Antigonid dynasty

Map of the 2nd Macedonian War

In 309 BC, Cassander commanded Glaucias to secretly assassinate the 14-year-old Alexander IV of Macedon and his mother. The Macedonian Argead dynasty became extinct. In 306 BC, after defeating Ptolemy at the naval Battle of Salamis, Demetrius I conquered Cyprus. Following that victory Antigonus I assumed the title of Basileus (King of Alexander's Empire) and bestowed the same upon his son. Antigonus I ruled mostly over Asia Minor and northern Syria. His attempts to take control of the whole of Alexander's empire led to his defeat and death at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. Antigonus's son Demetrius I Poliorcetes survived the battle, and managed to seize control of Macedon itself a few years later, but eventually lost his throne, dying as a prisoner of Seleucus I Nicator. After a period of confusion, Demetrius's son Antigonus II Gonatas was able to establish the family's control over the old Kingdom of Macedon, as well as over most of the Greek city-states, by 276 BC.[2]

It was one of four dynasties established by Alexander's successors, the others being the Seleucid dynasty, Ptolemaic dynasty and Antipatrid dynasty. The last scion of the dynasty, Perseus of Macedon, who reigned between 179 and 168 BC, proved unable to stop the advancing Roman legions and Macedon's defeat at the Battle of Pydna signaled the end of the dynasty.[3]

The ruling members of the Antigonid dynasty were:

Antigonid rulers

King	Reign (BC)	Consort(s)	Comments
Antigonus I Monophthalmus (Western Asian Antigonid kingdom)	306–301 BC	Stratonice	One of Alexander the Great's top generals; a major participant in the so-called "funeral games" following that king's death. "Monophthalmus" is Greek for "One-eyed," a reference to a disfiguring battle scar.
Demetrius I Poliorcetes (Macedon, Cicilia)	294–287 BC	Phila Ptolemais Deïdameia Lanassa ?Eurydice ?Unnamed Illyrian woman	Son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus. Demetrius' wife Phila was a daughter of Antipater, and ancestor of all subsequent Antigonid kings of Macedon, except Antigonus III Doson, through her son Antigonus II Gonatas. Antigonus III Doson was descended from the marriage of Demetrius and Ptolemais, who was a daughter of Ptolemy I Soter and mother of Doson's father, Demetrius the Fair, the ephemeral King of Cyrene. Deïdameia was a daughter of Aeacides of Epirus and sister of Pyrrhus, she had one son, Alexander, by Demetrius. Demetrius had a further two sons, Demetrius the Thin and Corrhagus, the former by an unnamed Illyrian woman, the latter by a woman named Eurydice. Demetrius I Poliorcetes was the first Antigonid king of Macedon.
Antigonus II Gonatas (Macedon)	276–239 BC	Phila	Son of Demetrius Poliorcetes and Phila, grandson of Antigonus I Monophthalmus. His wife, Phila, was the daughter of his sister, Stratonice. Only one known legitimate child, Demetrius II Aetolicus.
Demetrius the Fair (Cyrene)	c. 250 BC	Olympias of Larissa Berenice II	Son of Demetrius I Poliorcetes and Ptolemaïs. Father of Antigonus III Doson and, apparently, Echecrates by Olympias.
Demetrius II Aetolicus (Macedon)	239–229 BC	Stratonice of Macedon Phthia of Epirus Nicaea of Corinth Chryseis	Son of Antigonus II and Phila. Stratonice of Macedon was a daughter of Antiochus I Soter and Stratonice. Phthia of Epirus was a daughter of Alexander II of Epirus and Olympias II of Epirus. Nicaea of Corinth was the widow of Demetrius' cousin, Alexander of Corinth. Chryseis was a former captive of Demetrius.[4] Only known son, Philip by Chryseis, also had a daughter by Stratonice of Macedon, Apama III.
Antigonus III Doson (Macedon)	229–221 BC	Chryseis	Son of Demetrius the Fair and Olympias of Larissa. Children unknown.
Philip V (Macedon)	221–179 BC	Polycratia of Argos	Son of Demetrius II and Chryseis.[4] At least four children: Perseus of Macedon, Apame, Demetrius and Philippus.
Perseus (Macedon)	179–168 BC (died 166 BC)	Laodice V	The last ruler of Macedon. Laodice V was a daughter of the Seleucid king, Seleucus IV Philopator. At least two sons, Philip and Alexander.

The Greek rebel against Rome and last King of Macedonia, Andriscus, claimed to be the son of Perseus.

• List of kings of Macedon

• Adams, Winthrop Lindsay. 2010. "Alexander's Successors to 221 BC." In A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Edited by Joseph Roisman and Ian Worthington, 208–224. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Anson, Edward M. 2014. Alexander's Heirs: The Age of the Successors. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Edson, Charles F. 1934. "The Antigonids, Heracles, and Beroia." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 45:213–246.
• O'Neil, James L. 2003. "The Ethnic Origins of the Friends of the Antigonid Kings of Macedon." The Classical Quarterly 53, no. 2: 510–22. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3556219.
• The Antigonid Network. https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/theantigonidnetwork/. Containing information about academic research, seminars, and related bibliographies and links.