Ptolemy Keraunos (, died 279 BC) was the King of
Macedon from 281 BC to 279 BC. His
epithet Keraunos is
Greek for "
Thunder" or "
Thunderbolt".
He was the eldest son of
Ptolemy I Soter, ruler of
Egypt, and his third wife Eurydice, daughter of the regent
Antipater.
Hölbl. p. 24 His younger half-brother, also called Ptolemy, became heir apparent and, in 282 BC, ascended to the throne as
Ptolemy II. Ptolemy Keraunos had left Egypt and arrived at the court of
Lysimachus, the king of
Thrace, Macedon, and part of
Asia Minor. His half-sister, Arsinoe, later to be named
Arsinoe II of Egypt, was wife of Lysimachus.
While staying in the court of
Lysimachus, Arsinoe's intrigues led to the accusation of Lysimachus' first son,
Agathocles, on treason and to his execution. Keraunos sided with his other sister (from the same mother) Lyssandra, who was Agathocles' wife, and accompanied her to the court of
Seleucus in the East to solicit his aid. Seeing an opportunity to intervene for his own gain in the politics of both Lysimachan Thrace and Ptolemaic Egypt,
Seleucus prepared an expedition against
Lysimachus shortly afterwards.
Seizes the Macedonian Throne
After Lysimachus' defeat and death in the
Battle of Corupedium in281 BC, against
Seleucus I Nicator, Ptolemy Keraunos murdered Seleucus I in order to gain the power of his former protector.
Hölbl. p. 35...
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