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Early career

Antigonus was born in Macedonia around 382 BC to a nobleman named Philip and his wife, whose name is unknown. While some sources claim that Antigonus "came from peasant or yeoman stock, others that his family was linked to the Macedonian royal house both seem unlikely. n all probability the family was socially prominent and from the Macedonian nobility." Not much is known about Antigonus' early career. He must have been an important figure in the Macedonian Army, as by the time he emerges in historical sources he is noted as being in command of a large part of Alexander's army, with responsibility over approximately 7,000 allied Greek infantry. There is an anecdote recorded by Plutarch about an Antigonus who lost an eye at the Siege of Perinthus in 340 BC after "a catapult bolt struck him in the eye". According to historian Richard Billows, this story "fits Antigonos better than we know it to fit anyone else." Since Antigonus was of the same age as Philip, and a nobleman, he almost certainly served in Philip's campaigns, possibly under Philip's brothers, (Alexander II and Perdiccas III). His importance at Philip's court is shown by the friendships he established with Antipater and Eumenes, two of Philip's chief lieutenants.