Demetrius II of Macedon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Demetrius II , son of Antigonus Gonatas , reigned as king of Macedonia from 239 to 229 BC . He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty .

He had already during his father's lifetime distinguished himself by defeating Alexander II of Epirus at Derdia and so saving Macedonia (about 260?). On his accession he had to face a coalition which the two great leagues, usually rivals, the Aetolian and Achaean , formed against the Macedonian power. He succeeded in dealing this coalition severe blows, wresting Boeotia from their alliance. The revolution in Epirus , which substituted a republican league for the monarchy, gravely weakened his position.

Demetrius had also to defend Macedonia against the wild peoples of the north. A battle with the Dardanians turned out disastrously, and he died shortly afterwards, leaving Philip, his son by Chryseis, still a child.

Former wives of Demetrius were Stratonice, the daughter of the Seleucid king Antiochus I , Phthia the daughter of Alexander of Epirus, and Nicaea, the widow of his cousin Alexander. The chronology of these marriages is a matter of dispute.