Antiochos IV and Demetrios I of Syria

Antiochos Epiphanes, King of the Seleucid empire, began his political career as a hostage, sent by his father to Rome in 188. About a decade later, when Antiochos’ elder brother Seleukos sent his own son Demetrios to Rome, Antiochos was permitted to leave the city.He went to Athens, and it was probably there that he learned of his brother’s sudden death. Seleukos purportedly fell victim to a palace conspiracy. The king’s syntrophos Heliodoros, accused by Appian of heading the plot, assumed power in Antioch. Inevitably, Antiochos presented a claim to the throne. He was undoubtedly supported by Athenian diplomacy. The Attalid kings of Pergamum, who had not been on good terms with Seleukos, supplied Antiochos with money and an army. In a matter of weeks he was King in Antioch.