as overjoyed with the news of his son's victory. By lessening
the power of Ptolemy, it had done much to smooth his own path to the
sovereignty of Alexander's empire, which was then left without an heir;
and he immediately took the title of king, and gave the same title to
his son Demetrius. In this he was followed by Ptolemy and the other
generals, but with this difference, that while Antigonus called himself
king of all the provinces, Ptolemy called himself King of Egypt; and
while Antigonus gained Syria and Cyprus, Ptolemy gained the friendship
of every other kingdom and of every free city in Greece; they all looked
upon him as their best ally against Antigonus, the common enemy.

The next year Antigonus mustered his forces in Coele-Syria, and got
ready for a second attack upon Egypt. He had more than eighty thousand
foot, accompanied with what was then the usual proportion of cavalry,
namely, eight thousand horse and eighty-three elephants. Demetrius
brought with him from Cyprus the fleet of one hundred and fifty long
galleys, and one hundred transports laden with stores and engines of
war. With this fleet, to which Ptolemy, after his late loss, had no
ships that he could oppose, Antigonus had no need to ask leave of the
Arabs of the little city of Petra to march through their passes; but he
led his army straight through the desert to Pelusium, while the ships of
burden kept close to the shore with the stores. The pride of Antigonus
would not let him follow the advice of the sailors, and wait eight days
till the north winds of the spring equinox had passed; and by this haste
many of his ships were wrecked on the coast, while others were driven
into the Nile and fell into the hands of Ptolemy. Antigonus himself,
marching with the land forces, found all the strong places well guarded
by the Egyptian army; and, being driven back at every point, discouraged
by the loss of his ships and by seeing whole bodies of his troops go
over to Ptolemy, he at last took the advice of his officers and led back
his army to Syria, while Ptolemy returned to Alexandria, to employ those
powers of mind in the works of peace which he had so successfully used
in his various wars.

Antigonus then turned the weight of his mighty kingdom against the
little island of Rhodes, which, though in sight of the coast of Asia
Minor, held itself independent of him, and in close friendship with
Ptolemy. The Dorian island of Rhodes had from the earliest daw