The Making of a King
Subtitle: Antigonus Gonatas of Macedon and the Greeks
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2021
Place of publication: Chicago
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9780226611402
Subjects: Biography; Kings and rulers; History; HISTORY / General
Description: "Our volume tells the story of Macedon's complex relations with Greece, Egypt, and the Near East in the "middle period" of the post-Alexander era. It opens about forty years after Alexander died, when the massive wars of the Successors were winding to a close and the next generation of kings continued the squabble over the Macedonian Empire and its relations with Greece. Waterfield has used his deep understanding of Greek history to construct the story of life and war and politics in a complicated, splintered empire. He highlights the singular accomplishments of the Macedonian king Antigonus Gonatas, who has never received his due until now. What Waterfield shows is that Antigonus was an exceptional politician and an artful strategist who protected Macedon and its Greek territories against aggressors coming from every direction: the Gauls storming the northern border, Ptolemy meddling in the Peloponnese, and Antiochus stirring mischief in the Near East. It was Antigonus who stabilized Macedonian fortunes after years of chaos fomented by the death of Alexander"--
Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: A time of transition; title: The wilderness years (319-276). The disarray of Macedon ; The pride of Sparta ; The democratic spirit of Athens ; The vigor of confederacies ; The empire of the Ptolemies; title: Kingship (276-239). King of Macedon ; Antigonus and the Greeks ; The wheel of fortune ; Court and culture ; A glimpse of the future.