Why Demetrius the Besieger Was One of History's Most Outrageous Kings (2024)

Alexander the Great was a successful conqueror but poor planner. He died without an acceptable heir to inherit the empire, just a soon-to-be-born baby son and a half-brother not quite up to the task.

And as “Game of Thrones” fans will know, such circ*mstances can lead to quite the power struggle, with poisoning plots, dramatic marriages, incest and a whole lot of fighting. We find all this and more in the Hellenistic Age—the time period between 323 and 31 B.C.E., starting with Alexander’s death and ending with Cleopatra’s famous snake bite.

These circ*mstances began the career of Demetrius the Besieger, one of the more outrageous rulers of the time. Like many others who fought for a piece of Alexander’s empire, Demetrius was never supposed to be king. But he and his father, Antigonus the One-Eyed, didn’t let a lack of royal blood get in the way of ambition. The two of them spent many years fighting, stealing territory and eliminating rivals.

In 306 B.C.E., they both claimed the title king. They were trendsetters in this area, and soon self-made kings popped up all over the place, dividing Alexander’s empire into smaller kingdoms of their own. But even during this time of royally bad behavior and a multitude of rival kings, Demetrius still managed to gain a standout reputation.

Work hard, play harder

Demetrius’ biographer, the ancient author Plutarch, tells us Demetrius had a policy akin to work hard and play harder. He was famous for his ingenuity and extravagance when it came to siege equipment, and his skill in this type of warfare earned him the name “Besieger.”

His repertoire included the use of a monstrosity called the Helepolis (city-taker), a type of mobile tower block estimated to be between 98 and 131 feet tall, with a base of 69 feet.

This terrifying creation was filled with soldiers and would screech as it moved slowly toward its target city. This was such an amazing sight that, according to Plutarch, even those under siege had to admit they were impressed.

Coins and calendars

It can be difficult to separate fact from fiction in history, and the ancient writers certainly tell us some strange stories about Demetrius.

He is said to have manipulated time by changing around the calendar months, all so that he could complete his initiation into the Mysteries (a religious cult) faster than was legal.

Demetrius put his own portrait on his coins and was probably one of the first to do so in the Western world. Before this audacious move, the heads side of the coin was normally reserved for images of gods or honoring important deceased individuals.

The Athenians even ended up addressing Demetrius as a living god in a special hymn, calling him the son of Poseidon and Aphrodite.

Parties and polygamy

Demetrius’ partying earned him an even more notorious reputation.

He had a handful of wives (Demetrius was a polygamous king and ended up marrying at least five women), but his favorite companion was the courtesan Lamia, whose name refers to a flesh-devouring monster.

There are plenty of tales of the two of them cavorting together, sometimes rather sacrilegiously. For example, the Athenians tried to honor Demetrius by allowing him a symbolic marriage to their patron goddess Athena—but the Besieger didn’t think too much of marrying a statue. Instead, he and Lamia went into the temple and committed various acts said to be rather shocking to the virgin goddess.

Demetrius is even accused of taxing the city 250 talents (about 13,000 pounds of silver or gold), only to turn it over to Lamia and his other mistresses so they could buy beauty products.

Popularity and public relations

All this irreverent behavior can only take you so far. Kingship, like many careers, requires a certain amount of admin work. Demetrius’ Macedonian subjects were dismayed by the disinterest of their king, but on one occasion they gained a little hope.

Demetrius actually took their petitions as though he intended to read them. They followed the king along on his walk in great excitement, only to watch in horror as Demetrius dumped all of the petitions over a bridge, into the river below.

He was run out of Macedonia a little while later—ancient evidence of the importance of public relations. This sort of reversal of fortune was something Demetrius was well-versed in, having won and lost many times over throughout his career. So he simply went on with campaigning until he was deserted, broke and fell into the hands of one of his enemies.

It was a sorry end for such a colorful character, but during his captivity, Demetrius applied himself as vigorously to leisure and drinking as he once had to besieging and love affairs. He might not have kept his throne, but he certainly earned his place in history, an outrageous and fascinating individual, and truly a king.

Dr. Charlotte Dunn is a lecturer in Classics at the University of Tasmania. She is the co-author of the work Demetrius the Besieger (2020), all about this infamous Hellenistic king.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.