Cassander (in
Greek, Κάσσανδρος —
Kassandros, ca.
350—297 BC), King of
Macedon (
305—297 BC), was the eldest son of
Antipater, and founder of the short-lived
Antipatrid dynasty.
He first appears at the court of
Alexander the Great at
Babylon, where he defended his father Antipater, regent of Macedon, against the accusations of his enemies (principally the Queen Mother,
Olympias). Having been passed over by his father in favour of
Polyperchon as his successor in the regency of Macedonia, Cassander allied himself with
Ptolemy Soter and
Antigonus and declared war against the regent. Most of the Greek states went over to him, including
Athens. He further effected an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King
Philip Arrhidaeus of Macedon.
Both Eurydice and Phillip III, however, together with Cassander's brother
Nicanor, were soon slain by Olympias. Cassander at once marched against Olympias and, having forced her to surrender in
Pydna, put her to death (
316 BC). In
310 BC/309 BC, he also poisoned
Roxana and the nominal King
Alexander IV of Macedon, respectively the wife and son of Alexander the Great in
323 BC. He also bribed Polyperchon to poison Alexander's illegitimate son
Heracles.
He had already connected himself with the royal family by marriage with
Thessalonica, half-sister of Alexander the Great, and, having formed an alliance with
Seleucus, Ptolemy and
Lysimachus against Antigonus, he became, on the defeat and death of Antigonus around
301 BC, undisputed sovereign of Macedonia. He died of
dropsy in
297 BC. According to
Pausanias: "He was filled with dropsy, and from it came worms while he was still alive.
Philip, his eldest son, soon after coming to the throne took a wasting disease and died.
Antipatros, the next son, murdered his mother Thessalonica, daughter of Philip and Nikasepolis, accusing her of being too fond of
Alexandros, the youngest son." Alexandros avenged his mother by killing his brother Antipatros, but was killed in turn by
Demetrios the Besieger of Cities, son of Antigonus. Thus the entire family of Cassander expired.
Cassander was a man of literary taste but violent and ambitious. He restored
Thebes after its destruction by Alexander the Great, transformed
Therma into
Thessalonica, and built the new city of
Cassandreia upon the ruins of
Potidaea. 
rss feed