The young king, under the baneful influence of the minister Hermeias, headed an attack on Ptolemaic Syria instead of going in person to face the rebels.
Hermeias (in Greek Eρμειας or Eρμιας; died 220 BC) was a Carian by birth, who had raised himself to be the favourite and chief minister of Seleucus III Ceraunus (225–223 BC), and was left at the head of affairs in Syria by that monarch when he set out on the expedition across the Taurus Mountains, in the course of which Seleucus met with his death, 223 BC.
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The formidable revolt of Molon and Alexander in the eastern provinces of the kingdom seemed to demand all the attention of Antiochus, but Hermeias persuaded him to entrust the conduct of the army sent against the insurgents to his generals, Xenon and Theodotus, while he advanced in person to attack Coele-Syria.
Hermeias |
With Molon occupying significant parts of the Seleucid kingdom and assuming the title of king, on the advice of his chief Minister, Hermeias, Antiochus III abandons a campaign to conquer southern Syria from Egypt.