Ptolemy Keraunos (321 BC-279 BC) was King of Macedon from 281 to 279 BC, succeeding Lysimachus and preceding Meleager.
Biography[]
Ptolemy was the eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter and Eurydice of Egypt (daughter of Antipater). After his younger brother Ptolemy II was named heir apparent in 282 BC, Ptolemy had to leave Egypt as a potential rival for the throne. He arrived at the court of Lysimachus in Thrace, where his half-sister Arsinoe II was queen, and, after Lysimachus was killed in battle with Seleucus at Corupedium in 281 BC, Ptolemy murdered Seleucus in order to gain control of Lysimachus' territories. Ptolemy relinquished his claim to the Egyptian throne in exchange for recognition as King of Macedon, and he had his half-sister Arsinoe marry him. Later in 281 BC, he allied with Pyrrhus of Epirus against Antigonus II Gonatas. Keraunos discovered a conspiracy against him by his wife and her sons, so he killed Arsinoe's two younger sons before forcing Arsinoe to flee to Egypt, where she married Ptolemy II. In 279 BC, he was captured and killed by invading Gauls, bringing anarchy to the Greek states.