Now this Lysimachus was by birth a Macedonian and the armour-bearer of Alexander, whom Alexander once in anger shut up in a building with a lion and found him victorious over the beast. In all other respects he continued to admire him, and held him in honour as among the foremost of the Macedonians. And after Alexander’s death Lysimachus ruled over those Thracians who were contiguous to the Macedonians, over whom Alexander had ruled, and still earlier Philip. And these would be no very great portion of Thrace. Now no nations are more populous than all the Thracians, except the Celts, if one compares one race with another; and that is why none of the Romans ever subdued all Thrace at an earlier period. But all Thrace is now subject to the Romans, and as much of the Celtic land as they think useless from the excessive cold and inferiority of the soil has been purposely overlooked by them, but the valuable parts they stick to. Now Lysimachus at this period fought with the Odrysæ first of all his neighbours, and next went on an expedition against Dromichetes and the Getæ. And fighting with men not inexperienced in war, and in number far superior, he himself getting into the greatest danger, fled for his life; and his son Agathocles, now first accompanying his father on campaign, was captured by the Getæ. And Lysimachus after this, being unfortunate in battles and being greatly concerned at the capture of his son, made a peace with Dromichetes, abandoning to Getes his possessions across the Ister, and giving him his daughter in marriage, more of necessity than choice. But some say that it was not Agathocles who was captured, but Lysimachus himself, and that he was ransomed by Agathocles negotiating with Getes on his account. And when he returned he brought with him for Agathocles a wife in Lysandra, the daughter of Ptolemy Lagus and Eurydice. And he crossed over into Asia Minor in his fleet, and destroyed the rule of Antigonus. And he built the present city of the Ephesians near the sea, bringing into it as settlers Lebedians and Colophonians, after destroying their cities, so that Phœnix, the Iambic writer, laments the capture of Colophon. Hermesianax, the Elegiac writer, could not have lived, it seems to me, up to this date; for else he would surely have written an elegy over the capture of Colophon. Lysimachus also waged war against Pyrrhus the son of Æacides. And watching for his departure from Epirus, as indeed he was wandering most of his time, he ravaged all the rest of Epirus, and even meddled with the tombs of the kings. I can scarce believe it, but Hieronymus of Cardia has recorded that Lysimachus took up the tombs of the dead and strewed the bones about. But this Hieronymus has the reputation even on other grounds of having written with hostility against all the kings except Antigonus, and of not having been altogether just even to him. And in this account of the tombs in Epirus he clearly must have