Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/501

 AMAS TRIS — KLKARCHUS. 409 over Antigonus. Th; latter being slain, and his Asiatic power crushed, Lysimachus got possession of Antigonia, the recent foundation of his rival in Bithynia, and changed its name to Nika?a.-^ After a certain time, however, Lysimachus became desirous of marrying Arsinoe, daughter of the Egyptian Ptole- my ; accordingly, Amastris divorced herself from him, and set up for herself separately as regent of Herakleia. Her two sons being now nearly of age, she founded and fortified, for her own residence, the neighboring city of Amastris, about sixty miles eastward of Herakleia on the coast of the Euxine.^ These young men, Klearchus and Oxathres, assumed the government of Herakleia, and entered upon various warlike enterprises ; of which we know only, that Klearchus accompanied Lysimachus in his expedition against the Getaj, sharing the fate of that prince, who was defeated and taken prisoner. Both afterwards obtained their release, and Klearchus returned to Herakleia ; where he ruled in a cruel and oppressive manner, and even com- mitted the enormity (in conjunction with his brother Oxathres) of killing his mother Amastris. This crime was avenged by her former husband Lysimachus ; who, coming to Herakleia under professions of friendship (b. c. 286), caused Klearchus and Oxa- thres to be put to death, seized their treasure, and keeping separate possession of the citadel only, allowed the Herakleots to establish a popular government.* Lysimachus, however, was soon persuaded by his wife Arsi- noe to make over Herakleia to her, as it had been formerly pos- sessed by Amastris ; and Arsinoe sent thither a Kymcean offi- cer named Herakleides, who carried with him force sufficient to re-establish the former despotism, with its oppressions and cruel- ties. For other purposes too, not less mischievous, the influence of Arsinoe was all-powerful. She prevailed upon Lysimachus to kill his eldest son (by a former marriage) Agathokles, a young prince of the most estimable and eminent qualities. Such an ' Strabo, xii. p. 565. So also Antioch, on the Orontes in Syria, the great foundation of Seleukus Nikator, was established on or near the site of an- other Antigonia, also previously founded by Antigonus Monophthalmiw (Strabo, xv. p. 750). VOT.. XIT. 40
 * Strabo, xii. p. 544. ^ Memnon, c. 6