Antipater 397 - 319 BC

Macedonian general and supporter of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. Appointed by Alexander as regent in Macedonia during Alexander's invasion of Persia; left in control of Macedonia and Greece after Alexander's death. Antipater, a trusted lieutenant of Philip II and a supporter of Alexander the Great, held the positions of governor of Macedonia and general of Europe after Philip's death. He successfully led the army when the tribes in Thrace rebelled in 332 B.C. and again during the revolt of Agis III of Sparta. When Alexander died, Antipater effectively quelled revolts in Athens, Aetolia, and Thessaly, in the Lamian War. He imposed a more aristocratic government on Athens and drove Greek orator Demosthenes to suicide. He became a leading opponent of the regent Perdiccas, and after Perdiccas' defeat by Ptolemy I, Antigonus I, and Craterus, Antipater fiercely held the kingdom together. After his death in 319 B.C., his empire fell apart in the wars of the Diadochi.