Y.R. 461 you not save this princely young man for me, the son of your friend and king, unfortunate in love but virtuous, who has concealed his sinful passion and prefers to die rather than confess it? Do you so despise Antiochus? Do you despise his father also?" Then Erasistratus changed his tactics, and, as though he were giving him a knock-down argument, said, "You would not give Antiochus your wife if he were in love with her, although you are his father." Seleucus swore by all the gods of his royal house that he would willingly and cheerfully give her, and make himself. an illustrious example of a kind and good father to a chaste son who controlled his passion and did not deserve such suffering. Much more he added of the same sort, and, finally, began to lament that he could not himself be the physician to his unhappy boy, but must needs depend on Erasistratus in this matter also. 61. When Erasistratus saw that the king was in earnest and not hypocritical, he told the whole truth. He related how he had discovered the nature of the malady, and how he had detected the secret passion. Seleucus was overjoyed, but it was a difficult matter to persuade his son and not less so to persuade his wife; but he succeeded finally. Then he assembled his army, which was perhaps expecting something of the kind, and told them of his exploits and of the extent of his empire, showing that it surpassed that of any of the other successors of Alexander, and saying that as he was now growing old it was hard for him to govern it on account of its size. "I wish," he said, "to divide it, and so at the same time to provide for your safety in the future and give a part of it now to those who are dearest to me. It is fitting that all of you, who had advanced to such greatness of dominion and power under me since the time of Alexander, should coöperate with me in everything. The dearest to me, and well worthy to reign, are my grownup son and my wife. As they are young, I pray they may soon have children to be an ample guarantee to you of the permanency of the dynasty. I will join them in marriage in your presence and will send them to be sovereigns of the upper provinces now. And I charge you that none of the customs of the Persians and other nations is more worthy of observance than this one law, which is common to all B.C. 293 Y.R. B.C. 461 of them, "That what the king ordains is always right.'" 293 When he had thus spoken the army shouted that he was the greatest king of all the successors of Alexander and the best father. Seleucus laid the same injunctions on Stratonice and his son, then joined them in marriage, and sent them to their kingdom, showing himself even stronger in this famous act than in his deeds of arms. sea. 62. Seleucus had seventy-two satraps under him, so extensive was the territory over which he ruled. The greater part he had transferred to his son, but he continued to reign over the country which lies between the Euphrates and the The last war that he waged was with Lysimachus, for the possession of Phrygia on the Hellespont. Lysimachus 473 was defeated and slain in battle. Then Seleucus crossed 281 the Hellespont in order to possess himself of Lysimacheia, but he was killed by Ptolemy Ceraunus who accompanied him. This Ceraunus was the son of Ptolemy Soter and Euridice, the daughter of Antipater. He had left Egypt from fear, because his father had decided to leave the kingdom to his youngest son. Seleucus had received him as the unfortunate son of his friend, and thus he supported, and took around with himself everywhere, his own murderer. 474 63. Thus Seleucus died at the age of seventy-three, 280 having reigned forty-two years. It seems to me that the oracle hit the mark in his case when it said to him, "Do not hurry back to Europe; Asia will be much better for you," for Lysimacheia is in Europe, and he then crossed over to Europe for the first time after leaving it with the army of Alexander. It is said also that once when he consulted an oracle in reference to his own death he received this answer: "If you keep away from Argos you will reach your allotted year, but if you approach that place you will die before your time." There is an Argos in Peloponnesus, another in Amphilochia, another in Orestea (whence come the Macedonian Argeada), and the one on the Ionian sea, said to have been built by Diomedes during his wanderings, all these, and every place named Argos in every other country, Seleucus inquired about and avoided. While he was advancing Y.R. B.C. 474 from the Hellespont to Lysimacheia a splendid great altar 280 presented itself to his view, which he was told had been built either by the Argonauts on their way to Colchis, or by the Achæans who besieged Troy, for which reason the people in the neighborhood still called it Argos, either by a corruption of the name of the ship Argo, or from the native place of the sons of Atreus. While he was learning these things he was killed by Ptolemy, who stabbed him in the back. Philetarus, the prince of Pergamus, bought the body of Seleucus from Ceraunus for a large sum of money, burned it, and sent the ashes to his son Antiochus. The latter deposited them at Seleucia-by-the-Sea, where he erected a temple to his father on consecrated ground, to which ground he gave the name of Nicatoreum. 64. I have heard that Lysimachus, who was one of the armor-bearers of Alexander, was once running by his side for a long distance, and, being fatigued, took hold of the tail of the king's horse and continued to run; that he was struck in the forehead by the point of the king's spear, which opened one of his veins from which the blood flowed profusely; that Alexander, for want of a bandage, bound up the wound with his own diadem which was thus saturated with blood; and that Aristandrus, Alexander's soothsayer, when he saw Lysimachus carried away wounded in this manner, said, "That man will be a king, but he will reign with toil and trouble." He reigned nearly forty years, counting those in which he was satrap, and he did reign with toil and trouble. He fell in battle, while still commanding his army, at the age of seventy. Seleucus did not long survive him. Lysimachus' dog watched his body lying on the ground for a long time, and kept it unharmed by birds or beasts until Thorax of Pharsalia found and buried it. Some say that he was buried by his own son, Alexander, who fled to Seleucus from fear when Lysimachus put to death his other son, Agathocles; that he searched for the body a long time and found it at last by means of the dog, and that it was already partly decomposed. The Lysimacheians deposited the bones in their temple and named the temple itself the Lysimacheum. Thus did these two kings, the bravest and most renowned for bodily size, come to their end at nearly the same time, one of them at VOL. I-Y Y.R. B.C. 474 the age of seventy, the other three years older, and both 280 fighting with their own hands until the day of their death. 508 530 CHAPTER XI The Successors of Seleucus - Demetrius Soter-Palace Conspiracies End of the Seleucida 65. After the death of Seleucus, the kingdom of Syria passed in regular succession from father to son as follows: the first was the same Antiochus who fell in love with his stepmother, to whom was given the surname of Soter (the Protector) for driving out the Gauls who had made an incursion into Asia from Europe. The second was another Antiochus, born of this marriage, who received the surname of Theos (the Divine) from the Milesians in the first instance, because he slew their tyrant, Timarchus. This Theos was poisoned by his wife. He had two wives, Laodice and Berenice, the former a love-match, the latter a daughter pledged to him by Ptolemy Philadelphus. Laodice assassinated him and afterward Berenice and her child. Ptolemy, the son of Philadelphus, avenged these crimes by killing Laodice. He invaded Syria and advanced as far as Babylon. The Parthians now began their revolt, taking advantage of the confusion in the house of the Seleucidæ. year 66. Seleucus, the son of Theos and Laodice, surnamed 246 Callinicus (the Triumphant), succeeded Theos as king of 528 Syria. After Seleucus his two sons, Seleucus and Antio- 226 chus, succeeded in the order of their age. As Seleucus was sickly and poor and unable to command the obedience of the army, he was poisoned by a court conspiracy in the second of his reign. His brother was Antiochus the 224 Great, who went to war with the Romans, of whom I have 567 written above. He reigned thirty-seven years. I have 187 already spoken of his two sons, Seleucus and Antiochus, both of whom ascended the throne. The former reigned twelve years, but feebly and without success by reason of 579 his father's misfortune. Antiochus (Epiphanes) reigned 175 not quite twelve years, in the course of which he captured Artaxias the Armenian and made an expedition into Egypt Y.R. B.C. 579 against Ptolemy VI., who had been left an orphan with one 175 brother. While he was encamped near Alexandria, Popilius came to him as Roman ambassador, bringing an order in writing that he should not attack the Ptolemies. When he had read it he replied that he would think about it. Popilius drew a circle around him with a stick and 590 said, "Think about it here." He was terrified and with- 164 drew from the country, and robbed the temple of Venus Elymais; then died of a wasting disease, leaving a son nine years of age, the Antiochus Eupator already mentioned. 592 67. I have also spoken of Demetrius, his successor, who 162 seg. had been a hostage in Rome and who escaped and became seg. king. He was also called Soter by the Syrians, the next who bore that title after the son of Seleucus Nicator. Against him a certain Alexander took up arms, falsely pretending to be of the family of the Seleucidæ, to whom Ptolemy, king of Egypt, gave aid because he hated Demetrius. The latter was deprived of his kingdom by this means and died. His son, Demetrius, drove out Alexander. For his victory over this bastard of the family he was surnamed Nicator by the Syrians, the next who bore that title after Seleucus. Following the example of Seleucus he made an expedition against the Parthians. He was taken prisoner by them and lived in the palace of King Phraates, who gave him his sister, Rhodoguna, in marriage. 68. While the country was without a government Diodotus, a slave of the royal house, placed on the throne a young boy named Alexander, a son of Alexander the Bastard and of Ptolemy's daughter. Afterward he put the boy to death and undertook the government himself and assumed the name of Trypho. But Antiochus, the brother of the captive Demetrius, learning in Rhodes of his captivity, came home and, with great difficulty, put Trypho to death. Then he marched with an army against Phraates and demanded his brother. Phraates was afraid of him and sent Demetrius back. Antiochus nevertheless fought with the Parthians, was beaten, and committed suicide. When Demetrius returned to his kingdom he was killed by the craft of his wife, Cleopatra, who was jealous on account of his marriage with Rhodoguna, for which reason also she had previously married his brother Antiochus: She had |