A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

SELEUCUS. SELEUCUS. 773
year of his reign. According to Justin, he was at of his wife [LAODICE], the latter for a time artthis time more than seventy-seven years old, but fully concealed his death until she had taken all
Appian makes him only seventy-three. (Appian, necessary measures for establishing Seleucus on
Syr. 62, 63; Justin. xvii. 1, 2; Memnon. c. 11, the throne, which he ascended without opposition,
12; Paus. i. 16. ~ 2; Oros. iii. 23; Euseb. Arm. B. C. 246. The first measure of his administrap. 163.) tion, or rather that of his mother, was to put to
We have little information concerning the per- death his stepmother Berenice, together with her
sonal character of Seleucus, but he is pronounced infant son. [BErnNIE,, No. 2.] But this act of
by Pausanias (i. 16. ~ 3) to have been the most cruelty produced the most disastrous effects, by
upright among the successors of Alexander, and it alienating all his Syrian subjects, while it aroused
is certain that his memory is stained with none Ptolemy Euergetes, king of Egypt, to avenge the
of those crimes which are a reproach to the names fate of his unhappy sister. Seleucus was unable
of Lysimachus, Cassander, and even Ptolemy. Of to offer any resistance to the Egyptian monarch,
his consummate abilities as a general no doubt can and withdrew beyond Mount Taurus, while Ptobe entertained; and the little we know of his ad- lemy not only made himself master of Antioch and
ministration of the vast empire which he had the whole of Syria, but carried his arms unopposed
united under his sceptre, gives an equally favour- beyond the Euphrates andthe Tigris. [PTOLEMAEUS
able impression of his political talents. He appears III.] During these operations Seleucus kept
to have carried out, with great energy and per- wholly aloof; but when Ptolemy had been recalled
severance, the projects originally formed by Alex- to his own dominions by domestic disturbances, he
ander himself, for the Hellenisation of his Asiatic appears to have easily recovered possession of the
empire; and we find him founding, in almost every greater part of the provinces which he had lost.
province, Greek or Macedonian colonies, which All farther details of the revolution which replaced
became so many centres of civilisation and refine- him in the possession of his father's empire, are lost
ment. Of these no less than sixteen are mentioned to us; but it seems certain that as early as B. c.
as bearing the name of Antiochia after his father; 242, lie had again extended his power to the
five that of Laodicea, from his mother; seven were Euphrates, where he founded the city of Callinicalled after himself Seleucia, three from the name cum. (Droysen, Hellenism. vol. ii. p. 351; Clinton,
of his first wife, Apamea; and one Stratoniceia, F. H. vol. iii. p. 313.) A naval expedition which
from his second wife, the daughter of Demetrius. he undertook in order to subdue the maritime cities
Of these the most conspicuous were - Seleucia on that had revolted, was less fortunate: his fleet
the Tigris, which in great measure supplanted the was shattered by a storm, and lie himself narrowly
mighty Babylon, and became the metropolis of the escaped with his life. Still, he soon after found
eastern provinces, under the Syrian dynasty; the himself strong enough to commence offensive operacity of the same name, near the mouth of the tions against Ptolemy, but fwlas totally defeated
()rontes; and Antiochia, on the latter river, which and his army dispersed. In this emergency he
quickly rose to be the capital of Syria, and con- had recourse to his younger brother Antiochus
tinued, for near a thousand years, to be one of the Hierax, who appears to have been already estamost populous and wealthy cities of the world. blished (probably by Ptolemy) in an independent
Numerous other cities, whose names attest their position, and offered him the sovereignty of all
Miacedonian origin —Beroea, Edessa, Pella, &c. — Asia Minor as the price of his support. But Anlikewise owed their first foundation to the son of tiochus, deeming the opportunity a favourable one
Antiochus. (Appian, Syr. 57; Strab. xvi. pp. 738, for making himself master of the whole Syrian
749, 750; Steph. Byz. s. v.'A7rciEla, &c.; Paus. kingdom, instead of supporting his brother, turned
i. 16. ~ 3; Amm. Marc. xiv. 8. ~ 5. For a full his arms against him, and Seleucus found himself
review and examination of these foundations see engaged in war at once with the king of Egypt and
Droysen, Hellenism, vol. ii. pp. 651, 680-720.) his own brother. (Justin. xxvii. 2.)
Nothing is known with certainty of any children The events of the succeeding years are very imof Seleucus, except his son and successor Antiochus; perfectly known to us, and it is scarcely possible
but it seems probable that by his second wife, Stra- to derive any connected historical results from the
tonice, he had a daughter Phila, afterwards married confused and fragmentary notices which have been
to Antigonus Gonatas. [PHILA, No. 4.] [E.H. B.] transmitted to us. But it seems certain that Seleucus concluded (probably in B. c. 239) a truce for
ten years with the king of Egypt, and thus found
himself at leisure to turn his arms against his bro.
/ ther. He at first obtained decisive successes, and
f' ai \>i2v1ft\defeated Antiochus in a great battle in Lydia,.i. ma' \1 M ~ 5which was followed by the reduction of all that
province, except Sardis and Ephesus; but in a
second battle, at Ancyra in Galatia, Antiochus,
) AX t vsupported by Mithridates king of Pontus and al
large force of Gaulish mercenaries, was completely
victorious. Seleucus lost no less than 20,000 men,
and himself escaped with such difficulty that he
COIN OF SIELEUCUS I. was generally reported to have perished in the
flight (Justin. xxvii. 2; Trog. Pomp. Prol. xxvii.;
SELEUCUS II. (VElAevIusO), surnamed CALLT- Euseb. Arm. pp. 164, 165; Athen. xiii. p. 593;
NICUS, king of SYRIA, was the eldest son of An- Plut. de Frat. Amor. p. 489, a.; Polyaen. viii. 61)..tiochus II. by his first wife Laodice. (Alppian. The defection of his Gaulish soldiers must have
-Syr. 66; Justin, xxvii. 1.) When his father prevented Antiochus from deriving much advaltlge
Antiochus fell a victim to the jealousy oi revenge from this victory; and whether or not any fornli
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