| |
Antiochus (Greek: 4th century BC) was a
Macedonian man who lived during the time of Philip II of Macedon (ruled
359-336). He originally came from Orestis, Macedonia. Antiochus served as an
officer under Philip II, and gained distinction as a military general.
Antiochus was from an upper noble family. His father was probably called
Seleucus, his brother was called Ptolemy and he probably had a nephew called
Seleucus. Antiochus married a Macedonian woman called Laodice and in about 358
Laodice bore Antiochus a son Seleucus I
Nicator, who became a general of Alexander the Great and later founded and
became the first king of the Seleucid Empire; she also bore him a daughter,
Didymeia. It was pretended, in consequence of a dream which Laodice had, that
the god Apollo was the real father of Seleucus. When Seleucus became king, he
founded and named 16 cities in honor of his father, including the Syrian city
of Antioch (now situated in modern Turkey) and the Seleucid Military Outpost,
Antioch, Pisidia. Through Seleucus, Antiochus had thirteen Seleucid kings
bearing his name, as well as various monarchs from the Kingdom of Commagene.
Antiochus had numerous descendants through his son from the 3rd century BC
until the 5th century AD and possibly beyond.
|
|
