In the course of this year Philip king of the Macedonians died, worn out with old age and grief at the death of his son. [2] He passed the winter at Demetrias, full of poignant regret at the death of his son and of remorse for his own cruelty. [3] His feelings were still further embittered by the conduct of his other son, who, in his own opinion and in that of others, was undoubtedly king, for all eyes were turned towards him, and also by the desertion of his friends in his old age, some waiting for his death, others not even waiting for it. [4] This was a greater source of anxiety to him as it was to Antigonus the son of Echecrates, who bore the name of his paternal uncle, Antigonus. The uncle had been Philip's guardian, a man of kingly dignity, distinguished, too, for his conduct in the famous battle against Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian. [5] This man's nephew, Antigonus, out of all those whom Philip had honoured with his friendship, alone remained uncorrupted, and this loyalty made Perseus, who had never been friendly to him, his bitterest enemy. [6] He foresaw the danger in which he would be involved by the heritage of the crown descending to Perseus, and as [7??] soon as he saw the king's feelings changing, and heard him deploring the loss of his son, he used sometimes to be a silent listener; at others he would lead the king to speak of the incident as unpremeditated, and in this way often showed active sympathy with his grief. [8] And as truth usually gives signs of its presence, so it was here, and he followed up the traces to the utmost of his power so that everything might be the sooner brought to light. [9] Suspicion attached mainly to Apelles and Philocles as the authors of the crime; they were the men who had gone in the character of envoys to Rome, and had brought back the letter forged in the name of Flamininus which had proved so fatal to Demetrius.
