Antigonus III Doson (Greek: Ἀντίγονος Γ΄ Δώσων, 263 BC – 221 BC) was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty.
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He was a grandson of Demetrius Poliorcetes and cousin of Demetrius II, who rescued Macedonia and restored Antigonid control of Greece. Modern encyclopedic articles sometimes mistakenly identify him as either the "half-brother" or "nephew" of Demetrius II. Given the complex family relations of Macedonian dynasties and the tendency of Macedonian rulers to give children of different wives the same name, such confusion is understandable. Doson's father, however, was actually Demetrius the Fair (briefly king of Cyrene), the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes and his third wife, Ptolemaïs, daughter of Ptolemy I Soter and sister of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Demetrius the Fair was half-brother of the father of Demetrius II, Antigonus II Gonatas, who was Poliorcetes' son by his first wife, Phila, Antipater's daughter and Cassander's sister. Doson's mother was a Greek noblewoman Olympias of Larissa; his brother was a little known Greek Macedonian nobleman called Echecrate. Beyond these facts, there is only circumstantial inference from the few surviving anecdotal reports to clarify Gonatas' background.
As Demetrius Poliorcetes' namesake, Demetrius the Fair was not only strikingly handsome but ambitious to the point of recklessness. As the grandson of Ptolemy I Soter, he had been summoned from Macedonia to marry Berenice II, the heir to the vacant throne of Cyrene (modern Libya). But rather than content himself with his young bride, Demetrius openly became lover of her powerful mother, Apama II. So the jealous bride took her revenge by having him assassinated.
It is highly improbable that Antigonus Doson was himself born of this ill-fated Cyrenian venture. Given the lurid circumstances of his father's death and the lack of any hint that he himself was in line for any throne or had ever been in North Africa, it is more likely that Doson was Demetrius' son by a prior, less politically advantageous marriage and was left in Macedonia when his father set off for Cyrene.
Even the meaning of Antigonus' by-name is obscure and uncertain. Plutarch's suggestion that it indicated that he did not live up to his promises can hardly be correct since, once fate placed him in a position of authority he used it more wisely and effectively than any of his Antigonid predecessors.
Nor is there any evidence that he was a power hungry usurper. Rather, the sources are clear that, when Demetrius II died in battle (229 BCE), the Macedonian nobility named Doson guardian of the nine year old heir apparent Philip V of Macedon, presumably since he was the child's sole surviving adult male relative. Only after Doson demonstrated his leadership abilities by succeeding (where his cousin Demetrius had failed) in expelling the Dardanii invaders, was he persuaded by other Macedonian leaders to claim the throne for himself by marrying the widowed queen Phthia, in 227 BC. Apparently, both the Macedonian army and nobility thought the political situation too volatile to wait for Philip V to mature enough to assume command. In this crisis Antigonus Doson was Macedonia's unanimous choice. Unlike his Antigonid ancestors, he had no viable rivals to challenge his right to rule. Yet, even as king he apparently envisioned himself as caretaker for his cousin's son, Philip V, for he was never accused of trying to make his own sons heirs to his throne.
As king, Antigonus III proved to be as much a master of tactical diplomacy as of military strategy. In less than a decade of rule he not only secured the borders of his nation, he also reestablished this as the dominant power in the region. Unlike previous Macedonian rulers who attempted direct dominion over their fiercely independent neighbors to the West and South, he formed alliances with Epirus and the Achaean league. When Sparta, the historic rival of the latter, attempted to establish hegemony over the whole Peloponnese, Aratus of Sicyon - long the leader of Greek opposition to Macedonian domination - invited Antigonus to intervene (226 BC). Establishing his base on the heights above Corinth, Antigonus reconstituted a broad-based Hellenic league (224 BC) under his leadership before launching his attack on Sparta. The Spartan forces, outmatched by the larger, better equipped Macedonian army, were so overwhelmed in the battle of Sellasia (222 BC) that their king, Cleomenes, had to seek refuge in Egypt.
Greece was finally at peace. But Antigonus had no time to show how he would exercise leadership over a pan-Hellenic confederacy. For, while his forces were campaigning in the southern Peloponnese, Illyrians invaded Macedonia from the north. Antigonus had to rush north to repel this new threat. But though Macedonian forces were again victorious on the battlefield, their commander died of a ruptured artery as he was shouting orders to his troops.[1]
| Preceded by: Demetrius II |
Kings of Macedon 229–221 BC |
Succeeded by: Philip V |
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