Eupolemus (general)

This article is about Greek general. For other uses, see Eupolemus (disambiguation).

Eupolemus (in Greek Eυπόλεμoς; lived 4th century BC) was one of the generals of Cassander; in 313 BC he accompanied Prepelaus as one of his lieutenants when Prepelaus was sent to aid Asander against Antigonus in Asia Minor. After arriving in Caria (Asander's satrapy in Asia Minor) they started planning their campaign against Ptolemy, the commander of Antigonus' forces in western Asia Minor. They decide upon a surprise attack during the winter (after the campaigning season had ended); Eupolemus was sent with 8,000 infantry and 200 cavalry to strike at Ptolemy after the latter had dispersed his forces into their winter quarters. However, some deserters from Eupolemus' strike force betrayed their plans to Ptolemy who quickly gathered 8,300 infantry and 600 cavalry from the nearest camps and marched against Eupolemus. In the middle of the night Ptolemy launched a surprise attack on Eupolemus' camp capturing the entire force, including Eupolemus. He must have been released straight away, as the next year (312 BC) we find him commanding the forces left by Cassander in Greece, when he moved northward against Antigonus.

Later in life, he ruled over a significant portion of Caria as an independent dynast. He was succeeded in Caria by Pleistarchus, the son of Antipater and brother of Cassander.

References

• Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, "Eupolemus (1)" Archived 2005-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, Boston, (1867)
• Billows, Richard A. (1990). Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20880-3.

Notes

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 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Eupolemus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.