CassanderPAT WHEATLEY

Son of ANTIPATER and ruler of MACEDONIA

between 316 and 297 BCE, Cassander is the

victim of a hostile source tradition, as he

was antipathetic to ALEXANDER III, THE GREAT

(Plut. Alex. 74.2–6; Demetr. 37.3; Reg. imp.

apoph. 180 f.) and directly responsible for

eliminating his family and causing the extinc-

tion of the Argead Dynasty (Diod. Sic.

19.105.1–3; 20.28; Just. Epit. 15.2.3–5).

Although he was one of the most prominent

“Successors” to Alexander, no dedicated treat-

ments of his life survive. He remained in

Macedonia during Alexander’s anabasis, but

was present with his father at Triparadeisos

(321 or 320) and was appointed CHILIARCHOS.

Against his expectations, upon Antipater’s

death in 319 he was passed over for the regency

in favor of POLYPERCHON and quickly rebelled,

initially conspiring with ANTIGONOS I

MONOPHTHALMOS in the complex civil war for

control over Macedonia. Emerging victorious

over OLYMPIAS in 316, he established a firm grip

on the kingdom by burying the murdered

PHILIP ARRHIDAIOS, by marrying Alexander’s

half-sister Thessalonike, and by founding sev-

eral cities as well as rebuilding Thebes. He

joined the coalition of dynasts against

Antigonos Monophthalmos and DEMETRIOS I

POLIORKETES (the “Besieger”) in 315 and

campaigned vigorously to maintain control

over Greece and the neighbouring kingdoms

until the peace of 311/10, which confirmed

his rule of Macedonia. Soon after he

engineered the murder of ALEXANDER IV and

of his half-brother Herakles, probably to the

relief of the other Successors. He continued

sparring for control over the Greek cities

with Polyperchon and his son Alexander

and with Antigonos’ nephews Polemaios and

Telesphoros, but it was not until 307 that his

dominance in Greece was seriously threatened.

In that year Demetrios I Poliorketes took Ath-

ens from Cassander’s agent, DEMETRIOS

OF PHALERON, and began dismantling his net-

work of alliances and hegemony (Diod.

Sic. 20.45–6). He was recalled by his father to

Cyprus and Rhodes in 306 and Cassander

made inroads into Greece again; by mid-304

he had followed the other Successors in

arrogating the title of “king” for himself

and began issuing coinage in his own name.

But Demetrios returned again after the siege

of Rhodes (Diod. Sic. 20.100.5–6) and

made war on Cassander under the pretext of

“freeing the Greeks.” He proved irresistible,

and comprehensively defeated Cassander’s

forces throughout the Peloponnese and central

Greece, driving Cassander himself back to

Macedonia. By 302 Cassander sued for peace,

but Demetrios’ father demanded unconditional

surrender; then, in desperation, Cassander

reformed the 315 coalition of dynasts against

Antigonos I Monophthalmos and Demetrios I

Poliorketes sent a large portion of his army

to Asia, with LYSIMACHOS, against Antigonos,

and stalled Demetrios in THESSALY (Diod.

Sic. 20.106–7). Cassander’s position was dire,

but he was saved when, again, Antigonos

recalled Demetrios to Asia for the showdown

at IPSOS (see IPSOS, BATTLE OF), and the treaty

negotiated with “the Besieger” left him as the

only dynast in Greece. He immediately re-

invaded Thessaly and sent more troops under

his brother, Pleistarchos, to aid Lysimachos

against Antigonos (Diod. Sic. 20.111–12).

Cassander’s position was greatly strengthened

by the coalition victory at Ipsos in 301; he

continued active campaigning to reinforce

Macedonia but died in May 297, probably of

tuberculosis (Syncellus Chron. 320; cf. Paus.

9.7.2–3).

SEE ALSO: Alexander IV, son of Alexander III;

Argeads; Kingship, Hellenistic; Successors,

wars of; Thebes in Boiotia; Triparadeisos,

treaty of.

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 1352–1353.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah09136

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REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Billows, R. A. (1990) Antigonos the One-Eyed:

108–86. Berkeley.

Hammond, N. G. L. and Walbank, F. W. (1988)

A history of Macedonia, vol. 3: 136–210. Oxford.

Heckel, W. (2006)Who’s who in the age of Alexander

the Great: 79–81. Malden, MA.

Landucci Gattinoni, F. (2003) L’arte del potere:

vita e opere di Cassandro di Macedonia.

Stuttgart.

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