Antigone II Gonatas

Antigone II Gonatas , Macedonia of -277 with -239 with a short interruption in -274 and -273.

Origin

Born towards 320/319 av. J.C it is wire of Démétrios I {{er}} Poliorcète and of Phila Ire he is thus at the same time the grandson of Antigone One-eyed the and Antipater two of the Diadoque S of Alexandre Large the.

Conquest of the capacity

With died of his/her father, Démétrios Poliorcète, whereas it does not have any more but of one fleet and some possessions in Greece, Antigone II Gonatas make a first attempt to seize Macedonia: it is pushed back by Sosthène and is folded up towards the Thrace. But after a resounding victory against a band of Gallate S close to Lysimacheia in 277, it draws a sufficient prestige from it to be essential as king of Macedonia weakened well by two decades of civil wars and plunderings. Rejecting the ambitious but so adventurous Asian policies of its predecessors, it is devoted to reinforce the kingdom, from now on with the variation of the great conflicts. There is hardly but at sea Égée and in Greece of the South which it runs up against the power lagide. Symbol of its return to the tradition, it brings back the royal capital to Pella of Cassandréia and Démétrias where it had been successively moved, out of the historical heart of the kingdom.

War against Pyrrhus

The capacity of Antigone Gonatas is threatened first once by the king d' Épire Pyrrhus sunken of Italy in 275 to reconstitute its army: Pyrrhus invades Macedonia and Antigone must be folded up on the coast, in Thessalonique, where damping its fleet. Pyrrhus quickly alienates however the Macedonians by letting his mercenaries gallates plunder the necropolis royal of Aigéai. When it leaves Macedonia, left with the guard of his/her Ptolémée son, to go guerroyer in the Peloponnese, Antigone take again the offensive quickly: beaten first once by Ptolémée, it ends up driving out it of Macedonia in 272 and sends helps to Sparte threatened by Pyrrhus. This one then gives up taking the city and is folded up towards North and Argos where Antigone arrives before him, although having had to circumvent by the sea the territories of the League étolienne which is hostile for him. In the battle of Argos in 272, Pyrrhus is killed, and his/her son and successor Alexandre II must give up for a time any ambition on Greece.

War counter the Greek cities

The domination Macedonian on Greece however is quickly threatened: one of the chiefs of the party antimacédonien to Athens, Chrémonidès, operation successfully to bring closer Athens de Sparte in 268. The first seeks to expel the Macedonians of the Attic, the second to sit its domination on the Peloponnese. Many cities of the Peloponnese and Crete join with this alliance, which enjoys in addition the support of Ptolémée II Philadelphe, combined of Sparte. It is the Guerre chrémonidéenne, whose operations primarily take place around Corinthe, the strong point of the device Macedonian in Greece, held by the half-brother of the king, Cratère, and in Attic. Sparte tries by three times between 267 and 265 to in vain take Corinthe, and the king Spartan Areus I {{er}} finds death in the last attempt. Antigone Gonatas besieges Athens which finds a short respite in a diversion caused by the attack in Macedonia of the king d' Épire Alexandre II in 262: Antigone must conduct a fast campaign to drive out it of Macedonia and Épire, before returning to put the seat in front of Athens which, famished, capitulates in 261.

War against the kingdoms hellenistic

The following decade sees Antigone Gonatas, assured the domination on central Greece, to follow an aggressive policy in the islands and to mix with the wars between Séleucides and Lagides, in faithful ally of the first: it thus gains an important victory with Cos, probably in 258 within the framework of the Second Syrian war, which it celebrates by offering in dedication its flagship to the sanctuary of Apollo to Délos, where it is placed in the Néôrion. Towards 250, a fleet lagide demolishes nevertheless in a decisive way the Macedonians and calls into question their influence in Cyclades until a new victory of Antigone, with broad of Andros in 245 within the framework of the war which opposes the two new kings Ptolémée III Évergète and Séleucos II starting from 246. Antigone again celebrates this victory with Délos by two festivals, the Sôtèria and the Paneia .

The domination Macedonian on central Greece is seriously compromised first once in 249 with the revolt of Alexandre, the son of Crater, with which Antigone had however confirmed its command of the garrison of Corinth: he rebels and involves with him the cities of Eubée in exchange of their freedom. Antigone must await impromptue death of Alexandre in -245 to take again the control of the isthmus to the favor of the preparations of a political marriage between the widow of Alexandre, Nicée, and its Démétrius son. The cities of Eubée also return in the row.

The end of the reign of Antigone Gonatas is marked by the rise to power of the Achaean League: Aratos succeeds in seizing Acrocorinthe by a daring knack in 243, and the cities of Mégare, Épidaure and Trézène join its rows. Antigone remains surprisingly passive after this reverse, and is satisfied to make peace with the League étolienne, which it then pushes to tackle the Achaens, between 243 and 240.

In spite of the reverses in Greece of the last years, its reign is characterized by a return to stability and peace for Macedonia, which, without reaching the power of the great Asian States hellenistic, remains the most powerful State of the Balkan Peninsula. He does not exert however any more an influence in Thrace and in the valley of the Danube. In Greece, Antigone does not seek to be opposed frontally to the League étolienne, but is satisfied to ensure its control on a series of harbor garrisons which ensure a sea route to him towards the South: Chalcis, Pirée and Corinthe: the revolt of Alexandre then the loss of Corinth represent an important blow with this defensive system. It is pressed, especially on the end of its reign, local tyrants to control the cities of Argos, Mégalopolis, Phlius and Hermione. In addition, Antigone Gonatas deliberately leads a policy saving the military liftings to the population Macedonian, having recourse to the place with the mercenaries, gallates, illyriens or Greeks.

Antigone Gonatas dies in spring 239 and his/her son Démétrius II succeeds to him.

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