His name does not occur among the officers or generals of Alexander the Great (336–323 BC) during the lifetime of that monarch, though it is incidentally mentioned by Phylarchus[1] in terms that would seem to imply that he then already occupied a distinguished position.

[2] The first occasion on which he appears in history is 315 BC, when he was appointed by his brother to the chief command of the forces dispatched to Cyprus, where they were destined to co-operate with the fleet of Seleucus, and with Nicocreon, king of Salamis.

Menelaus now remained in the island, which he governed with almost absolute authority, the petty princes of the several cities being deposed, imprisoned, or assassinated on the slightest symptom of disaffection.

Unable to contend with this formidable antagonist in the open field, Menelaus drew together all his forces, and shut himself up within the walls of Salamis, which he prepared to defend to the utmost.

Menelaus, however, succeeded in burning his battering engines, and by the most strenuous exertions, made good his defence until the arrival of Ptolemy himself, with a powerful fleet, to the relief of the island.