When Antiochus III died in 187 BC and was succeeded by his son Seleucus IV, Ptolemy V began preparations for a renewed war to recapture Coele-Syria. Ptolemy V's childhood friend, the eunuch Aristonicus, was sent to Greece to recruit mercenaries in 185 BC.Polybius 22.22 At the same time, the king revived the alliances that his grandfather Ptolemy III had maintained with the Achaean League, presenting the League with monetary gifts and promising them ships as well.Polybius 22.3.5-9, 22.9 To raise his profile in Greece, Ptolemy V also entered a chariot team in the Panathenaic Games of 182 BC.IG II2 2314, line 41; S. V. Tracy & C. Habicht, Hesperia 60 (1991) 219 In the same year, Aristonicus led a naval raid on Syria, attacking the island of Aradus.
When Antiochus III died in 187 BC and was succeeded by his son Seleucus IV, Ptolemy V began preparations for a renewed war to recapture Coele-Syria. Ptolemy V's childhood friend, the eunuch Aristonicus, was sent to Greece to recruit mercenaries in 185 BC.Polybius 22.22 At the same time, the king revived the alliances that his grandfather Ptolemy III had maintained with the Achaean League, presenting the League with monetary gifts and promising them ships as well.Polybius 22.3.5-9, 22.9 To raise his profile in Greece, Ptolemy V also entered a chariot team in the Panathenaic Games of 182 BC.IG II2 2314, line 41; S. V. Tracy & C. Habicht, Hesperia 60 (1991) 219 In the same year, Aristonicus led a naval raid on Syria, attacking the island of Aradus.