IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα Μετάφραση : Βελέντζας Γεώργιος Για παραπομπή : Παναγοπούλου Κατερίνα , "Demetrius Poliorcetes", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL:
Περίληψη : Demetrius Poliorcetes (337 B.C.-283 B.C.) was one of the Diadochi (Successors) of Alexander the Great. He initially co-ruled with his father, Antigonus I Monophthalmos, in western Asia Minor and participated in campaigns to Asia and mainland Greece. After the heavy defeat and death of Monophthalmos in Ipsus (301 B.C.), he managed to increase his few dominions and ascended to the Macedonian throne (294-287 B.C.). He spent the last years of his life captured by Seleucus I in Asia Minor. Άλλα Ονόματα Poliorcetes Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 337/336 BC – Macedonia Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου 283 BC – Asia Minor Κύρια Ιδιότητα Hellenistic king
1. Youth
Son of Antigonus I Monophthalmos and (much younger) Stratonice, daughter of the notable Macedonian Corrhaeus, Demetrius I Poliorcetes was born in 337/6 B.C. in Macedonia and died in 283 B.C. in Asia Minor. His younger brother, Philip, was born in Kelainai, the capital of Phrygia Major, as Stratonice had followed her husband in the Asia Minor campaign. Demetrius spent his childhood in Kelainai and is supposed to have received mainly military education.1 At the age of seventeen he married Phila, daughter of the Macedonian general and supervisor of Macedonia, Antipater, and widow of Antipater’s expectant successor, Craterus. The marriage must have served political purposes, as Antipater had been appointed commander of the Macedonian district towards the end of the First War of the Succesors (321-320 B.C.).
2. Early War Experience
Demetrius was initiated into the military art by his father and early on participated in important military conflicts. He first fought on the side of Monophthalmos in the Battle of Paraitacene (317 B.C.), on the boundary line between Persia and Media, before he was appointed a few weeks later commander of the select corps of the Macedonian cavalry in the battle of Gabiene (January 316 B.C.), which gave Monophthalmos control over the region from the Hindu Kush to the Aegean.2 At the age of twenty-six, while his father hastened to Caria to confront Cassander, who had joined Ptolemy I and Lysimachus against him, Demetrius decided to repel the invasion of Ptolemy I to Syria with the help of the Macedonian Peithon, Philip, Andronicus the Olynthian and Nearchus.3 The heavy defeat of Demetrius by Ptolemy I in Gaza in 312 B.C.4 made him temporarily to forget his dominion over Syria. However, soon after he returned and laid siege to the cities of Babylon. The peace of 311 B.C., which put an end to that phase of the conflict, was soon violated by the Ptolemaic side. What is more, Ptolemy’s expansion to the Aegean and Cyprus made Demetrius return to the Carian and Cilician coasts immediately after the liberation of Athens from Cassander’s dominion. The conflict between the Ptolemaic and the Antigonid fleet in Salamis, Cyprus, won Demetrius a crushing victory (306 BC), which led to the concerted attack of Antigonus (by land) and Demetrius (by sea) against Egypt.
Demetrius was not indifferent to Greece in the aforementioned period. In 307 B.C. he led the Antigonid campaign against Greece and liberated Athens from the regime of Demetrius Phalereus. He occupied the port of Piraeus and Munichia (modern Kastella)5 and remained in Athens in order to organise the conference of the Greek cities that had joined Antigonus and protect them in case
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Cassander counterattacked.6 The victory at Salamis of Cyprus in 306 B.C. gave his father the opportunity to claim, first among the Diadochoi (Succesors), the royal title for himself and Demetrius. However, at the same time, the long siege of Rhodes, which gave Demetrius his mocking epithet “Poliorcetes”( meaning the besieger in Greek), was lifted after negotiations (304 B.C.).7 Demetrius was more effective as a general of Antigonus in Greece (304-302 B.C.), as he incorporated Boeotia and Aetolia in the league and reorganised the Corinthian League (302 B.C.). Antigonus’death in the battle of Ipsus (301 B.C.) inaugurated a new period for Demetrius, who was the only Antigonid holder of the royal title, although his kingdom was not clearly defined: in mainland Greece he still maintained his domination over Corinth, Megara, some cities of the Peloponnese8 and the Cyclades9, while he also possessed Cyprus. In Asia Minor he dominated Abydus, Erythrae, Clazomenae, Ephesus, Lampsacus, Parion and Miletus,10 as well as Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia.
When the dispute between Ptolemy I and Seleucus about the dominance over Coele Syria broke out, the league was disbanded and Seleucus temporarily allied with Demetrius, the natural enemy of both Ptolemy and Lysimachus, in the city of Rhossus, Syria. The alliance was consummated when Seleucus married the young daughter of Demetrius, Stratonice, and Cilicia was ceded to Demetrius (299/8 B.C.).11 Τhe gap left behind due to Cassander’s death in Greek political matters gave Demetrius a reason to return to Greece in the spring of 295 B.C. in order to liberate Athens from the tyrant Lachares12 and defeat the Spartans. It was then that he was informed that, while he had been away, Ptolemy I had laid claims to Cyprus, Seleucus to Cilicia and Lysimachus to the Ionian cities still dominated by Demetrius.13 At that point he was summoned to mediate with the contestants for the succession in Macedonia, where he became a king after assassinating Alexander IV (294 B.C.).14 During his reign (294-287 B.C.)15 he extended his influence over central Greece (in that period Thebes was besieged twice) and the West.16 But as his major ambition was to recreate the empire of Alexander the Great, he prepared a force of 500 ships until 288 B.C. That movement united his opponents, Seleucus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy I. His army refused to fight when Macedonia was attacked from the East. Demetrius was then exiled from Macedonia and lost control over southern Greece when the Athenians turned his garrison out of the city (though not of Piraeus). This anomaly led to peace negotiations (287 B.C.) on the initiative of Ptolemy I, who encouraged Demetrius to lay claims to Asia Minor. However, in Asia Minor the Antigonid army was decimated by cholera and famine and, as a result, Demetrius surrendered to Seleucus. He spent the last two years of his life captured, while drinking and loose life accelerated his death. The Antigonid dynasty in mainland Greece was restored by his son, Antigonus II Gonatas, who had aspirations on the Asia Minor coast.
3. Evaluation
Demetrius Poliorcetes lived a turbulent and therefore a full life. His strategic genius was revealed and exploited in the best way under the firm guidance of his father, Antigonus Monophthalmos, who was the mastermind of the dynasty. Demetrius applied himself to the technological improvement of the army and the navy. Innovations such as the use of new siege machines or the construction of ships with fifty oars allowed him to have satisfactory results in the military conflicts with his enemies.
At the political level, his greatest achievement is that he managed to turn his naval force into continental. His representations on the coins he minted after 300 B.C., when he won the glorious naval victory in Salamis of Cyprus (306 B.C.), reveal the weight of his naval policy on boosting the prestige of the Antigonids in Asia Minor after the heavy defeat in Ipsus (301 B.C.). Moreover, he founded important cities like Demetrias in Thessaly (293 B.C.).17 However, it is a fact that he never framed a coherent policy like his father had done before him. Besides, he did not realise that the time for great campaigns had permanently passed and, consequently, his attempt to regain the Asian possessions previously belonging to Monophthalmos turned against him.
The literary sources referring to the appearance of the Antigonid king note that his exceptional beauty, which was a mixture of a heroism unusual for his young age and royal decency, combining “grace and gravity, dignity and beauty”,18 was never satisfactorily represented by writings or works of art (i.e. statues attributed to him,19 probably with the exception of a figure in the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great and a representation in the wall paintings of a Roman house in Βοscoreale, Italy). In his youth he was aimable and easy to approach. His flexibility allowed him to deal with difficult situations, although he was often impulsive, opportunist, uncertain and reckless. Τhese qualities had sometimes been disastrous, already since the years of Monophthalmos. For example, in the Battle of Ipsus (301 B.C.), when he remained the sole ruler, the qualities mentioned above turned out to be serious disadvantages
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The authoritarian character he had as well as his megalomania encouraged eccentric stances, as it happened with the honour the Athenians conferred on the “saviours”or “saviour gods”Antigonus Monophthalmos and Demetrius after the liberation of the city in 307 B.C., as well as the establishment of games and a cult in their honour, the addition of two new tribes in Athens, the Antigonid tribe and the Demetrias tribe, the erection of their statues in Athens and the addition of two sacred ships, whose names derived from the names of Antigonus and Demetrius, to the sacred triremes Paralus and Ammonias. It should also be noted that in both the special hymn in ithyphallic metre, composed by the Athenians in his honour on the occasion of the Eleusinian Mysteries after his return from Corfu (291 or 290 B.C.), where Demetrius is called “Poseidon”( implying his naval victory in Salamis) and “Aphrodite’s son”, and an almost contemporary Athenian resolution he is presented as a god and is requested to lead the war against northern enemies.22 Finally, the month Mounichion was renamed in his honour, while a special festival named after him was celebrated.23
Broadly speaking, the dramatic changes in the turbulent life of Demetrius Poliorcetes reflect the fluidity of the years of the Diadochoi (Succesors).
1. Wehrli, C., Antigone et Démétrios (Génève 1968), p. 140 ff., p. 199, n. 31.
2. Diod. Sic., 19.56.4-5.
3. Plut., Dem. 19, .59, 69.1, 86. Diod. Sic., 19.69.1.
4. Diod. Sic., 19.83-5.
5. Polyaen., 4.7.6, Plut., Dem. 8.3 - 9, Diod. Sic., 20.45.2-3.
6. Diod. Sic., 20.46.5.
7. Diod. Sic., 20.81 ff.
8. Plut., Dem. 30.4, 31.2, 39.1.
9. Newell, Ε.Τ., The Coinages οf Demetrius Poliorcetes (Οxford 1927), p. 44.
10. About Abydus: Diod. Sic., 20.107, 2-3. About Erythrae and Clazomenae: Diod. Sic., 10.107.5. About Ephesus, Lampsacus and Parion: Diod. Sic., 20.111.3. About Miletus: SIG3 322.
11. Plut., Dem. 32-3; App. Syr., 59-62; Will, Ε., Histoire politique du monde Hellénistique 1 (323 av. J.-C.) (Nancy 1979), p. 88-89; CAH 7.12 (1989) p. 101-110 (E. Will).
12. IG II2 1.646; Habicht, Chr., Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte Athens im 3. Jahreshundert (Vestigia 30, München 1979), p. 2-8; idem, Athens from Alexander to Antony (Cambridge 1997), p. 88, n. 75.
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13. SIG 368, Plut., Dem. 35.2.
14. The accuracy of the information concerning the exact year Poliorcetes ascended the Macedonian throne, as provided by Porphyrius of Tyre, is challenged: FGrHist 260, F 3; Lévêque, F., Pyrrhos (Paris 1979), p. 178-180; Wehrli, C., Antigone et Demetrios (Genève 1968), p. 169, n. 1-2.
15. FGrHist 260, F 3, 31: according to Eusebius, Demetrius reigned six years in Macedonia and six months in Thessaly.
16. Plut., Dem. 39 ff. Polyaen., 4.7.11; Wehrli, C., Antigone et Demetrios (Genève 1968), p. 169-192.
17. About the foundation of Demetrias, see Strabo 9.43; Stählin, F. – Meyer, E. – Heidner, A., Pagasai und Demetrias (Berlin 1934), p. 178 ff. Furtwngler, A., Demetrias, Eine Makedonische Gründung im Netz Hellenistischer Handels- und Geldpolitik, unpublished dissertation for readership (Saarland 1990); Habicht, Chr., Athens from Alexander to Antony (Harvard 1999), p. 90, n. 84.
18. Plut., Dem. 2.2; Diod. Sic., 20.92.3.
19. Laubscher, W., “Hellenistische Herrscher und Pan”, MDAI (Ath) 100 (1985), p. 340-350.
20. Plut., Dem. 14.1.
21. About Poliorcetes’prostitutes in Athens, see FGrHist 75 F 1; PCG 7.347, fr. 5; Athen. 3.101Ε.4, 128Α; FGrHist 81 F 12; Athen. 3, 4, 6, 13-14. About the relationships of Poliorcetes with notable Athenians see Plut., Dem. 242-4.
22. Μikalson, J.D., Religion in Hellenistic Athens (Berkeley – Los Angeles – London 1998), p. 75-104; Habicht, Chr., Athens from Alexander to Anthony (Harvard 1999), p. 92.
23. An inscription from the festival in honour of Demetrius, dating from 292 B.C., has been preserved: IG II² 649. See Habicht, Chr., Athens from Alexander to Anthony (Harvard 1999), p. 88, n. 77. The honours conferred on Demetrius must have been abolished after the revolt of Athens in 287 B.C., although the “saviours”Antigonus and Demetrius continued to be worshipped.
Βιβλιογραφία : Billows R.A., Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State, Berkeley – Los Angeles – London 1990
Habicht C., Athens from Alexander to Antony, HUP, Cambrigde Mass. – London 1999
Will E., Histoire Politique du Monde Hellénistique. 320-30 av. J.-C., 2, Nancy 1983
Newell E.T., The Coinages of Demetrius Poliorcetes, Obol International, Chicago 1978
Wehrli C., Antigone et Demetrios, Geneva 1968
Badian E., "Antigonos Monophthalmos", NPauly 1.1, 1996
Bergmann M., "Hymnos der Athener auf Demetrios Poliorketes", Barner, W., Querlektüren: Weltliteratur zwischen den Disziplinen, Göttingen 1997, 25–47
Dimitrakos G., Demetrius Poliorketes und Athen, Hamburg 1937
Elkeles G., Demetrius der Städtbelagerer, Breslau 1941
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Βοwsworth Α.Β., "Demetrius (4) I of Makedonia", Hornblower, S., Spawforth, A. (eds.), Οxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford 1996
Lefèvre F., "Traité de paix entre Démétrios Poliorcète et la confédération étolienne (fin 289 ?)", BCH, 122, 1998, 109–141
Μanni E., Demetrio Poliorcete, Roma 1951
Μikalson J.D., Religion in Hellenistic Athens, Berkeley – Los Angeles – London 1998
Μørkholm O., Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamea (336- 188 B.C.), Cambridge 1991
Wheatley P.V., "The lifespan of Demetrius Poliorcetes", Historia, 46, 1997, 19–27
Wheatley P.V., "The young Demetrius Poliorcetes", The Ancient History Bulletin, 13, 1999, 1-13
Will E., "Τhe Period of Antigonus Monophthalmus (321-301)", CAH, 2, 1984, 39-61
Lévêque F, Pyrrhos, Paris 1979
Habicht C., Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte Athens im 3. Jahreshundert, München 1979, Vestigia 30
Laubscher W, "Hellenistische Herrscher und Pan", MDAI, 100 , 1985, 340-350
Furtwängler A.E., Demetrias. Eine makedonische Gründung im Netz hellenistischer Handels- und Geldpolitik, Saarland 1990
Meyer Ε., Stählin F, Heidner A, Pagasai und Demetrias, Berlin 1934
Will E., "The formation of the Hellenistic Kingdoms", CAH 7.12, 1989, 101-117
Δικτυογραφία : Ancient Coinage of Macedonia, Kings, Demetrios Poliorcetes http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/macedonia/kings/demetrios_poliorcetes/i.html Demetrios Poliorcetes http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft267nb1f9&chunk.id=ch3&toc.depth=1&toc.id=ch3&brand=eschol
Παραθέματα C. P. Cavafis, The King Demetrios
“So he went into his tent, and cast a black cloke about his face, in stead of his rich and stately cloke he was wont to weare: not like unto a King, but like a common player when the play is done, and then secretly stale away.” —
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Plutarch: Life of Demetrius (North’s version)
His Macedonian troops forsaking him, and manifest their preference for Pyrrhus, — Demetrius the King (a great-souled man he was) did not at all, so people said, act like unto a King. For he then went and took off the majestic dress he wore took off the purple shoes; and hastily slipped into plain attire, and stole away: behaving as behaves a common player, who, having played his part upon the stage, changes his dress and leaves the theatre.
(abstract, transl. by John Cavafy)
Χρονολόγιο
337/6 B.C.: Demetrius Poliorcetes is born in Macedonia.
319 B.C.:: Demetrius marries Phila.
317 B.C.: Participation in the Battle of Paraitacene.
316 B.C.: Participation in the Battle of Gabiene.
312 B.C.: Demetrius is defeated by Ptolemy I in Gaza.
311 B.C.: Peace among Antigonus, Ptolemy I, Lysimachus and Cassander.
307 B.C.: Demetrius captures Piraeus and Mounichia. Athens asserts its independence.
306 B.C.: Demetrius defeats the Ptolemaic fleet in Salamis, Cyprus.
304 B.C.: The long siege of Rhodes is lifted after negotiations (Demetrius is given the epithet “Poliorcetes”).
304-302 B.C.: Campaign to Greece: the league expands to Boeotia and Aetolia; the League of Corinth is reorganised.
301 B.C.: Debacle of the Antigonids in the Battle of Ipsus. Demetrius is the sole Antigonid king.
299/8 B.C.: Alliance with Seleucus I, who marries Demetrius’ daughter, Stratonice. Cilicia is ceded to Demetrius.
295 B.C.: Demetrius Poliorcetes intervenes in the struggle for the succession to the Macedonian throne. Alexander IV is killed by Poliorcetes, who ascends the Macedonian throne.
April 295 B.C.: Demetrius liberates Athens from the tyranny of Lachares. Interest in Cyprus.
295-294 B.C.: Involvement in the struggle for the succession to the Macedonian throne. Demetrius kills Alexander IV and ascends the Macedonian throne.
294-287 B.C.: His sphere of influence expands over central Greece and the West. Thebes is besieged twice.
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288 B.C.: Alliance among Seleucus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy I against Demetrius, who is exiled from Macedonia.
287 B.C.: Demetrius Poliorcetes turns to Asia Minor; he surrenders to Seleucus Nicator and is captured.
283 B.C.: Demetrius dies in Asia Minor.
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