ANTIFATER. Of the many persons who bore this name in antiquity, the most cele brated was one of the generals and confidential friends of king Philip of Macedon. When Alexander led his troops into Asia, he left A.—who, along with Parmenion, had endeavored to dissuade him from the expedition—as governor of Macedonia. A. dis charged the duties of this office with great ability, suppressing the insurrections in Thrace and Sparta; but Olympias, the mother of Alexander, who entertained a dislike to A., prevailed on her son to appoint Craterus as regent of Macedonia. Alexander, prompted also, it is supposed, by his own jealousy of A., consented, but died before the change was carried into effect; and A. was left to share with Craterus the government of Alexander's territories in Europe. The government of Macedonia was assigned to him; and soon after he was called upon to defend himself against an alliance of the Grecian states. With the assistance of Craterus—on whom lie afterwards bestowed his daughter Fiala in marriage—and to a certain extent of Leonnatus, he succeeded in reducing the allies to subjection. Democracy at Athens was abolished, a garrison admitted into Munychia, and the leaders of the popular party put to death. W5 hen Demosthenes was summoned to the presence of A., he took poison, which for some time he had been car rying on his person, and died in the temple of Poseidon (322 n.c.). This war was
followed by another with Perdiccas, who was also his son-in-law, in which A. was again successful. After the murder of Perdiccas in 321 B. c., A. was appointed to the supreme regency of the kingdom, and the guardianship of Alexander's children. He died at an advanced age, in Re. 318 or 319,*leaving the regency to Polysperchon, to the exclusion of his own son Cassander.
The others of this name were: I. A., second son of Cassander, king of Macedonia, who lived in the 3d C. A., the father of Herod the Great. He flourished in the days of Pompey and Julius Caesar, was a firm friend of the Romans, and about the year 47 B.C. was appointed procurator of Judea. He was poisoned in 43 ti.c. by one whose life lie had twice saved.—III. A., grandson of the former, and son of Herod the Great by his first wife Doris, a worthless prince, who was perpetually conspiring against the life of his brothers, until his trial and condemnation at Jerusalem before Quintilius Yarns, the Roman governor of Syria. He was executed in prison five days before Herod died, and in the same year with the massacre of the innocents at Bethlehem.
A. was likewise the name of various eminent men in ancient times—physicians, philosophers, historians, poets, mathematicians, and grammarians.