Έτσι πάντα στους τυράννους, A Macedonian story
It so happens that throughout history there are occasions where there is a rare opportunity for change. These occasions are rare, as after the molten lance of change strikes the serpent of time, the wound only bleeds for a moment, it then seals up again, and with each fresh blow the probability of change shrinks.
So it was in the Hellenistic Age; after the battle of Ipsus, Antigonus the one-eyed died and with him any hope of the Macedonian Empire ever again being ruled by one man. Ptolemy kept Egypt, Lyssander was slain a score years later fighting Seleucus- the ruler of Persia and Babylon, by far the most powerful Diadochus. Antigonus' son,Demetrius, managed to flee the battle in disgrace. But he gained his vengeance; six years after that tragic day he killed Cassander's son Alexander and took the throne of Macedon for himself.
Since that day, nineteen years have passed. The son of Demetrius, Antigonus II, had wavering fortunes. The greatest general of his generation, Pyrrhus of Epirus, took his Kingdom from him as a man might pluck an apple from a child... Pyrrhus' gallic mercenaries occupied the ancient capital of Aegae, resting place of the bones of the Kings and Princes of the Temenid Kings of yore. Here, the molten iron struck the serpent. Here, the fates of nations stood on a coin toss. The world as we knew it followed one toss, the world as it was in this story, followed another.
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