A Glimpse of the Future

In a brief final chapter, I cover Antigonus’ death in 239, and the reign of his son, Demetrius II. By the end of Demetrius’ reign, Macedonian power was severely reduced, but it recovered under Antigonus III Doson (229-221). However, by now the Romans were developing an interest in cutting out Macedon and being the arbiters themselves of Greek fortunes. Doson’s successor, Philip V, and then his son Perseus were in constant conflict with the Romans, and in 168 the country was reduced and divided into four small republics. Roman control of Greece was more or less total, and I argue that this was in part Antigonus’s legacy: the Greeks’ loathing of Macedon drove them into the arms of Rome. To illustrate this loathing, I focus on the Athenians’ obliteration, in the year 200, of all favorable mentions in their public records of the Antigonid dynasty.