Alexander II of Epirus

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Alexander II
King of Epirus
Illustration of silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I of Egypt, in the name of Alexander the Great (ca. 310-305 BC). Obverse: youthful head, covered with the skin of elephant's head. Reverse: Pallas Athena, holding spear and shield; before her eagle on thunderbolt.
Reign272 - 255 BC[1]
PredecessorPyrrhus I of Epirus
SuccessorPyrrhus II of Epirus
SpouseOlympias II of Epirus
IssuePyrrhus II of Epirus
Ptolemy of Epirus
Phthia of Macedon
HouseAeacidae
FatherPyrrhus I of Epirus
MotherLanassa of Syracuse
ReligionAncient Greek religion

Alexander II (Greek: Άλέξανδρος) was a king of Epirus, and the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles.[2]

Reign

He succeeded his father as king in 272 BC, and continued the war which his father had begun with

Demetrius II of Macedon, the son of Antigonus II; upon which he took refuge amongst the Acarnanians. By their assistance and that of his own subjects, who entertained a great attachment for him, he recovered Epirus. It appears that he was in alliance with the Aetolians.[3]

Alexander married his paternal half-sister Olympias, by whom he had two sons, Pyrrhus ΙΙ, Ptolemy ΙΙ and a daughter, Phthia.[4] Beloch places the death of King Alexander II "about 255", and supports this date with an elaborate chain of reasoning.[5] On the death of Alexander, Olympias assumed the regency on behalf of her sons, and married Phthia to Demetrius.[6][4] There are extant silver and copper coins of this king. The former bear a youthful head covered with the skin of an elephant's head. The reverse represents Pallas holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, and before her stands an eagle on a thunderbolt.[7][8][9][2]

Alexander II of Epirus on a cameo of agate

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-5267-1015-4
    .
  2. ^ a b Mason, Charles Peter (1867). "Alexander II". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 116.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander II." . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 545.
  4. ^ a b Smith, William, ed. (1867). "Olympias (2)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 23.
  5. ISBN 978-1-107-45867-3
    .
  6. ^ Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, by Joseph Thomas - 1908 - page 90
  7. ^ Justin, xvii. 1, xxvi. 2, 3, xxviii. 1
  8. ^ Polybius, ii. 45, ix. 34
  9. ^ Plutarch, Pyrrhus 9

Sources

Preceded by
King of Epirus

272–255 BC 		Succeeded by
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