LYSIMACHUS, one of the generals of Alexander, was (Son of Agathocles, one of the king’s body guard, but of noble descent. He appears to have been one of the noblest characters that the age of Alexander, so fertile in great men, produced. He was the pupil of the philosopher Callisthenes, who attended Alexander in his expedition; and when the king ordered Callisthenes to be put to death for some slight offence, by the most cruel tortures, Lysimachus enabled his friend to escape by furnishing him with poison. (See Callisthenes.) It might have been expected that Alexander would have admired such conduct, but it was far otherwise. He ordered Lysimachus to be exposed to the fury of a lion, and that he should suffer a death somewhat resembling that which had been intended for his friend. The bravery of Lysimachus saved him: wrapping his cloak round his arm, he pushed it into the throat of the lion, and laid it dead at his feet. Alexander forgave him, and attached him more particularly to his own I person. This story, which is told by Justin (xv. 3), Pliny (viii. 16), and Seneca {De Ira, 3, 17, et De Clem. 1, 25), is, called fabulous by Curtius (viii. 1, 22), and is said to have originated from the circumstance of Lysimachus having been attacked by a lion in the forests of Syria, and having ' killed it without assistance. From this moment Alexander treated Lysimachus as his friend, and was so fond of him, that having accidentally wounded him on the forehead as he was dismounting, he took.off his diadem and bound up his head with his own hands, presaging, as Justin remarks, the royal rank to which he would afterwards attain. History is then silent respecting Lysimachus till the death of Alexander (b. c. 323), when we find him receiving, as his share of the kingdom, Thrace, and the countries placed along the coast of the Euxine (Justin, xiii. 4). But Seuthes occupied Thrace with a powerful army, and it was found necessary to conquer him before he could take possession of the kingdom. In this he was successful, and also in 'repressing a rebellion which had broken out at Callatia, on the coast of the Black Sea (Diodor, xviii. 14; xix. 73). No sooner did he feel secure of his dominions, however, than he began to attack the Odrysae, Getae, and other nations around; but he was defeated and taken prisoner, according to some historians, though, according to others, it was his son. Be this as it may, his daughter was given in marriage to the king of the country for releasing the captive (Pausan. i. ix.). The ambition of Antigonus began to alarm the other successors of Alexander, and a league was entered into by Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus, to reduce his power within due bounds. The war was carried on with various success for several years. Lysimachus proceeded to Asia (b. c. 302) to attack Antigonus, who was then at Antigonea in Syria, and in his passage subdued Phrygia, Lydia, and other districts, taking possession of many strong fortresses, where Antigonus had collected much treasure. He was joined by Seleucus, who arrived from Babylon with a considerable body of troops, and a decisive battle was fought (b. c. 301) at Ipsus, where Antigonus was defeated and killed (Justin, xv. 4). In addition to Thrace, Lysimachus obtained Bithynia, and some countries along the Hellespont. Yet Demetrius, son of Antigonus, did not lose courage, but made constant attempts to recover his dominions. A league was formed against him by Lysimachus and Pyrrhus king of Epirus, and he was driven from the greater part of Macedonia; but the two allies afterwards disagreed, and Pyrrhus having been defeated, Lysimachus assumed the title of king of Macedonia, b. c. 286. In his latter years he put to death his son Agathocles, at the suggestion of his second wife, who was afraid that she herself and her children would fall into the hands of Agathocles on the death of Lysimachus. Seleucus, taking advantage of the odium which this act brought upon him, attacked Lysimachus, and having given him battle,

Lysimachus was killed, b. c. 281 (Pausan. i. x.; Justin, xvii. 1, 2).