#lanassa of syracuse

[gardenofkore]

The Epirote descendants of Agathocles of Syracuse and his second wife Alkeia

AGATHOCLES II or AGATHOCLES Junior (Ἀγαθοκλῆς), son Agathocles by his second wife Alkeia. Nothing is known about his life up to the moment his father sent him to Macedonia, at the court of Demetrius I Poliorcetes. This voyage had been organised with the intent to present the younger Agathocles as his father's heir and to form an alliance with Macedonia. Indeed Demetrius received him with all the honours, dressed him in regal robes and gave him splendid gifts. Back in Syracuse the old tyrant officially introduced his son as his successor in front of the people. The younger Agathocles was then sent to the Syracusan encampment, at that time stationed near Etna. Up to that time, the army had been led by Arcagathus, son in turn of the late Arcagathus (not to be confused with the Egyptian one), firstborn of the tyrant. As soon as Arcagathus received his grandfather's order to hand over the army's command to the younger Agathocles, he devised a plan to kill both his grandfather and half-uncle and seize the power. As he instructed his collaborator Menon to poison the tyrant, Arcagathus invited his uncle and, after having got him drunk, murdered him. Agathocles' body was thrown into the sea and, after some time, the tide washed him ashore, where he was recognised and brought to his dying father. Indeed the poison didn't kill immediately the older Agathocles. As soon as the tyrant found out what had happened, he disinherited his grandson and proclaimed as his successor the people of Syracuse, thus abolishing the monarchy and re-established the democracy.

LANASSA (Λάνασσα) see

ALEXANDER II (Αλέξανδρος), son of Pyrrhus I and Lanassa, daughter of the tyrant Agathocles. Alexander succeeded his father as the King of Epirus in 272 BC. He managed to drive Antigonus II Gonatas out of Macedonia, thus finishing his late father's job, but was in turn driven out of his country by Antigonus' son, Demetrius II. Alexander then took refuge among the Acarnians and, with their help and that of his subjects still loyal to him, he recovered Epirus. He married his half-sister Olympias II (daughter of Pyrrhus' first wife, Antigone), who bore him three children: Pyrrhus, Phthia and Ptolemy. Alexander died in 242 BC and was succeeded by his son Phyrrus, although Olympias briefly assumed the regency on account of her sons' young age. She ruled over Macedonia until Pyrrhus reached adulthood.

PYRRHUS II (Πύρρος), son of Alexander II and Olympias II. He succeeded his father when he died in 242 BC, although he effectively started to rule when he reached adulthood. He fathered two daughters (Deidameia and Nereis) with an unnamed woman. Pyrrhus died in 237 BC and was succeeded by his brother Ptolemy.

PHTHIA (Φθια), daughter of Alexander II and Olympias II. Following her father's death, and before 239 BC, Phthia was married by her mother the Regent to Demetrius II of Macedonia. Olympias intended to build up an alliance with Macedonia to contrast the Aetolian League. Nothing else is known about her.

PTOLEMY (Πτολεμαῖος), son of Alexander II and Olympias II. He was called after his late uncle, his mother's full-brother, who probably died in childbirth. Ptolemy succeeded his brother Pyrrhus, but died in 235 BC, after having ruled for three years. He was in the middle of a military expedition when he fell sick and died (although, according to Polyaenus, he was murdered). It is said his mother died soon after of heartbreak since she couldn't bear to lose his sons in such a short period of time. Ptolemy was succeeded by his son, Pyrrhus.

PYRRHUS III (Πύρρος), son of Ptolemy and an unnamed woman. He was only a child when he became King of Epirus, after his father's sudden death. Two years later, Pyrrhus was killed in a coup that had the intent to abolish the monarchy and institute the republic. He was succeeded by his cousin Deidameia.

DEIDAMEIA II or DEIDAMIA (Δηιδάμεια), daughter of Pyrrhus II and an unnamed woman. She succeeded her cousin Pyrrhus III as sovereign of Epirus. Unfortunately for Deidamia, she found herself in the middle of the revolution. She fled to Ambracia and, when  offered clemency if she surrendered, she capitulated. She sought refuge in the temple of Artemis as soon as it was clear the Epirotes wouldn't find peace until they were sure they had wiped out the entire royal family. Heedless of the sacrality of the place, the mob killed Deidamia in the sanctuary itself. She was the last Aeacid sovereign of Epirus. After her death, the republic was instituted.

NEREIS (Νηρηΐς) see

HARMONIA (Ἁρμονία) see

HIERONYMUS (῾Ιερώνυμος), son of Gelo of Syracuse and Nereis, daughter of Pyrrhus III of Epirus. Hieronymus was born in Syracuse in 231 BC. After Gelo died in 216 BC, his father, the tyrant Hiero II, named his grandson as his heir. Fearing for Syracuse' fate, Hiero had entrusted his grandson's preparation to numerous tutors, hoping they would correct his weak and (apparently) depraved character. To guide the youngster, at least at the beginning of his rulership, the tyrant had created a council of 15 trusted men, which counted his sons-in-law, Adranodoros and Zoippus. Hiero died in 215 BC and, as he had arranged, he was succeeded by the 15-years old Hieronymus. Polybius describes the new tyrant as “unstable and feather-brained” and, according to the historian, he shocked everyone by marrying a prostitute and giving her the title of queen. The immature tyrant found himself in the middle of the internal strife between the pro-Carthaginian faction and the pro-Roman faction. The former one was represented mainly by Andranodorus and Zoippus, who managed to weaken their enemies and easily manipulated their nephew-in-law. An alliance was agreed between Syracuse and Carthage, represented by Hannibal. According to this treaty, the island of Sicily was going to be ideally divided by the river Himera into two areas. The western part would belong to Carthage, the eastern part to Syracuse. Soon after Hieronymus asked for the western part too and, fearing to lose such an important ally, the Carthaginian caved in. In return, the tyrant had to raise an army and conquer all those Sicilian cities which still hadn't been conquered by either Carthage or Syracuse and were under Rome’s influence. Hieronymus quickly obliged and prepared to Leontinoi, where the pro-Roman faction was dominant. These people feigned to peacefully welcoming him, but while Hieronymus was walking through the city's streets, a group of conspirators attacked him and stabbed him to death. It was 214 BC and Hieronymus had ruled for merely 13 months. He was the last basileus of Sicily. Syracuse will be conquered by Rome in 212 BC.

see here the Egyptian descendants of Agathocles

see here the Syracusan descendants of Agathocles