Description
A portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back again
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“This colorful biography of Demetrius . . . explores his rich inner life and reveals an ancient world of violence and intrigue.”-New York Times Book Review
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The life of Demetrius (337-283 BCE) serves as a through-line to the forty years following the death of Alexander the Great (323-282 BCE), a time of unparalleled turbulence and instability in the ancient world. With no monarch able to take Alexander’s place, his empire fragmented into five pieces.
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Capitalizing on good looks, youth, and sexual prowess, Demetrius sought to weld those pieces together and recover the dream of a single world state, with a new Alexander-himself-at its head. He succeeded temporarily, but in crucial, colossal engagements-a massive invasion of Egypt, a siege of Rhodes that went on for a full year, and the Battle of Ipsus-he came up just short. He ended his career in a rash invasion of Asia and became the target of a desperate manhunt, only to be captured and destroyed by his own son-in-law.
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James Romm tells the story of Demetrius the Besieger’s rise and spectacular fall but also explores his vibrant inner life and family relationships to depict a real, complex, and recognizable figure.
