Demetrius the Besieger (and Fortifier) of Cities

Thomas C. Rose

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Chapter 9 Demetrius the Besieger (and Fortifier) of Cities

In: Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean

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Thomas C. Rose

Thomas C. Rose
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Pages:: 169–190

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004413740_010

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Abstract

Demetrius, the son of Antigonus and the most flamboyant of the Successors of Alexander, is best known for his spectacular but ultimately unsuccessful assault on Rhodes, an epic siege that earned him the sobriquet Poliorcetes, ‘Besieger of Cities’. His record as a besieger in mainland Greece was far better: in the fifteen years after he liberated Athens from the occupying forces of his rival Cassander in 307 BC, Demetrius stormed nearly every major city in central and southern Greece. But taking a fortified city was one thing, providing it with defences sufficient to prevent a rival from emulating the feat was quite another. The mammoth siege towers and warships that Demetrius turned against the defences of cities and harbours have long been objects of fascination, but his construction of fortifications designed to be impregnable has received far less attention. This chapter examines Demetrius’ innovative approach to both the attack and the defence of cities and doubles as a portrait of the state of the poliorcetic arts in the decades that followed the death of Alexander.

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Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean

Series: Brill's Companions to Classical Studies, Volume: 3 and Brill's Companions to Classical Studies: Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World, Volume: 3

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004413740

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 13 Nov 2019

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Chapter 9 Demetrius the Besieger (and Fortifier) of Cities

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Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean

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