Antigonus II Gonatas: A Political Biography

by Janice J. Gabbert

Blunt, honest and tenacious, Antigonus II Gonatas assumed the title King of Macedonia in 283 BC and reigned for more than forty years. Pragmatic and occasionally ruthless, he was a well-educated man with a keen interest in philosophy. He gathered about him poets, philosophers and historians; his long reign, despite vicissitudes, re-established Macedonia as a nation. Janice J. Gabbert portrays the eventful life of this enigmatic king in a lively and engaging manner. Her aim is to trace the political career of a man about whose life almost no official records survive. Taking into account the most recent epigraphical evidence, the author brings to life a fascinating political figure.This is the first study entirely devoted to Antigonus for over eighty years.

Genres: History

88 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 1997

Reviews

[Anthony Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but as an ancient history buff I enjoyed this immensely. He is such a difficult character to research, and the author has done a fantastic job in bringing him to life.

[Mike O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just because the hegemons of the Hellenistic world were Macedonian by ancestry didn't necessarily secure the place of the homeland,Macedon, in the power politics of that era. It is natural to think of the trio of Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucid East and Antigonid Macedon as the key players, but what if I was to tell you that Antigonus II was perhaps the greatest reason why Macedon featured as prominently as it did until the Roman conquest?

Yes Alexander and all the Diadochi were Macedonian but for the most part they were concerned with the glory of their personal empires and not the prestige of the Macedonian state. Drained of its best fighting hands and brains who sought greater rewards in the now accessible wealthier shores, it was the leadership of this rather peculiar and not so known character,Antigonus Gonatas, that offered Macedonians their greatest asset for staying afloat in a very competitive and menacing epoch.

For those interested in that era, this book is very accessible and does a good job of passing the message along. Not so much historian-speak.