Home > Demetrius I of Macedon

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 BCCenturies: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 312 BC 311 BC 310 BC 309 BC 308 BC 307 BC 306 BC 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC Births Deaths Events Sege). After these victories he was worshipped by the Athenians as a tutelaryA tutelary spirit is a god, usually a minor god, who serves as the guardian or watcher over a particular site, person, or nation. Belief in tutelary gods or spirits often reflects a tradition of animism. The Roman religion had dozens of tutelary spirits, deity under the title of Soter ("Preserver").

In the campaign of 306 BCCenturies: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 311 BC 310 BC 309 BC 308 BC 307 BC 306 BC 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC Events After a series of against Ptolemy he defeated Menelaus (the brother of Ptolemy) in naval Battle of SalamisThe Battle of Salamis of 306 BC was a naval battle fought near Salamis, Cyprus between the fleets of Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius, two of the diadochi, the successors to Alexander the Great. The battle was a complete victory for Demetrius, and resulte, and completely destroyed the naval power of EgyptJumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah ( In Detail) Official language Arabic Capital Cairo Largest City Cairo President Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Area Total % water Ranked 29th 1,001,450 km² 0. 6% Population Total (2003) Density Ranked 15th 74,718,797. In 305 BCCenturies: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 310 BC 309 BC 308 BC 307 BC 306 BC 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC 300 BC Events Siege of Rhodes by he endeavoured to punish the Rhodians for having deserted his cause; and his ingenuity in devising new instruments of siege, in his unsuccessful attempt to reduce the capital, gained him the appellation of Poliorcetes.

He returned a second time to Greece as liberator. But his licentiousness and extravagance made the Athenians regret the government of Cassander. He soon, however, roused the jealousy of the successors of Alexanderbust of Alexander the Great Alexander III (late July, 356 BC June 10, 323 BC), King of Macedon ( 336 BC-323 BC), known as Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders of the ancient world. Following the unification of the multipl; and Seleucus, Cassander and Lysimachus united to destroy Antigonus and his son. The hostile armies met at Ipsus in Phrygia ( 301 BC).

Head of Demetrius I Poliocetes ( 337- 283 BC).

Antigonus was killed in the battle, and Demetrius, after sustaining a severe loss, retired to Ephesus. This reverse of fortune raised up many enemies against him; and 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) and pardoned the inhabitants their former misconduct.

In the same year he established himself on the throne of Macedonia by the murder of Alexander , the son of Cassander. But here he was continually threatened by Pyrrhus, who took advantage of his occasional absence to ravage the defenceless part of his kingdom ( Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 7 if.); and at length the combined forces of Pyrrhus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus, assisted by the disaffected among his own subjects, obliged him to leave Macedonia after he had sat on the throne for six years ( 294- 288 BC).

He passed into Asia, and attacked some of the provinces of Lysimachus with varying success; but famine and pestilence destroyed the greater part of his army, and he solicited Seleucus for 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 his person 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 in the fifty-fourth year of his age, after a confinement of three years ( 283). His remains were given to Antigonus, honoured with a splendid funeral at Corinth, Greece, and thence conveyed to Demetrius. His posterity remained in possession of the Macedonian throne till the time of Perseus, who was conquered by the Romans.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.