Antigonus II Gonatas was born in 319 BC and died in 239 BC. He was the king of Macedonia from the Antigonides dynasty, and he ruled from 277 to 239 BC. Antigonus’ father was Demetrius I Poliorcetes. The childhood and youth of Antigonus was spent in the first decades of the wars of Diadochos.
After defeat at the Battle of Ipsus, Demetrius I retained his influence in the Balkans for another 15 years. When he went to war with Seleucus I, Demetrius left Antigonus to manage all the affairs in Greece. After the death of Demetrius in 286 BC, Antigonus retained command over his garrisons in Acrocorinth, Chalcis, and Demetriada. After the death of the last Diadochs Lysimachus and Seleucus in 281 BC, Antigonus intervened in the struggle for power over Macedonia, but victory a battle at sea in 281 BC was won by Ptolemy Keravn, who briefly became king of Macedonia. Antigonus was forced to withdraw to Asia Minor, where he fought against the forces of Antiochus I.
The invasion of the Celts into Macedonia led again to anarchy in Macedonia, accompanied by a rapid change of its’ rulers. In 277 BC, Antigonus landed in the Hellespont, and surprised and defeated the Celts in the battle of Lysimachia. In 276 BC, he took the Macedonian throne.
THE FIRST YEARS OF REIGN
The reign of Antigonus began with an attempt to restore order in Greek politics. The king’s first steps were directed against the anti-Macedonian union formed on the Peloponnese, but they were interrupted by an invasion on Macedonia in 274 BC, by Epirus King Pyrrhus. Antigonus Gonatas came out to meet him with a mercenary army, made up primarily of Celts; but he was defeated, losing to the enemies from Thessaly, Upper Macedonia, and even the old Macedonian capital, and he was forced to flee to Thessalonica. In 273 BC with a new mercenary army, he invaded Epirus, but again was defeated by the son of Pyrrhus Ptolemy, and was forced again to flee to the coast. In the year 272 BC, Pyrrhus moved against Sparta in the Peloponnese. Taking advantage of this, Antigonus again took possession of Macedonia and went after Pyrrhus. During the storming of Argos, Pyrrhus was killed, and there was no one to challenge Antigonus in Macedonia. Antigonus began to increase his influence in the Peloponnese, establishing a loyal tyrannical regime. He abstained from leaving his army garrisons in the Peloponnesian cities, with a few exceptions. These measures of Antigonus allowed him to restore relative peace in Greece. As the strengthening of Macedonia began, in many ways he was able to improve the internal situation and strengthen his foreign policy.
WAR
The peace was broken in 266/265 BC, when Athens declared its’ independence, supported by the Macedonian king of Egypt, Ptolemy. Egypt had not interfered in the affairs in the Balkan Peninsula until that time, but Ptolemy was concerned by the growing power of the Macedonian fleet, which, being reinforced by pirates, dominated the Aegean Sea. Nominally, the war began with Athens; but in fact, it was a war between Egypt and Macedonia. On receiving news of the Athens uprising, Antigonus immediately invaded Attica and besieged Athens. The siege was strengthened by the fact that the harbor of Piraeus was in the hands of the Macedonians. When the Egyptian fleet came from Alexandria, Sparta and some Peloponnesian cities joined the uprising. The Spartans and their allies, however, were locked up in the Peloponnese by the Macedonian garrison in Corinth; and could not come to the aid of the Athenians. The Egyptian landing in Attica did not provide significant assistance to Athens. In Megara, the mercenary detachments of Celts, formerly serving Antigonus, rebelled, but he defeated them in battle.
The following year, the Spartans made an attempt to attack Antigonus in Corinth. In the battle, the Spartans were defeated, and the Spartan king was killed. The Megalopolis tyrant Aristodem inflicted another crushing defeat on the Spartans, who lost their king for the second time in battle.
Taking advantage of the absence of Antigonus, weakened Macedonia was attacked. This forced Antigonus to lift the siege of Athens, initiate an enforced peace, and urgently move back to Macedonia. There he was defeated and lost his army. His brother Demetrius defeated the enemy in the Battle of Dergy. Antigonus returned to Athens. At the same time, Antigonus’ intelligence reported that reinforcements had arrived from Alexandria that were stationed on the roads to Athens. Antigonus did not let the enemies unite, and he went with his fleet and defeated the Egyptian navy. The victory over the Egyptians allowed Antigonus to regain dominance in the Aegean Sea. In the autumn of 262 BC, Athena surrendered. With the victory over Macedonia, the war ended in 261 BC.
STRENGTHENING OF MACEDONIA
Antigonus directed all his efforts to the strengthening of Macedonia, and Greece was finally pacified. Having secured a solid rear in the Balkans, Antigonus began to strengthen the economy of the state and replenish the treasury. The reign of Antigonus was marked by the strengthening of Macedonia and the increase of its’ influence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Antigonus had to resist the intrigues of the Egyptian Ptolemy, who tried to weaken the Macedonian’s position in the Peloponnese. Antigonus Gonatas died in 239 BC, passing the Macedonian throne to his son Demetrius Aetolicus. He was a determined and energetic politician, who was able to achieve his goals in a roundabout way. At the same time, he was a generous and a gentle person.
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