Antigonos III DosonIOANNA KRALLI
Antigonos III (r. 229–221 BCE), nephew of
ANTIGONOS II GONATAS and grandson of DEME-
TRIOS I POLIORKETES, ascended to theMacedonian
throne initially as regent for the minor PHILIP
V OF MACEDON, son of Demetrios II (hence per-
haps the epithet Doson: “he who will give”).
Doson married Philip’s mother and adopted
the boy, thus assuring Philip’s succession and
proving his own loyalty to the Antigonid
Dynasty.
In 229 Doson was faced with a serious
decline of Macedonian power. Among its
possessions to the south, Macedon retained
only DEMETRIAS and CHALCIS. ATHENS had bribed
the Macedonian garrison out of the PIRAEUS.
In the PELOPONNESE, the Macedon-friendly
tyrants of ARGOS, HERMIONE, and PHLEIOUS
had abdicated, incorporating their states
into the ACHAIAN LEAGUE. And the bastion of
ACROCORINTH had been lost to Macedon since
243. However, Doson’s priority was
the consolidation of Macedon’s own threat-
ened borders. In the north he repulsed
a Dardanian invasion, while to the south he
reincorporated rebellious THESSALY (Justin.
Epit. 28.3.14). Before 224 Doson further
blocked Aitolian expansion by treaties with
EPIRUS, the independent part of Akarnania,
Opountian LOKRIS, BOIOTIA, and PHOKIS (see
AITOLIAN LEAGUE). His enigmatic expedition to
CARIA (Polyb. 20.5.7–11; Trogus Prologus 28,
as recorded by Justin; I.Labraunda 3.1, nos.
4–7, 9) ca. 228/7 signals an expansion of -
Macedonian influence to Asia Minor, but it
remains uncertain whether this represented
an attempt to restore Antigonid sea power.
SPARTA, independent and resurgent under
KLEOMENES III, clashed with the Achaian
League. This, however, would lead to the
reestablishment of Macedonian control over
Peloponnesian affairs. The Achaians asked
for Doson’s help, and ca. 223 a HELLENIC
ALLIANCE was formed under the leadership of
Doson. Unlike the earlier Hellenic leagues
of Philip II and Demetrios Poliorketes, which
had consisted of poleis, this alliance consisted
of Macedon, the Achaian League, and other
federations (Thessalians, Epirots, Akar-
nanians, Boiotians, Phokians: Polyb. 2.54.4;
4.9.4). Theoretically all members were on a par.
Doson crushed Kleomenes at the battle of
Sellasia in 222 and dedicated the spoils at DELOS
(SIG3 518). He became the first enemy ever to
capture Sparta, but he did not destroy it.
Praising Doson’s role, POLYBIUS (2.70.1–5;
5.9.10) notes that he restored its “ancestral
constitution,” possibly alluding to the elimina-
tion of Kleomenes or to the restoration of the
ephorate (see EPHORS). However, Doson
reduced the Spartan territory, assigning the
much disputed ager Dentheliatis to Messene.
In return for the elimination of the threat from
Sparta, the Achaian League and individual
cities offered Doson honors, both during his
lifetime and after his death: SIKYON created a
festival, the Antigoneia (Polyb. 30.29.3; Plut.
Arat. 45.3); MANTINEA was refounded and
renamed Antigoneia (Polyb. 2.57–8; Plut.
Arat. 45.4–6; IG V.2.299); Epidauros (ISE
vol. 1, no. 46) and Geronthrai (IG V.1.1122)
also honored Doson.
There is no sign that Doson was alarmed by
Rome’s establishment of a protectorate on
Macedon’s flank, in Illyria, in 228.
Doson died of tuberculosis in 221. In his
testament he ingeniously arranged for stability
in administration and for the maintenance of
friendly relations between Macedon and the
Achaian League. He bequeathed to Philip V a
robust kingdom, the Hellenic Alliance, and the
goodwill of much of the Greek world.
SEE ALSO: Antigonids; Asia Minor, Hellenistic;
Demetrios II (Macedonian king); Illyria and
Illyrians; Kleomenes III of Sparta; Philip II of
Macedon; Sellasia, battle of.
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Errington, R. M. (1990) A history of Macedonia,
trans. C. Errington: 175–86. Berkeley.
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 463–464.
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah09026
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Hammond, N. G. L. and Walbank, F. W. (1988)
A history of Macedonia, 336–167 BC: 337–64.
Oxford.
Iscrizioni storiche ellenistiche, vols. 1–2 (1967–76),
edited by L. Moretti. Florence (¼ISE).
Labraunda. Swedish excavations and researches
(1955– ), vol. 3 (1969–72): The Greek
inscriptions, edited by J. Crampa. Stockholm
(¼I.Labraunda).
Le Bohec, S. (1993) Antigone Doson, roi de
Macedoine. Nancy.
Scherberich, K. (2009) Koine Symmachıa.
Untersuchungen zum Hellenenbund Antigonos’ III.
Doson und Philipps V. (224–197 v. Chr.).
Stuttgart.
Will, Ed. (1979–82) Histoire politique du monde
hellenistique (323–30 av. J.-C.), 2nd ed., vol. 1:
359–401. Nancy.
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