Demetrius

And now his father summoned him to wage war against Ptolemy for the possession of Cyprus. He must needs obey the summons, but was loth to abandon the war for the liberation of Greece, which was a nobler and more glorious war, and therefore sent to Cleonides, the general of Ptolemy who was occupying Sicyon and Corinth with a garrison, and offered him money to set the cities free.

Cleonides, however, would not accept the bribe, and Demetrius therefore put to sea in haste, and taking additional forces, sailed against Cyprus.[*](In 306 B.C.) There he joined battle with Menelaüs, a brother of Ptolemy, and promptly defeated him; but Ptolemy himself appeared on the scene with a large land and naval force combined, and there were sundry interchanges of threats and boasts, Ptolemy ordering Demetrius to sail away before the entire force should assemble and crush him, and Demetrius offering to let Ptolemy go if he would agree to withdraw his garrisons from Sicyon and Corinth.

And not only Demetrius and Ptolemy themselves, but also all the other potentates, awaited with great expectancy the uncertain issue of the impending struggle; they felt that not Cyprus, nor yet Syria, but the absolute supremacy would at once be the prize of the victor.