The status and activities of Polyperchon in the period following 315 B.C. remain obscure to scholars, even after the several detailed reconstructions of the Diadochian era that were made during the 1980s. Heckel refers to him as a ‘jackal among lions’, Hornblower as one of the ‘second-class’ generals. He was propelled to prominence upon inheriting Antipater’s mantle as guardian of the young kings and supreme commander in late 319 (Diod. 18.48.4), and had ample opportunity to make himself the dominant figure among Alexander the Great’s Successors in Europe. However, he was indecisive, unlucky, and more than a little incompetent in his handling of affairs in Greece and Macedonia over the next two years, being thoroughly outmanoeuvred on the military, diplomatic, and propaganda fronts by Antipater’s son, Cassander. By 316 Polyperchon had lost custody of the royal family, and was little more than a fugitive in Aetolia, but ambiguity regarding his legal and diplomatic status in relation to the regency and the other Diadochs continued to dog him until his disappearance from recorded history some fifteen years later.