Antipater
d. 319 BC  |
| THE MACEDONIAN PHALANX |
Antipater was aMacedonian general and one of Phillip II's closest ministers.
After Philip's death, he was appointed regent of Macedonia during
Alexander's Eastern expedition. Earlier in his career he had been sent as
ambassador by Philip to Athens and negotiated peace after the battle of
Chaeronea. About 332 he set out against the rebellious tribes of Thrace;
but before this insurrection was quelled, the Spartan king Agis had risen
against Macedonia. Having settled affairs in Thrace as well as he could,
Antipater hastened to the south, and in a battle near Megalopolis (331) gained a
complete victory over the insurgents.
His regency was greatly troubled by the ambition of Olympias, mother of Alexander, and he was
nominally superseded by Craterus. But, on the death of Alexander in 323, he was,
by the first partition of the empire, left in command of Macedonia, and in the
Lamian War, at the battle of Crannon (322), crushed the Greeks who had attempted
to re-assert their independence. Later in the same year he and Craterus were
engaged in a war against the Aetolians, when the news arrived from Asia which
induced Antipater to conclude peace with them; for Antigonus reported that
Perdiccas contemplated making himself sole master of the empire. Antipater and
Craterus accordingly prepared for war against Perdiccas, and allied themselves
with Ptolemy, the governor of Egypt. Antipater crossed over into Asia in 321;
and while still in Syria, he received information that Perdiccas had been
murdered by his own soldiers. Craterus fell in battle against Eumenes.
Antipater, now sole regent, made several new regulations, and
having quelled a mutiny of his troops and commissioned Antigonus to continue the
war against Eumenes and the other partisans of Perdiccas, returned to Macedonia.
Soon after he was seized by an illness which terminated his active career.
Passing over his son Cassander, he appointed the aged Polyperchon regent,
a measure which gave rise to the second War of the Diodochi.
—Excerpted from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Key events during the life of Antipater:
| Year |
Event |
| 346 BC |
Top general and ambassador of Philip II of Macedonia. |
| 338 BC |
Negotiated peace with Athens after the Battle of Chaeronea. |
| 334 BC |
Put in charge of Macedonia when Alexander left to conquer Persia. |
| 332 BC |
Put down rebellion in Thrace. |
| 331 BC |
Put down rebellion in Peloponnese at Battle of Megalopolis. |
| 322 BC |
Put down rebellion in Athens, in Lamian War. |
| 321 BC |
War against Perdiccas declared by Antipater, allied with Ptolemy I, Antigonus, and Craterus. |
| 319 BC |
Died. Left empire in the hands of Polyperchon rather than his son Cassander. |
Other Resources
| Contemporary |
Short Biography |
| Philip of Macedonia |
Used statesmanship as well as military force to bring Greece under sway of Macedonia. |
| Alexander the Great |
Greatest general of ancient times. Conquered Persian Empire with 40,000 soldiers. |
| Craterus |
Popular General of Alexander. Allied with Antipater after the death of Alexander. |
| Ptolemy I |
General of Alexander, founded Egyptian Dynasty that lasted for 300 years. |
| Antigonus I |
Allied with Antipater and Ptolemy I in early Diadochi Wars. Won control of Asia Minor and Syria. |
| Olympias |
Wife of Philip of Macedon. Alexander's mother. Quarreled with Antipater over charge of Macedonia. |
| Demosthenes |
One of Greece's greatest orators. Spoke against Philip and the Macedonians. |