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of that princess had induced Seleucus to demand her in marriage; and, as the affairs of Demetrius were at that time in a very bad condition, so honourable an alliance, with so powerful a prince, was exceedingly agreeable to him. In consequence of which he immediately conducted his daughter, with all his fleet, into Syria, from Greece, where he was still in possession of some places. During his passage he made a descent on Cilicia, which then belonged to Plistarchus, the brother of Cassander, to whom it had been assigned by the four kings, who divided the dominions of Alexander the Great after the death of Antigonus. Plistarchus went to complain of this proceeding to Seleucus, and to reproach him for contracting an alliance with the common enemy, without the consent of the other kings, which he considered as an infraction of the treaty, Demetrius, receiving intelligence of this journey, advanced directly to the city of Quinda, where the treasures of the province, amounting to 1200 talents 4, were deposited. These he carried off, with all expedition, to his fleet, and then set sail for Syria, where he found Seleucus, and gave him the princess Stratonice in marriage. Demetrius, after some days passed in rejoicings for the nuptials, and in entertainments given on each side, returned to Cilicia, and made himself master of the whole province. He then sent his wife Phila to Cassander, in order to excuse this proceeding. These kings imitated the princes of the east, with whom it is customary to have several wives at the same time.

During these transactions of Demetrius, Deidamia, another of his wives, who had taken a journey to meet him in Greece, and had passed some time with him in that country, was seized with an indisposition that ended her days. Demetrius having reconciled himself with Ptolemy, by the mediation of Seleucus, espoused Ptolemaida, the daughter of Ptolemy, by which means his affairs began to assume a better aspect; for he had all the island of Cyprus, and the two rich and powerful cities of Tyre and Sidon, besides his new conquests in Cilicia.

It was very imprudent in Seleucus to permit so dangerous an enemy to establish himself at so small a distance from him, and to usurp from one of his allies a province so near his own dominions as Cilicia. All this shows that these princes had no established rules and principles of conduct, and were even ignorant of the true interests of their ambition. For, as to sincerity, equity, and gratitude, they had long since renounced them all, and only reigned for the unhappiness of their people, as the author of the first book of Maccabees has observed c.

a Twelve hundred thousand crowns, C Chap. i. ver, J. 10.

A. M. 3706. Ant. J. C. 298*

The eyes of Seleucus were, however, open at last; and, in order to prevent his having a neighbour of such abilities on each side of his dominions, he required Demetrius to surrender Cilicia to him for a very considerable sum of money; but that prince not being disposed to comply with such a proposal, Seleucus insisted upon his restoring him the cities of Tyre and Sidon, that were dependencies on Syria, of which he was king. Demetrius, enraged at this demand, replied, very abruptly, that, though he should lose several other battles as fatal to him as that of Ipsus, he could never resolve to purchase the friendship of Seleucus at so high a price. At the same time he sailed to those two cities, where he reinforced their garrisons, and furnished them with all things necessary for a vigorous defence; by which means the intention of Seleucus to take them from him was rendered ineffectual at that time. This proceeding of Seleucus was very conformable to the rules of political interest, but had such an odious aspect, with reference to the maxims of honour, that it shocked all mankind, and was universally condemned for, as his dominions were of such a vast extent as to include all the countries between India and the Mediterranean, how insatiable was that rigour and avidity which would not permit him to leave his father-in-law the peaceable enjoyment of the shattered remains of his fortune!

a Cassander died about this time of a dropsy, after having governed Macedonia for the space of nine years from the death of his father, and six or seven from the last partition. He left three sons by Thessalonica, one of the sisters of Alexander the Great. Philip, who succeeded him, dying soon after, left his crown to be contested by his two brothers.

Pyrrhus, the famous king of Epirus, had espoused Antigone, a relation of Ptolemy, in Egypt. This young prince was the son of acides, whom the Molossians, in a rebellion, had expelled from the throne; and it was with great difficulty that Pyrrhus himself, then an infant at the breast, was preserved from the fury of the rebels, who pursued him with intent to destroy him. After various adventures, he was conducted to the court of king Glaucias, in Illyria, where he was taken into the protection of that prince. Cassander, the mortal enemy of acides, solicited the king to deliver the young prince into his hands, and offered him 200 talents on that occasion: Glaucias, however, was struck with horror at such a proposal, and, when the infant had attained the 12th year of his age, he conducted him in person to Epirus, with a powerful army, and reinstated him in his dominions; by which means the Molossians were compelled to submit to force. Justin tells us, that, their hatred being sofa A. M. 3707. Ant. J. C. 297. & Plut. in Pyrrh. p. 383-385

tened into compassion, they themselves recalled him, and assigned him guardians to govern the kingdom till he should be of age himself; but there seems to be no great probability in his account.

When he had attained his 17th year, he began to think himself sufficiently established on the throne, and set out from his capital city for Illyria, in order to be present at the nuptials of one of the sons of Glaucias, with whom he had been brought up. The Molossians, taking advantage of his absence, revolted a second time, drove all his friends out of the kingdom, seized all his treasures, and conferred the crown on Neoptolemus, his great uncle. Pyrrhus being thus divested of his dominions, and finding himself destitute of all succours, retired to his brother-in-law, Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, who had espoused his sister Deidamia.

This young prince distinguished himself among the bravest in the battle that was fought on the plains of Ipsus, and would not forsake Demetrius even after he was defeated. He also preserved for him those Grecian cities which that prince had confided to him; and, when a treaty of peace was concluded between Ptolemy and Demetrius, by the mediation of Seleucus, Pyrrhus went into Egypt as a hostage for his brother-in-law.

During his continuance at the court of Ptolemy he gave sufficient proofs of his strength, address, and extraordinary patience, in hunting, martial exercises, and all other labours. Observing, that, of all the wives of Ptolemy, Berenice had the greatest ascendance over him, and that she surpassed the others in wit and prudence as well as beauty, he attached himself to her in particular; for, as he was already an able politician, he neglected no opportunity of making his court to those on whom his fortune depended, and was studious to ingratiate himself with such persons as were capable of being useful to him. His noble and engaging demeanour procured him such a share in Ptolemy's esteem, that he gave him Antigona, the daughter of Berenice, his favourite consort, in preference to several young princes who demanded her in marriage. This lady was the daughter of Berenice, by Philip, her first husband, who was a Macedonian nobleman, little known with respect to any other particular. When Pyrrhus had espoused Antigone, the queen had so much influence over her consort as to induce him to grant his son-in-law a fleet, with a supply of money, which enabled him to repossess himself of his dominions. Here began the fortune of an exiled prince, who was afterwards esteemed the greatest general of his age: and it must be acknowledged, that every instance of his early conduct denoted extraordinary merit, and raised great expectations of his future glory.

"Athens, as we have already observed, had revolted from Demetrius, and shut her gates against him; but, when that prince thought he had sufficiently provided for the security of his territories in Asia, he marched against that rebellious and ungrateful city, with a resolution to punish her as she deserved. The first year was employed in the reduction of the Messenians, and the conquest of some other cities who had quitted his party; but he returned the next season to Athens, which he closely blocked up, and reduced to the last extremity, by cutting off all communication of provisions. A fleet of 150 sail, sent by king Ptolemy to succour the Athenians, and which appeared on the coasts of Ægina, afforded them but a transient joy; for, when this naval force saw a strong fleet arrive from Peloponnesus to the assistance of Demetrius, besides a great number of other vessels from Cyprus, and that the whole amounted to 300, they weighed anchor and fled.

Although the Athenians had issued a decree, by which they made it capital for any person even to mention a peace with Demetrius, the extreme necessity to which they were reduced, by want of provisions, obliged them to open their gates to him. When he entered the city, he commanded the inhabitants to assemble in the theatre, which he surrounded with armed troops, and posted his guards on each side of the stage where the dramatic pieces were performed; and then, descending from the upper part of the theatre, in the manner usual with the actors, he showed himself to that multitude, who seemed rather dead than living, and waited for the event in inexpressible terror, expecting it would prove the sentence for their destruction; but he dissipated their apprehensions by the first expressions he uttered; for he did not raise his voice like a man affected with the emotions of rage, nor deliver himself in any passionate or insulting language, but softened the tone of his voice, and only addressed himself to them in gentle complaints and amicable expostulations. He pardoned their offence, and restored them to his favour; presenting them at the same time with 100,000 measures of corn, and reinstating such magistrates as were most agreeable to them. The joy of this people may be easily conceived from the terrors with which they were before affected: and how glorious must such a prince be, who could always support so brilliant, so admirable, a character!

When he had regulated the state of affairs in Athens, he determined to reduce the Lacedæmonians. Archidamus, their king, advanced as far as Mantinea to meet him ; but

a A. M. 3708. b A. M. 3709.

Ant. J. C. 296. Plut. in Demctr, p. 904, 905.
Ant. J C. 295.

Demetrius defeated him in a great battle, and obliged him to have recourse to flight; after which he advanced into Laconia, and fought another battle in the very sight of Sparta. He was again victorious; 500 of the enemies were made prisoners, and 200 killed upon the spot, so that he was already considered as master of the city, which had never been taken before.

In that important moment he received two pieces of intelligence, which compelled him to direct his attention to a quite different quarter. The first was, that Lysimachus had lately divested him of all his territories in Asia; and the other, that Ptolemy had made a descent on Cyprus and conquered all the island, except Salamina, where the mother of Demetrius, with his wife and children, had retired; and that the king of Egypt carried on the siege of that city with great vigour. Demetrius left all to fly to their assistance, but was soon informed that the place had surrendered. Ptolemy had the generosity to give the mother, wife, and children, of his enemy their liberty without any ransom, and to dismiss them with all their attendants and effects. He even made them magnificent presents at their departure, which he accompanied with all imaginable marks of honour.

The loss of Cyprus was soon succeeded by that of Tyre and Sidon; and Seleucus dispossessed him of Cilicia on another side. Thus, in a very short time, he saw himself divested of all his dominions, without any resource or hopes for the future.

SECT. II.

Dispute between the two sons of Cassander. Demetrius proclaimed king of Macedonia.

No prince was ever obnoxious to greater vicissitudes of fortune, or ever experienced more sudden changes, than Demetrius. He exposed himself to these events by his imprudence, amusing himself with inconsiderable conquests, while he abandoned his provinces to the first invader. His greatest successes were immediately followed by his being dispossessed of all his dominions, and almost reduced to despair, when, suddenly, an unexpected resource offered itself from a quarter from whence he had not the least room to expect it.

a In the quarrel between the two sons of Cassander for the crown, Thessalonica, their mother, favoured Alexander, who was the youngest, which so enraged Antipater, the eldest son, that he killed her with his own hands, though she

a A. M. 3710. Ant. J. C. 291. Plut in Demetr. p. 905, in Pyrrh. p. 386. Justin, 1. xvi. c. 1.

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