, when
Macedon was conquered by the Romans.
This article incorporates text from the public
domain 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica. |