In the Athenian year 269/8, they saw their opportunity. Since the mid-270s, Macedon had been ruled by Antigonus Gonatas, the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes. Ever since Antigonus came to the throne, Greek opposition to his rule had been fostered and funded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt (reigned 285-246). The Egyptian empire included islands and harbour towns in the Aegean, and Ptolemy did not want to see his position there weakened now that, after years of chaos, Macedon had reached a point of stability and renewed power. Antigonus’ navy was especially strong. In pursuance of this policy, Ptolemy had recently entered into an alliance with Sparta, where the dominant king was Areus I, and now he approached Athens with the same offer. The Athenian brothers scented an opportunity. Glaucon had recently advertised his credentials by helping to establish the cult of Zeus the Bringer of Freedom at Plataea, the site of the decisive battle against the Persians in 479 and the meeting place of a league of freedom-loving Greek states. Now he set off on a tour of the Peloponnesian cities to see how strong anti-Macedonian sentiments were. He made no head-way with the usual Macedonian friends – Argos, Corinth, Megalopolis, and Messene – but found that many of the smaller states were ready to form military alliances with Sparta in a resuscitated version of the fifthcentury Peloponnesian League.
Once Glaucon reported back to Athens,
