their guardians, Cleopatra, his sister, and
Thessalonica, his niece, were alone left alive of the royal family
of Macedonia. Almost every one of the generals had already courted a
marriage with Cleopatra, which had either been refused by herself or
hindered by his rivals; and lastly Ptolemy, now that by the death of her
nephews she brought kingdoms, or the love of the Macedonian mercenaries,
which was worth more than kingdoms, as her dower, sent to ask her hand
in marriage. This offer was accepted by Cleopatra; but, on her journey
from Sardis, the capital of Lydia, to Egypt, on her way to join her
future husband, she was put to death by Antigonus. The niece was put
to death a few years later. Thus every one who was of the family of
Alexander paid the forfeit of life for that honour, and these two deaths
ended the Macedonian dynasty with a double tragedy.

While Ptolemy was busy in helping the Greek cities of Asia to gain their
liberty, Menelaus, his brother and admiral, was almost driven out of
Cyprus by Demetrius. On this Ptolemy got together his fleet, to the
number of one hundred and forty long galleys and two hundred transports,
manned with not less than ten thousand men, and sailed with them to the
help of his brother. This fleet, under the command of Menelaus, was met
by Demetrius with the fleet of Antigonus, consisting of one hundred and
twelve long galleys and a number of transports; and the Egyptian fleet,
which had hitherto been master of the sea, was beaten near the city
of Salamis in Cyprus by the smaller fleet of Demetrius. This was the
heaviest loss that had ever befallen Ptolemy. Eighty long galleys were
sunk, and forty long galleys, with one hundred transports and eight
thousand men, were taken prisoners. He could no longer hope to keep
Cyprus, and he sailed hastily back to Egypt, leaving to Demetrius the
garrisons of the island as his prisoners, all of whom were enrolled in
the army of Antigonus, to the number of sixteen thousand foot and six
hundred horse.

This naval victory gave Demetrius the means of unburdening his proud
mind of a debt of gratitude to his enemy; and accordingly, remembering
what Ptolemy had done after the battle of Gaza, he sent back to Egypt,
unasked for and unransomed, those prisoners who were of high rank, that
is to say, all those who had any choice about which side they fought
for; and among them were Leontiscus, the son, and Menelaus, the brother,
of Ptolemy.

Antigonus w