PERSEUS pûr’ sĭ əs (Περσεύς). The son of Philip III of Macedonia. He succeeded to the throne in 178 b.c. and was the last king of Macedonia. He was defeated at the Battle of Pydna by Aemilius Paulus in 168 b.c. and died in captivity at Rome. Macedonia became a Rom. province. 1 Maccabees 8:1, 5 records that the conquest of Perseus was part of the “fame of the Romans” that Judah heard about and that caused him to try to make an alliance with the Romans.