Life and activities of Ptolemaios Keraunos

Ptolemy Ceraunus, who was born in 319 BC, left Egypt with his mother Eurydice and his siblings after he failed in the struggle for heirship in Egypt. Hoping to gain new opportunities, he took refuge in the palace of King Lysimakhos in Thrace. However, after the murder of Lysimakhos' son, Agathokles, he took refuge in the kingdom of Seleukos I. Here, together with his sister and also the wife of Agathocles, Lysandra, the most important thing he did was to persuade Seleucus to attack Lysimachus. After the Battle of Kurupedion in 281 BC, he accompanied Seleucus I in the direction of Macedonia. The greatest ideal of Ptolemy Ceraunus was to become the king of Macedonia. Thus, he killed Seleukos I, who wanted to include Macedonia in his empire, and declared himself the king of Macedonia (281 BC). In order to maintain his position, Ceraunus fought against Antigonos Gonatas, Lysimakhos' wife Arsinoe and their eldest son Ptolemy. However, due to the threat of invasion by the Celts, he was killed in a battle with the Celtic army (279 BC). The aim of this study is to examine the life of Ptolemy Ceraunus, the eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter, and his activities that had an impact on the political events of the period. Aforementioned issues have been tried to be clarified to the extent that both ancient and modern sources allows. Keywords : Ptolemy Ceraunus, Ptolemies, Egypt, Macedonia.