Demetrius II Aetolicus (Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

: Δημήτριος ὁ Αἰτωλικός) son of Antigonus Gonatas and Phila

Phila (daughter of Seleucus)

For other persons named Phila, see Phila.Phila a daughter of Seleucus I Nicator and Stratonice. She became the wife of Antigonus II Gonatas and was mother of Demetrius II Aetolicus.-References:...

, reigned as king of Macedon

Macedon

Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....

ia from the winter of 239 to 229 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty

Antigonid dynasty

The Antigonid dynasty was a dynasty of Hellenistic kings descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus .-History:...

 and was born in 275 BC

275 BC

Year 275 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dentatus and Caudinus...

. There is a possibility that his father had already elevated to him to position of power equal to his own before his death. If this had occurred it would be dated at 256 or 257 BC.

He had already during his father's lifetime distinguished himself by defeating Alexander II of Epirus

Alexander II of Epirus

Alexander II was a king of Epirus, and the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles.-Reign:He succeeded his father as king in 272 BC, and continued the war which his father had begun with Antigonus II Gonatas, whom he succeeded in driving from the kingdom of Macedon...

 at Derdia and so saving Macedonia (c. 260 BC). On his accession he had to face a coalition of enemies which included the two great leagues. Usually rivals, the Aetolian League

Aetolian League

The Aetolian League was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered on Aetolia in central Greece. It was established, probably during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League. Two annual meetings were held in Thermika and Panaetolika...

 and Achaean League

Achaean League

The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...

, now became allies against the Macedonian power. He succeeded in dealing this coalition severe blows, wresting Boeotia

Boeotia

Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...

 from their alliance. The revolution in Epirus

Epirus

The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...

, which substituted a republican league for the monarchy, gravely weakened his position.

During his reign his kingdom extended to Euboea

Euboea

Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...

, Magnesia

Magnesia Prefecture

Magnesia Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. Its capital was Volos. It was established in 1899 from the Larissa Prefecture. The prefecture was disbanded on 1 January 2011 by the Kallikratis programme, and split into the peripheral units of Magnesia and the Sporades.The toponym is...

, Thessaly

Thessaly

Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....

 and its environs, excluding Dolopia

Dolopia

-Geography:Dolopia was located between Epirus and Thessaly. Some of their cities were, Angeia, Ctimene and Dolopeis, close to lake Xynius.-Mythology & History:...

 and possibly Peparethos and Phthiotic

Phthiotis

Phthiotis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is bordered by the Malian Gulf to the east, Boeotia in the south, Phocis in the south, Aetolia-Acarnania in the southwest, Evrytania in the west,...

 Achaia.

In 236 BC

236 BC

Year 236 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Varus...

 he invaded Boetia, making the Boetians submit immediately.

In 234 BC

234 BC

Year 234 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Ruga...

 due to the Federal Republic replacing monarchy in Epirus

Epirus (ancient state)

Epirus was an ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Thessalia and Macedonia to the east and Illyrian tribes to the north...

 led to the events of 231 BC

231 BC

Year 231 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Matho and Maso...

, Demetrius hired Agron for military aid against advancing Aetolians. His kingdom was not threatened by the Illyrian Ardiaei ruled by Agron

Agron (king)

Agron was the greatest king of the Ardiaean Kingdom. The son of Pleuratus, Agron brought about a great revival among the Illyrians; during his reign, the Ardiaean State was not only the most powerful Illyrian state of the time, but also one of the greatest in the Balkans. He succeeded in extending...

 despite them having gathered the greatest force in their history (around 231 BC

231 BC

Year 231 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Matho and Maso...

), but Epirus

Epirus (ancient state)

Epirus was an ancient Greek state, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans. The homeland of the ancient Epirotes was bordered by the Aetolian League to the south, Thessalia and Macedonia to the east and Illyrian tribes to the north...

 needed some sort of force to deter them.

Demetrius in the end of his reign defended his domain from the tribal peoples of the north. A battle with the Dardani

Dardani

Dardania was the region of the Dardani .Located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone, their identification as either an Illyrian or Thracian tribe is uncertain. Their territory itself was not considered part of Illyria by Strabo. The term used for their territory was , while for other tribes had...

ans turned out disastrously, and he died shortly afterwards, leaving Philip

Philip V of Macedon

Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...

, his son by Chryseis, still a child.

Former wives of Demetrius were Stratonice of Macedon, the daughter of the Seleucid king Antiochus I

Antiochus I Soter

Antiochus I Soter , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. He reigned from 281 BC - 261 BC....

, Phthia (239 BC) the daughter of Alexander of Epirus, and Nicaea

Nicaea of Corinth

Nicaea was wife of Alexander, tyrant of Corinth during the reign of Antigonus Gonatas. After the death of her husband, who was thought to have been poisoned by the command of Gonatas, Nicaea retained possession of the important fortress of Corinth: but Antigonus lulled her into security by offering...

, the widow of his cousin Alexander. The chronology of these marriages is a matter of dispute. From his marriage to Stratonice, he had a daughter called Apama III

Apama III

For other uses of this name see, Apama Apama III, sometimes known as Apame III was a Greek Princess from the Antigonid dynasty....

.

Information regarding the life of Demetrius are drawn mainly from inscription as only Plutarch

Plutarch

Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

 writes of him, in Life of Aratus, and Polybius

Polybius

Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...

makes scarce mentions of him.