Listed 100 (total found 232) sub titles with search on: Biographies for wider area of: "MAKEDONIA CENTRAL Region GREECE" .
KASSANDRIA (Small town) HALKIDIKI
One of the most eminent poets of the New Comedy at Athens, a native of Cassandrea, in Macedonia. He began to exhibit for the first time in the third year after the death of Menander, or in B.C. 289. Of his pieces, as many as forty are mentioned by name, but only fragments of them are preserved. It was probably in imitation of one of these that the Menaechmi of Plautus was written.
Posidippus wrote thirty, or, as some have it, fifty comedies; the
titles of fifteen of these are known, and some of them were Latinized. He began
to exhibit in 289 B.C., two years after the death of Menander, and was one of
the most popular of the new comedians.
Of the new comedy, and of Greek comedy proper, Posidippus was the
last exponent. Other writers have indeed been mentioned, as Rhinthon of Tarentum,
Sopater of Paphos, and Sotades
of Crete, but the tragi-comedy
of Rhinthon was called by a name which signifies "meaningless chatter," and the
indecency of the Sotadean plays made them a by-word of reproach. All belonged
to the age of the Ptolemies, and with the transplanting of Hellenic comedy from
Athens to Alexandria, the
classic drama of Greece was dead.
Alfred Bates, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the TheatreHistory URL below.
POTIDEA (Ancient city) HALKIDIKI
Poseidippus or Posidippus (Poseidippos, Posidippos, both forms are found in MSS;
the inscription on the statue in the Vatican gives the former).
1. An Athenian comic poet of the New Comedy, was the son of Cyniscus, and a native
of Cassandreia in Macedonia. He is one of the six who are mentioned by the anonymous
writer on Comedy as the most celebrated poets of the New Comedy. In time, he was
the last, not only of these six, but of all the poets of the New Comedy. He began
to exhibit dramas in the third year after the death of Menander, that is, in Ol.
122. 3, B. C. 289, so that his time falls just at the era in Greek literary history
which is marked by the accession of Ptolemy Philadelphus (Suid. s. v.).
Of the events of the poet's life nothing is known; but his portrait
is preserved to us in the beautiful sitting statue in the Vatican, which, with
the accompanying statue of Menander, is esteemed by Winckelmann and others as
among the finest works of Greek sculpture which have come down to us.
Athenaeus (xiv.) mentions a letter of the comic poet and grammarian,
Lynceus of Samos, to Poseidippus.
In his language, Meineke has detected some new words, and old words in new senses,
totally unknown to the best Attic writers.
According to Suidas, he wrote forty plays, of which the following
eighteen titles are preserved: Anablepon, Apokleiomene, Galates, Demotai, Hermaphroditos,
Epistathmos, Ephesia, Kodon, Dokrides, Metapheromenoi, Murmex, Homoioi, Paidion,
Pornodoskos, Suntrophoi, Philosophoi, Philopator, Choreuousai.. The extant fragments
of these plays are not sufficient to enable us to form an accurate judgment of
the poet's style; but it seems, from the titles, that some of his plays were of
a licentious character. Gellius (ii. 23) mentions him among the Greek comedians
who were imitated by the Latin poets.
2. An epigrammatic poet, who was probably a different person from the comic poet,
since he is mentioned with the appellation ho epigrammatographos (Schol. in Apoll.
Rhod. i. 1289). He seems, however, to have lived about the same time as the comic
poet, since Zeno and Cleanthes, who were contemporary with the latter, are mentioned
in one of his epigrams (No. 11), and another epigram (No. 21) is upon the temple
which Ptolemy Philadelphus erected in honour of his sister and wife Arsinoe. He
is several times referred to by Athenaeus, Stephanus Byzantinus, and the grammarians.
His epigrams formed a part of the Garland of Meleager, who appears to mention
him as a Sicilian (Prooem. 45, 46); and twenty-two of them are preserved in the
Greek Anthology; but some of these are also ascribed to Asclepiades and Callimachus.
One of his epigrams, that on the statue of Opportunity by Lysippus (No. 13), is
imitated by Ausonius (Epig. 12).
Athenaeus (xiii.) quotes the Aithiopia of Poseidippus, and elsewhere his Asopia,
which seem to have been epic poems, and which Schweighauser is probably right
in referring to the author of the epigrams.
3. An historian, who wrote a work respecting Cnidus, which contained several particulars
respecting the Venus of Praxiteles. (Clem. Alex. Protrept.; Arnob. vi. 13.) He
is also cited by Tzetzes, who concludes his quotation with an epigram by Poseidippus
(Chil. vii. 144). From this and other circumstances it appears very probable that
this historian was the same person as the epigrammatist.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited July 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PELLA (Ancient city) GIANNITSA
Deinocrates, a most distinguished Macedonian architect in the time of Alexander the Great.
He was the architect of the new temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which was built
after the destruction of the former temple by Herostratus. He was employed by
Alexander, whom he accompanied into Egypt, in the building of Alexandria. Deinocrates
laid out the ground and erected several of the principal buildings. Besides the
works which he actually erected, he formed a design for cutting mount Athos into
a statue of Alexander, to whom he presented his plan upon his accession to the
throne; but the king forbad the execution of the project. The right hand of the
figure was to have held a city, and in the left there would have been a basin,
in which the water of all the mountain streams was to pour, and thence into the
sea. Another curious work which he did not live to finish, is mentioned under
Arsinoe. The so-called monument of Hephaestion by Deinocrates was only a funeral
pile (pura, Diod. xvii. 115), though a very magnificent one. It formed a pyramid,
rising in successive terraces, all adorned with great magnificence (Plin. v. 10,
s. 11, vii. 37, s. 38, xxxiv. 14, s. 42; Vitruv. i. 1.4, ii. praef.; Strab. xiv.;
Val. Max. i. 4, ext. 1; Amm. Marc. xxii. 16; Solin. 35, 43; Plut. Alex. 72, de
Alex. Virt. ii. 2; Lucian, pro Imag. 9, de conscrib. Hist. 12; Tzetz. Chil. viii.
199, xi. 367). There is immense confusion among these writers about the architect's
name. Pliny calls him Dinochares, or, according to some of the MSS., Tymochares
or Timocrates; Strabo has Cheirokrates; Plutarch, Stasikrates; and, among other
variations, Eustathius (ad Hom. Il. x. 229) calls him Diocles of Rhegium.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Calligenes (Kalligenes), the name of the physician of Philip, king of Macedonia, who attended him in his last illness at Amphipolis, B. C. 179, and concealed his death from the people till the arrival of Perseus, to whom he had sent intelligence of the great danger of the king. (Liv. xl. 56.)
Critobulus (Kritoboulos), a Greek surgeon, said by Pliny (H. N. vii. 37) to have extracted an arrow from the eye of Philip the son of Amyntas, king of Macedonia, (probably at the siege of Methone, B. C. 353) so skilfully that, though he could not save his sight, he prevented his face from being disfigured. He is also mentioned by Quintus Curtius (ix. 5) as having been the person who extracted the weapon from the wound which Alexander received in storming the principal fortress of the Mallians, B. C. 326.
STENIMACHOS (Village) NAOUSSA
1874 - 1942
1874-1942
Born in Stenimachos, he was a boarder at the Zarifeia Schools in Philippoupolis
before studying medicine in Vienna. He practiced medicine in Stenimachos and became
president of the Greek community there as well as of Orpheus, the Greek Philharmonic
Association (1903). In 1905 he married Evanthia Mezevyri with whom he had four
sons. During the Balkan Wars he served as a medic in the Bulgarian army.
In 1915 he moved to Athens where he held the following positions:
head of paediatrics at the Athens Polyclinic, a post in the Ministry of Relief
(which he renamed Ministry of Health and Welfare), becoming in 1928 vice minister
of Health. He also served as chairman of the Patriotic Hospital Fund, chairman
of the Panthracian Association and of the Irredentist Greek Committee. He wrote
many scientific papers in many languages.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Thracian Electronic Thesaurus URL below, of Democritus University of Thrace
EGES (Ancient city) IMATHIA
670 - 652
Perdiccas (Perdikkas), was, according to Herodotus, the founder of the Macedonian
monarchy, though Justin, Diodorus, and the later chronographers, Dexippus and
Eusebius, represent Caranus as the first king of Macedonia,
and make Perdiccas only the fourth. Thucydides, however, seems to follow the same
version of the history with Herodotus, since he reckons only eight kings before
Archelaus (Thuc. ii. 100. See also Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. p. 221; MΌller's Dorians,
App. i.15). According to Herodotus, Perdiccas and his two brothers, Gauanes and
Aeopus, were Argives of the
race of Temenus, who fled from their native country to Illyria,
and from thence into the upper part of Macedonia,
where they at first served the king of the country as herdsmlen, but were afterwards
dismissed from his service, and settled near Mount
Bermius, from whence, he adds, they subdued the rest of Macedonia
(Herod. viii. 37, 138). It is clear, however, that the dominions of Perdiccas
and his immediate successors, comprised but a very small part of the country subsequently
known under that name (See Thuc. ii. 99). According to Eusebius (ed. Arm. p. 152,
153), Perdiccas reigned forty-eight years, but this period is, doubtless, a purely
fictitious one. He was succeeded by his son Argaeus (Herod. viii. 139). Front
a fragment of Diodorus (Exc. Vat. p. 4), it would appear that Perdiccas was regarded
as the founder of Aegae or Edessa,
the capital of the early Macedonian monarchs.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
652 - 621
King of Macedonia, son of Perdiccas I.
Argaeus (Argaios), king of Macedonia was the son and successor of Perdiccas I.,
who according to Herodotus and Thucydides, was the founder of the dynasty. Thirty-four
years are given as the length of his reign by Dexippus (ap. Syncell. p. 494, Dind.),
but apparently without any authority (Herod. viii. 139; Justin, vii. 2).
There was a pretender to the Macedonian crown of this name, who, with
the assistance of the Illyrians, expelled Amyntas II. from his dominions (B. C.
393), and kept possession of the throne for two years. Amyntas then, with the
aid of the Thessalians, succeeded in expelling Argaeus and recovering at least
a part of his dominions. It is probably the same Argaeus who in B. C. 359 again
appears as a pretender to the throne. He had induced the Athenians to support
his pretensions, but Philip, who had just succeeded to the regency of the kingdom,
by his intrigues and promises induced them to remain inactive. Argaeus upon this
collected a body of mercenaries, and being accompanied by some Macedonian exiles
and some Athenian troops, who were permitted by their general, Manlias, to join
him, he made an attempt upon Aegae, but was repulsed. On his retreat to Methone,
he was intercepted by Philip, and defeated. What became of him we are not informed
(Diod. xiv. 92, xvi. 2, 3; Dem. c. Aristocr.).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
621 - 588
Philippus I., son of Argaeus, was the third king, according
to Herodotus and Thucydides, who, not reckoning Caranus and his two immediate
successors (Coenus and Thurimas or Turimmas), look upon Perdiccas I. as the founder
of the monarchy. Philip left a son, named Aeropus, who succeeded him.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
588 - 568
King of Macedonia, the son of Philip I., the great-grandson of Perdiccas, the first king, and the father of Alcetas. (Herod. iii. 139)
568 - 540
Alcetas (Alketas), the eighth king of Macedonia, counting from Caranus, and the fifth, counting from Perdiccas, reigned, according to Eusebius, twenty-nine years. He was the father of Amyntas I., who reigned in the latter part of the sixth century B. C. (Herod. viii. 139.)
Amyntas I. A king of Macedonia, who reigned from about B.C. 540 to 500, and was succeeded by his son Alexander I.
Amyntas (Amuntas) I., king of Macedonia, son of Alcetas, and fifth in descent
from Perdiccas, the founder of the dynasty (Herod. viii. 139 ; comp. Thuc. ii.
100; Just. vii. 1, xxxiii. 2 ; Paus. ix. 40).
It was under him that Macedonia became tributary to the Persians.
Megabazus, whom Darius on his return from his Scythian expedition had left at
the head of 80,000 men in Europe (Herod. iv. 143), sent after the conquest of
Paeonia to require earth and water of Amyntas, who immediately complied with his
demand. The Persian envoys on this occasion behaved with much insolence at the
banquet to which Amyntas invited them, and were murdered by his son Alexander.
After this we find nothing recorded of Amyntas, except his offer to the Pisistratidae
of Anthemus in Chalcidice, when Hippias had just been disappointed in his hope
of a restoration to Athens by the power of the Spartan confederac. (Herod. v.
94). Amyntas died about 498 B. C. leaving the kingdom to Alexander. Herodotus
(viii. 136) speaks of a soil of Bubares and Gygaea, called Amyntas after his grandfather.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Alexander I the Philhellene (?-circa 442 BC) succeeded Amyntas I in the Macedonian throne. Though subjected to the Persians, he assisted the southern Greeks in the Persian Wars; for this he received from the Athenians the honours of "citizenship and exemption" (from taxes). After the Persians were put to rout, Alexander extended his realm as far as the Strymon, and contributed to his kingdom's cultural and economic development as well as its general modernization. He took part in the Olympic Games (perhaps in 496 BC) in the 'stadion' race. Poets such as Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides lived at his court.
This text is cited Oct 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below.
Alexander I. (Alexandros), the tenth king of Macedonia, was the son of Amyntas
I. When Megabazus sent to Macedonia, about B. C. 507, to demand earth and water,
as a token of submission to Darius, Amyntas was still reigning. At a banquet given
to the Persian envoys, the latter demanded the presence of the ladies of the court,
and Amyntas, through fear of his guests, ordered them to attend. But when the
Persians proceeded to offer indignities to them, Alexander caused them to retire,
under pretence of arraying them more beautifully, and introduced in their stead
some Macedonian youths, dressed in female attire, who slew the Persians. As the
Persians did not return, Megabazus sent Bubares with some troops into Macedonia;
but Alexander escaped the danger by giving his sister Gygaea in marriage to the
Persian general. According to Justin, Alexander succeeded his father in the kingdom
soon after these events (Herod. v. 17-21, viii. 136 ; Justin, vii. 2-4). In B.
C. 492, Macedonia was obliged to submit to the Persian general Mardonius (Herod.
vi. 44); and in Xerxes' invasion of Greece (B. C. 480), Alexander accompanied
the Persian army. He gained the confidence of Mardonius, and was sent by him to
Athens after the battle of Salamis, to propose peace to the Athenians, which he
strongly recommended, under the conviction that it was impossible to contend with
the Persians. He was unsuccessful in his mission; but though he continued in the
Persian army, he was always secretly inclined to the cause of the Greeks, and
informed them the night before the battle of Plataeae of the intention of Mardonius
to fight on the following day (viii. 136, 140-143, ix. 44, 45). He was alive in
B. C. 463, when Cimon recovered Thasos (Plut. Cim. 14). He was succeeded by Perdiccas
II.
Alexander was the first member of the royal family of Macedonia, who
presented himself as a competitor at the Olympic games, and was admitted to them
after proving his Greek descent (Herod. v. 22; Justin, vii. 2). In his reign Macedonia
received a considerable accession of territor. (Thuc. ii. 99).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
435 - 413
Perdiccas II. The son and successor of Alexander I. of Macedonia, reigning
from B.C. 454 to 413. Shortly before the Peloponnesian War, Perdiccas was at war
with the Athenians, who sent a force to support his brother Philip, and Derdas,
a Macedonian chieftain, against the king, while the latter espoused the cause
of Potidaea, which had shaken off the Athenian yoke, B.C. 432. In the following
year peace was concluded between Perdiccas and the Athenians, but it did not last
long, and he was during the greater part of his reign on hostile terms with the
Athenians. In B.C. 429 his dominions were invaded by Sitalces, king of the powerful
Thracian tribe of the Odrysians, but the enemy was compelled, by want of provisions,
to return home. It was in great part at his instigation that Brasidas in B.C.
424 set out on his celebrated expedition to Macedonia and Thrace. In the following
year (B.C. 423), however, a misunderstanding arose between him and Brasidas; in
consequence of which he abandoned the Spartan alliance, and concluded peace with
Athens. Subsequently we find him at one time in alliance with the Spartans and
at another time with the Athenians; and it is evident that he joined one or other
of the belligerent parties according to the dictates of his own interest at the
moment.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PIERIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
A Roman writer of poetical fables. By birth a Macedonian of
the district of Pieria, he came early to Rome as a slave, and acquired a knowledge
of Roman literature while still a boy. If the traditional title of his five books
of fables after Aesop is to be trusted (Phaedri, Augusti liberti, fabulae Aesopiae),
he was set free by Augustus. To Phaedrus belongs the credit of introducing fable-writing
into Latin poetical literature--a fact of which he was fully conscious, but which
secured him neither relief from his miserable position, nor recognition on the
part of the educated public; his patrons seem to have been only freedmen like
himself. In fact, he even drew upon himself, by his two first published books,
the illwill and persecution of the all-powerful favourite of Tiberius, Seianus,
who suspected in them malicious reference to contemporary events. In consequence,
he did not publish the remaining books till after the fall of Seianus in A.D.
31 and the death of Tiberius in 37.
The five books are preserved, though not in a complete form.
Whether the further collection of thirty-two fables, transcribed from a MS. in
the fifteenth century by Archbishop Nicolo Perotti (Fabulae Perottianae)--and
published at Naples in 1809--are a genuine work of Phaedrus, is doubtful. The
matter of the fables is only to a small extent borrowed from Aesop. Some include
stories from history, partly referring to the present or immediate past. In relation
to the Greek originals, the material is not always skilfully used, especially
in the "morals." The drawing of the characters is at first very cramped,
but is afterwards more broadly treated; the language fluent and, in general, correct;
the metre, too (iambic senarius), used with strictness, though wanting the purity
which, in this kind of verse, became general from the time of Catullus. About
the tenth century an author, calling himself Romulus, drew up a prose version
of Phaedrus, which served as a model for the mediaeval collections of fables.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TRAGILOS (Ancient city) SERRES
Asclepiades, of Tragilus in Thrace, a contemporary and disciple of Isocrates (Phot.
Bibl). He is called a tragic writer, but was more probably a sophist or a grammarian.
He was the author of a work called tragoidoumena, in six books, which treated
on the subjects used by the Greek tragic writers, and on the manner in which they
had dealt with their mythuses (Plut. Vit. X. Orat.; Steph. Byz. s. v. Tragilos;
Athen. x.; Harpocrat. s. v. Dusaules; Hesych. s. v. huesiarchos)
1827 - 1893
1865 - 1935
Son of Raktavan Dimitrios
EMMANOUIL PAPPAS (Village) SERRES
1772 - 1821
AMFIPOLIS (Ancient city) SERRES
A general of Alexander the Great who after the king's death received the government of Syria, of which he was subsequently deprived by Nicanor, Ptolemy's general
Alexander the Great's three most celebrated admirals, Nearchos, Androsthenes, and Laomedon, were natives of Amphipolis.
Episthenes of Amphipolis, commanded the Greek peltastae at the battle of Cunaxa, and is mentioned by Xenophon as an able officer. His name occurs again in the march of the Greeks through Armenia. (Xen. Anab. i. 10.7, iv. 6.1).
At this time he (Alexander) designated Agathon of Pydna to guard the citadel, assigning to him seven hundred Macedonian soldiers. He appointed Apollodorus of Amphipolis and Menes of Pella as military governors of Babylon and the other satrapies as far as Cilicia, giving them one thousand talents of silver with instructions to enlist as many soldiers as possible.
Apollodorus of Amphipolis, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, was entrusted in B. C. 331, together with Menes, with the administration of Babylon and of all the satrapies as far as Cilicia. Alexander also gave them 1000 talents to collect as many troops as they could. (Diod. xvii. 54 ; Curtius, v. 1; comp. Arrian, Anab. vii. 18; Appian, de Bell. Civ. ii. 152)
OLYNTHOS (Ancient city) HALKIDIKI
Andronicus (Andronikos), of Olinthus, who is probably the same as the son of Agerrhus mentioned by Arrian (Anab. iii. 23), was one of the four generals appointed by Antigonus to form the military council of the young Demetrius, in B. C. 314. He commanded the right wing of Demetrius' army at the battle of Gaza in 312, and after the loss of the battle, and the subsequent retreat of Demetrius, was left in command of Tyre. He refused to surrender the city to Ptolemy, who, however, obtained possession of it, but spared the life of Andronicus, who fell into his hands. (Diod. xix. 69, 86)
Apollonides. An Olynthian general who used his influence at Olynthus against Philip of Macedonia. The king, with the assistance of his intriguing agents in that town, contrived to induce the people to send Apollonides into exile. (Demosth. Philip. iii. pp. 125, 128.) Apollonides went to Athens, where he was honoured with the civic franchise; but being found unworthy, he was afterwards deprived of it. (Demosth. c. Neaer.)
Epicyides. Of Olynthus, a general under Ophellas of Cyrene, who took Thimbron prisoner at Teuchira. (Arr. ap. Phot. p. 70, a.)
PELLA (Ancient city) GIANNITSA
Magas: Son of Ptolemy and Berenice, subdues Cyrene, revolts against Egypt. Apame: Daughter of Antiochus, wife of Magas.
Perseus Project Index. Total results on 23/7/2001: 14 for Magas.
Macedonian officer, served under Alexander the Great and Ptolemy.
Ophellas was born in Pella as the son of a Macedonian nobleman named
Silenus. He was probably educated at the court of king Philip II (359-336) and
queen Olympias, because he was later considered as one of the closest friends
of the crown prince, Alexander the Great. We know nothing about Ophellas' youth
and career during Alexander's reign (336-323), except for the fact that he was
one of the so-called trierarchs during Alexander's return from India.
These officials were responsible for the building of the navy, and we know that
only the most important courtiers were chosen for this important office.
After the death of Alexander, Ophellas sided with Ptolemy, the new
satrap of Egypt and another
personal friend of Alexander. Ptolemy had understood the situation in Alexander's
empire better than anyone else: after the death of the conqueror, it was impossible
to keep his possessions together, especially since his brother and successor Philip
Arridaeus was mentally unfit to rule. Ptolemy saw that only smaller kingdoms had
any chance of survival, and tried to become independent. Arridaeus' regent, Perdiccas,
still tried to maintain the empire's unity and attacked Egypt in 320, but after
a defeat, he was killed by his own officers Peithon, Antigenes, and Seleucus.
Ptolemy could be successful, because his back was covered by Ophellas.
In 323/322, a Spartan mercenary leader named Thibron had arrived in Cyrenaica,
a group of five Greek towns in Libya.
He carried with him a large treasure: all Babylonian taxes of the years 330-325.
This was sufficient to start a small kingdom, and he had some success. However,
the native Libyans appealed to Ptolemy, who recognized a chance when he was offered
one: he immediately sent Ophellas with a small army to the west, to support the
Libyans and occupy Cyrenaica. It was (probably) Ophellas' first independent command,
but he was successful: in the winter of 322/321, Thibron was executed, and Cyrenaica
and the Libyan tribes allied themselves to Ptolemy. Moreover, the treasure was
sent to Egypt. Ptolemy could quietly wait for Perdiccas, knowing that he would
not be attacked in his rear. As we have already seen, he won an important victory.
Meanwhile, Ophellas remained in Cyrenaica as Ptolemy's viceroy. He
founded a new harbor, called Ptolemais, which was destined to become one of the
most important towns in ancient Libya. In 313/312, there was a brief crisis; the
details are unclear, but Ophellas stayed as ruler of Cyrenaica.
In fact, it is possible that he de facto became independent. He was
certainly independent in 309, when he allied himself to Agathocles, the tyrant
of Syracuse. It is not likely
that Ophellas was still collaborating with Ptolemy, because the terms of the treaty
between Agathocles and Ophellas were, as we shall see in a moment, not in Ptolemy's
advantage.
Agathocles had tried to conquer Sicily.
This had brought him into conflict with Carthage,
which possessed the western half of this island. In the summer of 311, the Carthaginian
general Hamilcar, had won such a complete victory over Agathocles, that he was
able to proceed to the siege of Syracuse. Although this city was strongly fortified,
Agathocles had no effective army, and he had decided upon a desperate gamble:
in August 310, he had sailed away from Sicily, and had invaded the Carthaginian
homeland, Africa (modern Tunisia).
Here, he won a brilliant victory, and he proceeded against Carthage itself.
At this stage, he concluded the treaty with Ophellas. The ruler of
Cyrenaica was to bring new soldiers, and in return would be made Agathocles' governor
at Carthage. To Ophellas, this offered beautiful prospects: being the viceroy
of two masters, in territories that were separated from his master's countries
by the sea and the desert, he would have almost regal powers. (This was of course
unacceptable to Ptolemy.) Ophellas recruited many mercenaries, especially from
Athens, and started his march to Carthage in the late summer of 308. Two months
later, he arrived in Africa.
Almost immediately, the two commanders started to quarrel, and Ophellas
was assassinated in November. It is possible that Agathocles had planned the murder
all along, maybe in cooperation with Ptolemy (both men were quite capable of an
intrigue like that). However this may be, Ophellas' mercenaries had little choice
and sided with Agathocles, who was able to conclude a peace treaty which left
him in control of large parts of Sicily.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
A native of Pella, in Macedonia. He was one of the generals of Alexander the Great, after whose death he followed the fortunes of Ptolemy. In B.C. 322 he conquered Cyrene for Ptolemy, of which city he held the government on behalf of the Egyptian king for some years. But soon after 313 he threw off his allegiance to Ptolemy, and continued to govern Cyrene as an independent state for nearly five years. In 308 he formed an alliance with Agathocles, and marched against Carthage; but he was treacherously attacked by Agathocles near this city, and was slain.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited July 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Leonnatus, a Macedonian of Pella, one of Alexander's most distinguished officers.
His father's name is variously given, as Anteas, Anthes, Onasus, and Eunus (Arrian.
Anab. iii. 5.7, vi. 28. 6, ind. 18, ap. Phot.). According to Curtius he was descended
from a royal house (Curt. x. 7), which may be the reason we find hint early occupying
a distinguished post about the person of Philip of Macedon; at the time of whose
death (B. C. 336) he was one of the select officers called the king's body guards
(somatophulakes). In this capacity he is mentioned as one of those who avenged
the death of Philip upon his assassin Pausanias (Diod. xvi. 94). Though he accompanied
Alexander on his expedition to Asia, he did not at first hold an equally distinguished
position in the service of the young king: he was only an officer of the ordinary
guards (hetairoi) when he was sent by Alexander after the battle of Issus to announce
to the wife of Dareius the tidings of her husband's safety (Arr. Anab. ii. 12.7;
Curt. iii, 12; Diod. xvii. 37; Plut. Alex. 21). Shortly after, however, during
Alexander's stay in Egypt (B. C. 331), Leonnatus was appointed to succeed Arrhybas
as one of the seven somatophulakes (Arr. Anab. iii. 5, vi. 28), and from this
time forward his name continually occurs, together with those of Hephaestion,
Perdiccas, and Ptolemy, among the officers immediately about the king's person,
or employed by him on occasions requiring the utmost confidence. Thus we find
him making one of the secret council appointed to inquire into the guilt of Philotas;
present at the quarrel between Alexander and Cleitus, and attempting in vain to
check the fury of the king; keeping watch over Alexander's tent at the time of
the conspiracy of the pages; and even venturing to excite his resentment by ridiculing
the Persian custom of prostration (Curt. vi. 8.17, viii. 146, 6.22; Arr. Anab.
iv. 12.3). Nor were his military services less conspicuous; in B. C. 327 he is
mentioned as taking a prominent part in the attack on the hill fort of Chorienes,
and was wounded at the same time with Ptolemy and Alexander himself, in the first
engagement with the barbarian tribes of the vale of the Choes. On a subsequent
occasion he led one division of the army to the attack of one of the strong positions
which the Indian mountaineers had occupied: but his most distinguished exploit
was in the assault on the city of the Malli, where Alexander's life was only saved
by the personal courage and prowess of Leonnatus and Peucestas (Arr. Anab. iv.
21, 23, 24, vi. 10; Curt. viii. 14.15, ix. 5). We next find him commanding the
division of cavalry and light-armed troops which accompanied the fleet of Alexander
down the Indus, along the right bank of the river. During the subsequent march
from thence back to Persia, he was left with a strong force in the country of
the Oreitae, to enforce the submission of that tribe and maintain the communications
with the fleet under Nearchus. These objects he successfully accomplished; and
the Oreitae and neighbouring barbarians having assembled a large army, he totally
defeated them with heavy loss. As a reward for these various services, he was
selected by Alexander as one of those whom he honoured with crowns of gold during
his stay at Susa, B. C. 325. (Arr. Anab. vi. 18, 20, 22, vii. 5, Ind. 23, 42;
Curt. ix. 10)
Leonnatus thus held so conspicuous a place among the Macedonian generals,
that in the first deliberations which followed the death of Alexander, it was
proposed to associate him with Perdiccas, as one of the guardians of the infant
king, the expected child of Roxana (Curt. x. 9.3; Justin. xiii. 2). In the arrangements
ultimately adopted however, he obtained only the satrapy of the Lesser or Hellespontine
Phrygia (Arrian. ap. Phot.; Dexippus, ibid.; Diod. xviii. 3; Curt. x. 10.2; Justin.
xiii. 4), a share which was far from contenting his ambition, though he thought
fit to acquiesce for the time. But hardly had he arrived to take possession of
his government, when he received an urgent message front Antipater, calling on
him for assistance against the revolted Greeks. Nearly at the same time also arrived
letters from Cleopatra, the sister of Alexander, urging him to aid her against
Antipater, and offering him her hand in marriage. Leonnatus immediately determined
to avail himself of the double opportunity thus presented to his ambition; first
to assist Antipater against the Greeks, and after having freed him from that danger,
to expel him in his turn from Macedonia, marry Cleopatra, and seat himself upon
the throne. With these views (for which he in vain endeavoured to obtain the support
of Eumenes) he crossed over into Europe at the head of a considerable army, and
advanced into Thessaly to the relief of Antipater, who was at this time blockaded
in Lamia by the combined forces of the Greeks (B. C. 322). He was met by the Athenians
and their allies under Antiphilus, and a pitched battle ensued, in which, though
the main army of the Macedonians suffered but little, their cavalry, commanded
by Leonnatus in person, was totally defeated, and he himself fell, covered with
wounds, after displaying in the combat his accustomed valour (Diod. xviii. 12,
14, 15; Plut. Eum. 3, Phoc. 25; Justin. xiii. 5). The only personal traits recorded
to us of Leonnatus are his excessive passion for hunting, and his love of magnificence
and display, the latter a quality common to most of his brother captains in the
service of Alexander (Plut. Alex. 40; Aelian. V. H. ix. 3; Athen. xii.).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
400 - 330
Most trusted general of the Macedonian king Philip II, loyal supporter of Alexander
the Great, but murdered on a false charge of treason.
Parmenion was the son of a nobleman from Upper Macedonia called Philotas.
The initial stages of his career are unknown to us, but he is known to have served
under king Philip II (359-336). In 356, Parmenion defeated the Illyrians in a
great battle (remembered because Philip received the news on the birthday of his
first-born son, Alexander). Ten years later, Parmenion destroyed Halos,
a strategic town in southern Thessaly. Philip II is said to have remarked that
during his reign, he had found only one trustworthy general, Parmenion.
In 336, Philip sent Parmenion and an army of 10,000 men to Asia, as
the vanguard of a larger army that was to liberate the Greek towns on the western
shore of what is now Turkey.
This operation served no military purpose, but was useful to unite the Greek towns
that Philip had subjected in 338. The moment of the invasion was well-chosen:
the news had arrived that the Persian king Artaxerxes IV Arses had been murdered
by his courtier Bagoas and was succeeded by his relative Darius III.
At first, the expeditionary force did not very well. Although the
Greek towns revolted during the spring, there was a big setback during the autumn:
Philip was murdered. The commander of the Persian mercenaries Memnon of Rhodes
was able to push back Parmenion and his demoralized troops. Nonetheless, They
remained in Asia.
Although Alexander was recognized as king in Macedonia in October
336, he was not the only candidate. One of his rivals was a prince named Attalus,
who was in the army of Parmenion. However, the general put him to death. This
was remarkable, because Parmenion was related to the victim. As a consequence,
Alexander owed something to his most experienced general and had to do something
in return, especially since Parmenion commanded a large army.
Alexander knew what he was expected to do, and in the next years,
we find many relatives of Parmenion in key positions in the Macedonian army. His
youngest son Nicanor became commander of the infantry regiment that was known
as the Shield bearers, his son-in-law Coenus commanded a phalanx battalion, and
another Nicanor was admiral of the navy of the Greek allies. Parmenion's friend
Amyntas and his brother Asander received other honorable positions. Parmenion
himself became Alexander's second in command - holding the position he already
had under Philip.
The most important appointment, however, was that of his oldest son
Philotas: he was the commander of the Companion cavalry, a unit of eight squadrons
(of 225 horsemen each) that was Macedonia's most effective weapon in any battle.
In May 334, king Alexander joined Parmenion with reinforcements. The
campaign against Persia,
which had had a bad start, could now really begin. During three great battles,
Parmenion commanded the left wing (12,000 heavily armed Macedonians, 7,000 allies,
and 5,000 mercenaries), while Alexander himself commanded the right wing, where
Philotas was his right-hand man.
Meanwhile, the Persian satraps of Cilicia,
Lydia, Hellespontine Phrygia
and other territories had assembled at Zelea,
near Dascylium. Alexander
and Parmenion moved in their direction, convinced that it would be an easy battle:
after all, the Macedonians were superior in numbers and equipment. In June, the
two armies met near the river Granicus (the modern Biga Cay). The Persians had
occupied strong defensive positions on one of the banks, which forced Alexander
to attack from a difficult angle. Most ancient sources agree that Parmenion advised
Alexander not to attack and that it was Alexander's own idea to attack at once.
Our sources disagree on what happened next. Diodorus of Sicily
writes that Alexander accepted Parmenion's advise; all other authorities agree
that the Macedonians attacked immediately. The difference between these sources
is that Diodorus uses the now lost History of Alexander by Cleitarchus as his
source, and the others are based on the Deeds of Alexander by Callisthenes, Alexander's
court historian. Because Callisthenes had reasons to be hostile to Parmenion,
Cleitarchus' description of the battle is to be preferred. The Macedonian king
followed the instructions of the experienced general.
After the battle, Parmenion captured the Persian stronghold Dascylium,
the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia.
Our sources say that it fell without struggle, but this is contradicted by the
archaeological evidence. Later, he seized Magnesia and Tralleis. Asander, a brother
of Parmenion, became satrap of Lydia. Meanwhile, Alexander conquered the Greek
towns in Asia: Sardes, Ephesus,
Miletus, Halicarnassus.
During the winter, the king moved through Lycia.
At the same time, Parmenion invaded Central Turkey from the west, drove out the
remaining Persian troops and occupied the region. The two forces met each other
in April 333 at Gordium, the capital of Phrygia, eighty kilometers west of modern
Ankara.
After a short stay, the united army moved to the east, to Cilicia,
where Parmenion captured Tarsus
and Alexander fell ill. Parmenion, who was not present, had information that the
king's doctor Philip was unreliable, and sent him a letter. He wrote that the
new Persian king Darius III Codomannus had bribed the doctor to kill the king.
However, Alexander used Philips' medicine, and gave the letter to Philip. As it
turned out, the doctor was innocent.
While Alexander was in Cilicia, Parmenion and a small army were ordered
to occupy the so-called Assyrian gates. This was the pass between the coastal
plain of Cilicia and the plain of the river Orontes in Syria;
the main road from the Persian heartland to Cilicia went through this pass. He
must have been puzzled by the fact that the enemy did not show up, but was not
alarmed until he received word that Darius' huge army was at Sochi, only two days
away. A courier was sent to Alexander's army, which covered 120 kilometers in
forty-eight hours and joined the king's army near Myriandrus.
The two commanders were planning to attack Darius in Sochi, when they
discovered that the Persian army was no longer there and was, in fact, facing
into their rear. With his enormous army, the Persian king had crossed the so-called
Amanus pass, had captured Issus, and cut off the only Macedonian line of supply.
Darius had trapped Alexander.
Not much later, battle was joined south of Issus.
Although the Macedonians had been outmaneuvered by an army that was superior in
numbers, they were victorious (November 333), not in the least because Parmenion
had been able to counter the Persian attack. This gave Alexander a chance to launch
a counter-attack.
The most impressive action of Parmenion's career took place after
the battle: he rushed to Damascus
(350 kilometers through enemy territory) and seized Darius' treasure. The surprised
Persian garrison gave him almost 55 ton gold, a great quantity of silver, 329
female musicians, 306 cooks, 13 pastry chefs, 70 wine waiters, 40 scent makers,
and the women who had lived at Darius' court. Small surprise that Parmenion needed
7,000 pack animals to bring the booty to Alexander.
After this raid, Parmenion encouraged Alexander to take a Persian
wife. After all, the age to have a male lover (Hephaestion), was over. The king
followed the generals' advice and started an affair with Barsine.
Shortly after the battle of Issus, a messenger arrived, delivering
a letter from king Darius, who offered a huge ransom for his mother, wife and
children. Alexander refused. In the next months, there were several diplomatic
exchanges, which culminated in Darius' offer of all countries west of the Euphrates
to Alexander. 'I would accept it,' said Parmenion after reading the proposal,
'if I were Alexander.' 'So would I,' replied Alexander, 'if I were Parmenion.'
The anecdote may be true, but it must be noted that many stories show
Parmenion as a very cautious man, especially in comparison to his brave king Alexander.
The trouble with these anecdotes is that Parmenion was not that cautious as all:
his lightning raid on Damascus was a very bold action indeed. The reason for this
disinformation will be discussed below.
During the next year, 332, the Macedonians pacified Syria
and Palestine. Again, Parmenion
had important commands, while his king went to the south to add Egypt to his empire.
In the summer, the Macedonian army returned to Syria and invaded Mesopotamia
and Assyria. On October 1,
331, the decisive battle took place at Gaugamela. Again, the Persians outnumbered
the Macedonians. What happened next, is unclear: the Greek and a contemporary
Babylonian source contradict each other (the Greeks state that Darius fled, the
Babylonian say that he was left alone by his soldiers). However this may be, it
is certain that the commander of the Persian right wing, Mazaeus, attacked Parmenion
and the Macedonian left. In fact, the cavalry on the Persian extreme outflanked
the Macedonians. However, Parmenion was able to keep the fighting spirit of his
men high, so that they stood their ground. This enabled Alexander to lead the
decisive charge.
After the battle of Gaugamela, Babylonia surrendered and Alexander
moved to the east, to Susa
(where Parmenion received the palace of Bagoas, the eunuch who had made Darius
king) and hence to Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid empire. The heartland
of Darius' kingdom was surrounded by mountains, and Alexander and a small force
captured a narrow pass, the so-called Persian gates. Meanwhile, Parmenion was
sent out with the main force, entering the plain of Persepolis
from the south (330).
From now on, king Darius was on the run, and Alexander followed his
enemy in the early summer. The conquest of Ecbatana,
another capital of the Achaemenid empire, was left to Parmenion. The veteran general,
almost seventy years old, was also responsible for reinforcements and the pacification
of the mountain country of the Cadusians.
He was therefore, not with Alexander when Darius was hunted down and
murdered, and he was not present during the advance to Aria and Drangiana. Consequently,
he was unaware of the fact that his son Philotas had been accused of treason and
was executed (October 330). After Alexander had killed Philotas, the
murder of his father was inevitable. In Ecbatana, he controlled the road from
the Mediterranean to the East, possessed large sums of money and commanded many
troops. Parmenion was too powerful to remain alive, especially since he would
be angry when he heard of the execution of his son. Therefore, Alexander accused
him of treason and sent an express messenger to Ecbatana, whose duty it was to
be there before the news of the death of Philotas reached his father. The courier
gave letters to the commanders of the reinforcements (a.o. Atropates), and they
killed the old general, who never knew why.
This was -and is- a dark stain on Alexander's reputation. His court
historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus (c.370-327), had to tidy up the mess. In his
book on the Deeds of Alexander, he portrayed Parmenion as incompetent and overcautious.
In this way, the victim received the blame, not the executioner. Nearly all ancient
sources have copied this idea, which explains the hostile tradition on Parmenion.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
Alcetas (Alketas), the brother of Perdiccas and son of Orontes, is first mentioned as one of Alexander's generals in his Indian expedition (Arrian, iv. 27). On the death of Alexander, he espoused his brother's party, and, at his orders, murdered in B. C. 322 Cyane, the half-sister of Alexander the Great, when she wished to marry her daughter Eurydice to Philip Arrhidaeus (Diod. xix. 52; Polyaen. viii. 60; Arrian, ap. Phot.). At the time of Perdiccas' murder in Egypt in 321, Alcetas was with Eumenes in Asia Minor engaged against Crateris; and the army of Perdiccas, which had revolted from him and joined Ptolemy, condemned Alcetas and all the partizans of his brother to death. The war against Alcetas, who had now left Eumenes and united his forces with those of Attalus, was entrusted to Antigonus. Alcetas and Attalus were defeated in Pisidia in 320, and Alcetas retreated to Termessus. He was surrendered by the elder inhabituants to Antigonus, and, to avoid falling into his hands alive, slew himself (Diod. xviii. 29, 37, 44-46; Justin, xiii. 6, 8; Arrian, ap. Phot.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
399 - 319
Antipater. Commander of the Macedonian forces in Europe during the eastern
campaign of Alexander the Great, later regent for Alexander's mentally unstable
brother Philip Arridaeus
Antipater was born in 399 BCE as the son of a Macedonian nobleman
named Iolaus. He served as a soldier and diplomat under the kings Perdiccas III
(365-359) and Philip II (359-336) and seems to have developed a personal interest
in the education of the latter's crown prince Alexander. When the king was killed,
Antipater and Philip's trusted general Parmenion made sure that Alexander succeeded
his father. Antipater arranged that the army greeted Alexander as king, probably
played a role in the murder of a rival candidate, and Parmenion got rid of another
candidate.
In the following year (335), Alexander rewarded them: he appointed
many relatives of Parmenion as commanders in the Macedonian army, and made Antipater
supreme commander of the forces in Europe. Both men saw action. Philip had sent
Parmenion to Asia as commander of the advance guard of an expeditionary force
that was to overthrow the Achaemenid empire; the old general now had to defend
himself against the Persian commander Memnon of Rhodes.
Antipater was with Alexander during the campaign against the rebellious Greek
city Thebes.
In 334, Alexander joined Parmenion, leaving Antipater in charge of
Macedonia and Greece.
Although the main fighting was done by Alexander's army, Antipater was involved
in the war too. In the winter of 334/333, he sent reinforcements to Gordium,
where Alexander was staying. Next summer, the Persian navy, commanded by Memnon
and Pharnabazus, invaded the Aegean
Sea and threatened to bring the war to Thrace
and Macedonia. With a combination of force and good luck, Antipater kept the situation
under control. After Alexander's victories at Issus (333) and Tyre (332), the
Persian naval power was broken, and peace returned to the Aegean region.
However, the Spartan king Agis III (338-330) had accepted money from
Pharnabazus and had built a large army, consisting of 20,000 men. In 331, he organized
an anti-Macedonian coalition. Alexander sent enormous amounts of money to Macedonia,
where Antipater broke off a campaign in Thrace and built another army, twice as
big as Agis' force. In the Spring of 330, the Spartan king was defeated at Megalopolis.
He died on his way back to Sparta.
Antipater sent his own mercenaries to the east, where they met with Alexander
in Sogdiana (329). Meanwhile, a conflict had broken out between Antipater
and Alexander's mother Olympias. She decided to go to Molossis,
the small kingdom where she was born. Here, she quarreled with her daughter and
Alexander's sister, queen Cleopatra, who decided to go to Antipater and stayed
at his court for seven years.
During this period, Olympias continued to write letters to her son,
in which she informed him of Antipater's continuing misbehavior. Alexander ignored
the first complaints -which must have coincided with the arrival of the reinforcements-
but later, he seems to have lost his temper. In 324, when he returned from India,
he ordered Antipater to come to Babylon.
He sent his trusted general Craterus with 11,500 veterans back to Europe, where
he was to succeed Antipater as supreme commander of the Macedonian forces in Europe.
Antipater, however, was unable obey. In the summer, Alexander had
ordered all Greek towns to accept their exiles and give them back their possessions.
This had created great tensions and Antipater knew that he could not reduce the
strength of his forces. He sent his son Cassander to Babylon, but his diplomatic
mission was a failure, because Alexander interpreted Antipater's refusal as a
confirmation of the reports by Olympias. The family of Antipater was now in disgrace,
and when the king died on June 11, 323 BCE, it was rumored that Cassander had
poisoned him.
The conqueror was succeeded by his half-brother Philip Arridaeus,
who was not only a bastard, but also mentally unfit to rule. Therefore, general
Perdiccas was made regent. Almost immediately, the war that Antipater had predicted
broke out; it is called the Lamian War. The Athenians had been preparing for some
time and were now joined by several other Greek towns. They occupied Thermopylae,
and when Antipater arrived, he was repelled and forced to hide in the nearby fortress
of Lamia.
In the spring of 322, Leonnatus, the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia,
was able to relieve him, but the liberator died in action and the war continued.
In the summer, however, Craterus arrived with the 11,500 veterans and a navy that
he had built in Cilicia. This meant the end of the war. Using these reinforcements,
Antipater was able to defeat the Greeks at Crannon
(September 5, 322). Their towns, which had been free allies during Alexander's
reign, were from now on treated as Macedonian subjects. It also meant the end
the Athenian democracy.
At the same time, Cleopatra left Pella and went to Sardes
in Lydia, where she offered
her hand to Perdiccas. A union between the sister of Alexander the Great and a
general would serve the unity and stability of the empire, because the unstable
Philip Arridaeus would be replaced by a stronger man.
There was one complication. Perdiccas was engaged to Antipater's daughter
Nicaea, and when this engagement was broken off, Antipater felt insulted. But
what really made war inevitable was the growth of Perdiccas' power and the fear
which this caused among the other Macedonian leaders - Antipater in the first
place, but also Craterus and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt.
Civil war -the First Diadoch War- broke out in the last weeks of 322. During the
next spring, the rebels cemented their alliance by intermarriage. Antipater gave
his daughters Phila and Euridice to Craterus and Ptolemy; Nicaea, who had once
been promised to Perdiccas, married to Lysimachus, the governor of Thrace.
Perdiccas saw that a formidable coalition was being organized. He
decided to invade Egypt, but was killed by his own officers Peithon, Antigenes,
and Seleucus (summer 320). Ptolemy and Perdiccas' officers started negotiations.
Ptolemy was offered the regency, but he was too smart to take the bait: he wanted
to keep what he had won, not risking it in a larger game. He appointed Peithon
and an officer named Arridaeus, two people who were clearly lacking prestige and
would never be able to stop separatists like Ptolemy.
Antipater was not happy with this arrangement. He wanted to be the
new regent, because he was capable of keeping Alexander's empire uinted. At Triparadisus
in Syria, he settled the affairs in the way he wanted. Early in 319, Antipater
and his pupil Philip Arridaeus went to Macedonia,
where Antipater succumbed a few months later to old age. He was eighty years old.
Antipater was succeeded by an old officer named Polyperchon, but he soon lost
control of the situation, and was replaced by Antipater's son Cassander.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
Antipater (Antipatros), the father of Cassander, was an officer in high favour with Philip of Macedon (Just. ix. 4), who after his victory at Chaeroneia, B. C. 338, selected him to conduct to Athens the bones of the Athenians who had fallen in the battle (Just. l. c.; Polyb. v. 10). He joined Parmenion in the ineffectual advice to Alexander the Great not to set out on his Asiatic expedition till he had provided by marriage for the succession to the throne (Diod xvii. 16); and, on the king's departure, B. C. 334, he was left regent in Macedonia (Diod. xvii. 17; Arr. Anab. i. p. 12, a.). In B. C. 331 Antipater suppressed the Thracian rebellion under Memnon (Diod. xvii. 62), and also brought the war with the Spartans under Agis III. to a successful termination. It is with reference to this event that we first find any intimation of Alexander's jealousy of Antipater -a feeling which was not improbably produced or fostered by the representations of Olympias, and perhaps by the known sentiments of Antipater himself (Curt. vi. 1.17, &c., x. 1014; Plut. Ages, Alex.) Whether, however, from jealousy or from the necessity of guarding against the evil consequences of the dissensions between Olympias and Antipater, the latter was ordered to lead into Asia the fresh troops required by the king, B. C. 324, while Craterus, under whom the discharged veterans were sent home, was appointed to the regency in Macedonia (Arr. vii.; Pseudo-Curt. x. 4.9, &c.; Just. xii. 12). The story which ascribes the death of Alexander, B. C. 323, to poison, and implicates Antipater and even Aristotle in the plot, is perhaps sufficiently refuted by its own intrinsic absurdity, and is set aside as false by Arrian and Plutarch (Diod. xvii. 118; Paus. viii. 18; Tac. Ann. ii. 73; Curt. x. 10. 4, &c.; Arr. vii.; Plut. Alex. ad fin. ; Liv. viii. 3; Diod. xix. 11; Athen. x.). On Alexander's death, the regency of Macedonia was assigned to Antipater, and he forthwith found himself engaged in a war with a strong confederacy of Grecian states with Athens at their head. At first he was defeated by Leosthenes, and besieged in Lamia, whence he even sent an embassy to Athens with an unsuccessful application for peace (Diod. xviii. 3, 12, 18; Paus. i. 25; Just. xiii. 5; Plut. Phoc., Demosth.). The approach of Leonnatus obliged the Athenians to raise the siege, and the death of that general, who was defeated by Antiphilus (the successor of Leosthenes), and who was in league against the regent with Olympias, was far more an advantage than a loss to Antipater (Diod. xviii. 14, 15; Just. xiii. 5; Plut. Eumt.). Being joined by Craterus, he defeated the confederates at Cranon, and succeeded in dissolving the league by the prudence and moderation with which he at first used his victory. Athens herself was obliged to purchase peace by the abolition of democracy and the admission of a garrison into Munychia, the latter of which conditions might surely have enabled Antipater to dispense with the destruction of Demosthenes and the chiefs of his party (Diod. xviii. 16-18; Plut. Phnoc., Demosth.; Paus. vii. 10). Returning now to Macedonia, he gave his daughter Phila in marriage to Craterus, with whom, at the end of the year B. C. 323, he invaded the Aetolians, the only party in the Lamian war who had not yet submitted (Diod. xviii. 24). But the intelligence brought him by Antigonus of the treachery of Perdiccas, and of his intention of putting away Nicaea, Antipater's daughter, to marry Cleopatra, compelled him to pass over to Asia; where, leaving Craterus to act against Eumenes, he himself hastened after Perdiccas, who was marching towards Egypt against Ptolemy (Diod. xviii. 23, 25, 29-33; Plut. Eum.; Just. xiii. 6). On the murder of Perdiccas, the supreme regency devolved on Antipater, who, at Triparadeisus in Syria, successfully maintained his power against Eurydice, the queen. Marching into Lydia, he avoided a battle with Eumenes, and he on his side was dissuaded from attacking Antipater by Cleopatra, who wished to give the regent no cause of complaint. Towards the close of the year 321, he returned into Europe, taking with him the king and queen, and leaving Antigonus to prosecute the war with Eumenes (Diod. xviii. 39, 40; Plut. Eum.). It was during the mortal illness of Antipater, B. C. 320, that Demades was sent to him from Athens to endeavour to obtainthe removal of the garrison from Munychia, and was put to death for his treacherous correspondence with Perdiccas. Antipater left the regency to Polysperchon, to the exclusion of his own son Cassander (Plut. Phoc., Dem. ad fin.; Arr. ap. Phot.; Diod. xviii. 48).
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Aristonous, of Pella, son of Peisaeus, one of the bodyguard of Alexander the Great, distinguished himself greatly on one occasion in India. On the death of Alexander, he was one of the first to propose that the supreme power should be entrusted to Perdiccas. He was subsequently the general of Olympias in the war with Cassander; and when she was taken prisoner in B. C. 316, he was put to death by order of Cassander. (Arrian, Anab. vi. 28, ap. Phot. Cod. 92; Curt. ix. 5, x. 6; Diod. xix. 35, 50, 51)
Attalus (Attalos). One of the generals of Philip of Macedon, and the uncle of Cleopatra, whom Philip married in B. C. 337. He is called by Justin (ix. 5), and in one passage of Diodorus (xvii. 2), the brother of Cleopatra; but this is undoubtedly a mistake. At the festivities in celebration of the marriage of his niece, Attalus, when the guests were heated with wine, called upon the company to beg of the gods a legitimate (psnesios) successor to the throne. This roused the wrath of Alexander who was present, and a brawl ensued, in which Philip drew his sword and rushed upon his son. Alexander and his mother Olympias withdrew from the kingdom (Plut. Alex. 7; Justin, ix. 7; Athen. xiii.); but though they soon afterwards returned, the influence of Attalus does not appear to have been weakened. Philip's connexion with Attalus not only thus involved him in family dissensions, but eventually cost him his life. Attalus had inflicted a grievous outrage upon Pausanias, a youth of noble family, and one of Philip's bodyguard. Pausanias complained to Philip; but, as he was unable to obtain the punishment of the offender, he resolved to be revenged upon the king himself, and accordingly assassinated him at the festival at Aegae in B. C. 336 (Arist. Pol. v. 8.10; Diod. xvi. 93; Plut. Alex. 10; Justin, ix. 6). Attalus was in Asia at the time of Philip's death, as he had been previously sent thither, along with Parmenion and Amyntas in the command of some troops, in order to secure the Greek cities in Western Asia to the cause of Philip (Diod. xvi. 91; Justin, ix. 5). Attalus could have little hope of obtaining Alexander's pardon, and therefore entered very readily into the proposition of Demosthenes to rebel against the new monarch. But, mistrusting his power, he soon afterwards endeavoured to make terms with Alexander, and sent him the letter which he had received from Demosthenes. This, however, produced no change in the purpose of Alexander, who had previously sent Hecataeus into Asia with orders to arrest Attalus, and convey him to Macedon, or, if this could not be accomplished, to kill him secretly. Hecateus thought it safer to adopt the latter course, and had him assassinated privately (Diod. xvii. 2, 3, 5).
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Balacrus, the son of Amyntas, obtained the command of the allies in Alexander's army, when Antigonus was appointed satrap of Phrygia, B. C. 334. After the occupation of Egypt, B. C. 331, he was one of the generals left behind in that country with a part of the army. (Arrian, i. 30, iii. 5; Curt. viii. 11)
Calas, one of Cassander's generals, whom he sent with a portion of his forces to keep Polysperchon employed in Perrhaebia, while he himself made his way to Macedon to take vengeance on Olympias, B. C. 317. Calas by bribes induced many of his opponent's soldiers to desert him, and blockaded Polysperchon himself in Naxium, a town of Perrhaebia, whence, on hearing of the death of Olympias, he escaped with a few attendants, and took refuge together with Aeacides in Aetolia, B. C. 316. (Diod. xix. 35, 36, 52)
Caranus, a Macedonian of the body called hetairoi or guards (comp. Polyb. v. 53,, xxxi. 3), was one of the generals sent by Alexander against Satibarzanes when he had a second time excited Aria to revolt. Caranus and his colleagues were successful, and Satibarzanes was defeated and slain, in the winter of B. C. 330 (Arrian, Anab. iii. 25,28; Curt. vi. 6.20, &c., vii. 3.2; comp. Diod. xvii. 81). In B. C. 329, Caranus was appointed, together with Andromachus and Menedemus, under the command of the Lycian Pharnuches, to act against Spitamenes, the revolted satrap of Sogdiana. Their approach compelled him to raise the siege of Maracanda; but, in a battle which ensued, he defeated them with the help of a body of Scythian cavalry, and forced them to fall back on the river Polytimetus, the wooded banks of which promised shelter. The rashness however or cowardice of Caranus led him to attempt the passage of the river with the cavalry under his command, and the rest of the troops plunging in after him in haste and disorder, they were all destroyed by the enemy. (Arr. Anab. iv. 3, 5; comp. Curt. vii. 6.24, 7.31, &c.)
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Cleitus, an officer who commanded the Macedonian fleet for Antipater in the Lamian
war, B. C. 323, and defeated the Athenian admiral, Eetion, in two battles off
the Echinades. In the distribution of provinces at Triparadeisus, B. C. 321, he
obtained from Antipater the satrapy of Lydia ; and when Antigonus was advancing
to dispossess him of it, in B. C. 319, after Antipater's death, he garrisoned
the principal cities, and sailed away to Macedonia to report the state of affairs
to Polysperchon. In B. C. 318, after Polysperchon had been baffled at Megalopolis,
he sent Cleitus with a fleet to the coast of Thrace to prevent any forces of Antigonus
from passing into Europe, and also to effect a junction with Arrhidaeus, who had
shut himself up in the town of Cius.Nicanor being sent against him by Cassander,
a battle ensued near Byzantium, in which Cleitus gained a decisive victory. But
his success rendered him over-confident, and, having allowed his troops to disembark
and encamp on land, he was surprised by Antigonus and Nicanor, and lost all his
ships except the one in which he sailed himself. Having reached the shore in safety,
he proceeded towards Macedonia, but was slain by some soldiers of Lysimachus,
with whom he fell in on the way (Diod. xviii. 15, 39, 52, 72).
Demetrius, son of Althaemenes, commander of one of the squadrons of Macedonian cavalry under Alexander. (Arrian, Anah. iii. 11, iv. 27, v. 21.)
Eudemus, one of Alexander's generals, who was appointed by him to the command of the troops left in India. (Arrian, Anab. vi. 27.5). After Alexander's death he made himself master of the territories of the Indian king Porus, and treacherously put that monarch to death. He by this means became very powerful, and in 317 B. C. brought to the support of Eumenes in the war against Antigonus a force of 3.500 men and 125 elephants. (Diod. xix. 14.) With these he rendered him active service in the first battle in Gabiene, but seems nevertheless to have been jealous of him, and joined in the conspiracy of Antigenes and Teutamos against him, though he was afterwards induced to divulge their plans. After the surrender of Eumenes, Eudemus was put to death by order of Antigonus, to whom he had always shewn a marked hostility. (Diod. xix. 15, 27, 44; Plut. Eum. c. 16.)
Eupolemus (Eupolemos), one of the generals of Cassander, was sent by him in 314 B. C. to invade Caria, but was surprised and taken prisoner by Ptolemy, who commanded that province for Antigonus. (Diod. xix. 68.) He must have been liberated again directly, as the next year wve find him commanding the forces left by Cassander in Greece, when he moved northward against Antigonus. (Diod. xix. 77)
Leonidas. A general of Ptolemy Soter, who sent him in B. C. 310 to dislodge from the maritime towns of Cilicia the garrisons of Antigonus, which, it was alleged, the treaty of the preceding year required him to withdraw. Leonidas was successful at first, but Demetrius Poliorcetes, arriving soon after, defeated him and regained the towns (Diod. xx. 19). Suidas tells us (s. v. Demetrios o Antigonou) that Ptolemy, after having restored freedom to the Greek cities, left Leonidas in Greece as governor. He may perhaps be referring to Ptolemy's expedition to Greece in B. C. 308, with the professed object of vindicating the liberty of the several states there (see Diod. xx. 37; Plut. Dem. 15), and the name Leonidas may be intended for Cleonidas. But the whole statement in Suidas is singularly confused.
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Lyciscus. An officer of Cassander, was sent by him to Epeirus as regent and general, when the Epeirots had passed sentence of banishment against their king Aeacides and allied themselves with Cassander, in B. C. 316. In B. C. 314, Cassander left him in command of a strong body of troops in Acarnania, which he had organised against the Aetolians, who favoured the cause of Antigonus. Lyciscus was still commanding in Acarnania, in B. C. 312, when he was sent with an army into Epeirus against Alcetas II. whom he defeated. He also took the town of Eurymenae, and destroyed it. (Diod. xix. 36, 67, 88.)
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Archelaus (Archelaos), a Greek GEORGAPHER, who wrote a work in which he descsribed all the countries which Alexander the Great had traversed (Diog. Laert.ii. 17). This statment would lead us to conjecture, that Archelaus was a contemporary of Alexander, and perhaps accompanied him on his expeditions. But as the work is completely lost, nothing certain can be said about the matter. In like manner, it must remain uncertain whether this Archelaus is the same as the one whose " Euboeica" are quoted by Harpocration (s. v. Halonnedos, where however Maussac reads Archemachus), and whose works on rivers and stones are mentioned by Plutarch (de Fluv. 1 and 9) and Stobaeus. (Florileg. i. 15)
PEONIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Audoleon (Audoleon), a king of Paeonia, was the son of Agis. He was a contemporary of Alexander the Great, and was the father of Ariston, who distinguished himself at the battle of Guagamela, and of a daughter who married Pyrrhus, king of Epeirus. In a war with the Autoriatae he was reduced to great straits, but was succoured by Cassander. (Diod. xx. 19)
MIKYVERNA (Ancient city) HALKIDIKI
Hegesippus. A Greek historian or topographer of Mecyberna, who wrote an account of the peninsula of Pallene. He is mentioned by Dionysius among andres archaioi kai logou axioi. (Ant. Romn. i. 49 ; Steph. Byz. s.v. Pallene and Mekuberna; Vossius, de Hist. Graec. p. 448, ed. Westerimann.)
OLYNTHOS (Ancient city) HALKIDIKI
Callisthenes (Kallisthenes). A Greek historian, born at Olynthus about B.C. 360. He was a relation of Aristotle, from whom he received instruction at the same time as Alexander the Great. He accompanied Alexander on his Asiatic campaign, and offended him by refusing to pay him servile homage after the Persian fashion, and by other daring exhibitions of independence. The consequence was that the king threw his friend into prison on the pretext that he was concerned in a conspiracy against his life. Callisthenes died in captivity in B.C. 328, in consequence, probably, of maltreatment. Of his historical writings, particularly those dealing with the exploits of Alexander, only fragments remain; but he was always ranked among the most famous historians. Indeed, his reputation as the companion of Alexander and the historian of his achievements maintained itself so well that he was made responsible in literature for the romantic narrative of Alexander's life which grew up in the following centuries. This was translated into Latin towards the end of the third century a.d by Iulius Valerius, and became the main authority for the mediaeval adaptations of the myth of Alexander.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Apr 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Callisthenes (Kallisthenes), a philosopher, born at Olynthus. His mother, Hero,
was a cousin of Aristotle's, and by him Callisthenes was brought up, studying
under him at Stageira, together, as we may infer, with Alexander, and certainly
with Theophrastus, with whom Aristotle is said to have contrasted him, saying,
that Theophrastus needed the rein, but Callisthenes the spu. When Alexander set
forth on his Asiatic expedition, B. C. 334, he took Callisthenes with him by Aristotle's
recommendation. The latter, however, was aware of the faults of his kinsman's
character, of his total want of tact and prudence, and of his wrong-headed propensity
to the unseasonable exhibition of his independent spirit; and against these he
warned him to guard in his intercourse with the king. The warning was give in
vain. Callisthenes became indignant at Alexander's adoption of oriental customs,
and especially at the requirement of the ceremony of adoration, which he deemed
derogatory to free Greeks and Macedonians; and it may be that he was the more
open in the expression of his sentiments, because of the opposite extreme of supple
flattery adopted by his opponent Anaxarchus. When Alexander was overwhelmed with
remorse for the murder of Cleitus, both these philosophers were sent to console
him; but the suggestions of Callisthenes, though apparently on this occasion more
judicious than usual, were quite eclipsed by the bold adulation of Anaxarchus,
who openly affirmed, that "whatever kings did, must therefore of necessity be
lawful and just". Several anecdotes are recorded by Arrian and Plutarch, illustrative
of the freedom of language in which Callisthenes indulged, and of his coarse and
unconciliating demeanour -qualities which, while they alienated the king from
him and procured him a number of enemies, rendered him also popular with many
who looked on Alexander's innovations with a jealous eye; and the young men in
particular are said to have flocked to hear his discourses, regarding him as the
only free-spirited man in the royal retinue. It was this which ultimately proved
fatal to him. When the plot of Hermolaus and others to assassinate Alexander was
discovered, Callisthenes was involved in the charge. Aristobulus and Ptolemy indeed
both asserted in their histories that Hermolaus and his accomplices, when under
the torture, had named him as the chief instigator of their attempt; but this
is rendered at least doubtful by a letter on the subject from Alexander himself
to Craterus, which is preserved by Plutarch (Alex. 55), and in which the sufferers
are expressly said to have denied that any one was privy to their design. It would
seem more probable that the suspicions of Alexander were excited or revived, after
the death of the traitors, by the suggestions of the enemies of Callisthenes,
acting on a mind already exasperated against him. Every rash expression he had
ever used, every rhetorical common-place he had ever uttered on the patriotism
and glory of regicides, were raked up and made to tell against him. In another
letter, written by Alexander to Antipater, subsequently to the one above-mentioned,
and also quoted by Plutarch the king expresses his intention of "punishing the
sophist and those who sent him out", the last words being, as Plutarch thinks,
a clear allusion to Aristotle. The mode in which Callisthenes was put to death
(about B. C. 328) is variously reported. Even the contemporary writers, Ptolemy
and Aristobulus, differed on the point. Aristobulus recorded, that he was carried
about in chains and died of disease; Ptolemy, that he was tortured and crucified.
The former account, however, seems to agree with that of Chares of Mytilene, who
was eisangeleus, or lord-in-waiting, to Alexander and who related that he was
kept in confinement with the intention of bringing him ultimately to trial in
the presence of Aristotle; but that, after an imprisonment of seven months, he
died of a disgusting disease arising from his excessive corpulence. The accounts
preserved in Justin and Diogenes Laertius (one of which is a perversion of the
other, while the former is clearly a romance) are entitled to less credit (Arrian,
Anab. iv. 10-14; Plut. Alex. 52-55, Sull. 36; Curt. viii. 5-8; Just. xii. 6, 7,
xv. 3; Diog. Laert. v. 4, 5, 39; Menag. ad Diog. Laert. v. 4, 5; Suidas, s. v.
Kallisthenes).
Some manuscripts are still extant, professing to contain writings
of Callisthenes; but they are spurious, and none of his works have come down to
us. Besides an account of Alexander's expedition (which he arrogantly said would
be the main support of the conqueror's glory, and which is referred to in several
places by Plutarch and Strabo), he also wrote a history of Greece, in ten books,
from the peace of Antalcidas to the seizure of the Delphic temple by Philomelus
(B. C. 387-357). Cicero mentions too a work of his on the Trojan war. The loss,
however, of his writings we have not much reason to regret, if we may trust the
criticisms passed on them by those to whom they were known. Thus Polybius censures
him for his unskilfulness in his relation of military affairs; Cicero finds fault
with his style as fitted rather for rhetorical declamation than for history, and
contrasts it with that of Xenophon; and Strabo speaks disparagingly of his accuracy
and veracity. He seems indeed to have been far more a rhetorician than either
a philosopher or a historian, and, even as a rhetorician, to have had more of
the spirit of Isocrates than of his own great master. His readiness and fluency,
no less than his extreme indiscretion, are illustrated by the anecdote given by
Plutarch (Alex. 53) of his speaking with great applause in praise of the Macedonians
at a banquet, and then, on Alexander's challenging him to take the other side,
launching forth into the bitterest invective against them. In philosophy he probably
followed Aristotle, so far indeed as he threw himself into any system at all.
The recension of Homer (he apo narthekos), kept by Alexander in a precious casket,
and usually ascribed to Aristotle, was made, according to Strabo (xiii.), by Callisthenes
and Anaxarchus (Diod. iv. 1, xiv. 117, xvi. 14; Cic. ad Fam. v. 15, ad Q. Fratr.
ii. 12, de Orat. ii. 14, de Dix. i. 34, ii. 25; Strab. xi., xii., xiv, xvii.;
Plut. Alex. 27, 33; Polyb. xii. 17-21; Suidas, l. c.) .
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Ephippus, (Ephippos), of Olynthus, a Greek historian of Alexander the Great. It is commonly believed, though no reason is assigned, that Ephippus lived about or shortly after the time of Alexander. There is however a passage in Arrian (Anab. iii. 5.4) which would determine the age of Ephippus very accurately, if it could be proved that the Ephippus there mentioned is identical with the historian. Arrian says, that Alexander before leaving Egypt appointed Aeschylus (the Rhlodian) and Ephippus ton Chalkideos, superintendants (episkopoi) of the administration of Egypt. The reading ton Chalkideos, though adopted by the recent editors of Arrian, is not in all MSS., and some editions read Chalkidona or Chalkedona; but if we might emend Chalkideaa, we should have reason for supposing that the person mentioned by Arrian is the same as Ephippus of Olynthus, for Olynthus was the principal town in Chalcidice, and Ephippus night just as well be called a native of Olynthus as of Chalcidice. If the Ephippus then in Arrian be the same as the historian, he was a contemporary of Alexander and survived him for some time, for he wrote an account of the king's burial. The work of Ephippus is distinctly referred to by Athenaeus only, though Diodorus and others also seem to have made use of it. Athenaeus calls it in some passages peri tes Alexandron kai Hephaistionos metallages, and in others he has taphes or teleutes instead of metallages, so that at all events we must conclude that it contained an account of the burial of Alexander as well as of his death. From the few fragments still extant, it would appear that Ephippus described more the private and personal character of his heroes than their public careers. (Athen. iii., iv., x. , xii.) It should be remarked that by a singular mistake Suidas in his article Ephippus gives an account of Ephorus of Cumae. Pliny (Elench. lib. xii., xiii.) mentions one Ephippus among the authorities he consulted upon plants, and it is generally believed that he is a different person from our historian; but all the writers whom Pliny mentions along with him, belong to the period of Alexander, so that it is by no means improbable that he may be Ephippus of Olynthus. All that is known about Ephippus and the fragments of his work, is collected by R. Geier, in his Alexandri Magni Histor. Scriptores, actate suppares, Lips. 1844.
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PELLA (Ancient city) GIANNITSA
Cleitarchus (Kleitarchos), son of the historian Deinon (Plin. H. N. x. 49), accompanied
Alexander the Great in his Asiatic expedition, and wrote a history of it. This
work has been erroneously supposed by some to have formed the basis of that of
Curtius, who is thought to have closely followed, even if he did not translate
it. We find Curtius, however, in one passage (ix. 5.21) differing from Cleitarchus,
and even censuring him for his inaccuracy. Cicero also (de Leg. i. 2) speaks very
slightingly of the production in question (ta peri Alexandron), and mentions him
again (Brut. 11) as one who, in his account of the death of Thenlistocles, eked
out history with a little dash of romance. Quintilian says (Inst. Or. x. 1), that
his ability was greater than his veracity; and Longinus (de Sublim.) condemns
his style as frivolous and inflated, applying to it the expression of Sophocles,
smikrois men auliskois, phorbelas d' ater. He is quoted also by Plutarch (Them.
27, Alex. 46), and several times by Pliny, Athenaeus, and Strabo. The Cleitarchus,
whose treatise on foreign words (glossai) is frequently referred to by Athenaeus,
was a diffrent person from the historian.
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Craterus (Krateros), a brother of Antigonus Gonatas, and father of Alexander, the prince of Corinth. (Phlegon, de Mirab. 32; Justin, Prolog. xxxvi.) He distinguished himself as a diligent compiler of historical documents relative to the history of Attica. He made a collection of Attic inscriptions, containing decrees of the people (psephismaton sunagoge), and out of them he seems to have constructed a diplomatic history of Athens. (Plut. Aristeid. 32, Cim. 13.) This work is frequently referred to by Harpocration and Stephanus of Byzantium, the latter of whom (s. v. Numphaion) quotes the ninth book of it. (Comp. Pollux, viii. 126; Schol. ad Aristoph. Av. 1073, Ran. 323.) With the exception of the statements contained in these and other passages, the work of Craterus, which must have been of great value, is lost.
Q. Curtius Rufus, the Roman historian of Alexander the Great. Respecting his life and the time at
which he lived, nothing is known with any certainty, and there is not a single
passage in any ancient writer that can be positively said to refer to Q. Curtius,
the historian. One Curtius Rufus is mentioned by Tacitus (Ann. xi. 21) and Pliny
(Ep. vii. 27), and a Q. Curtius Rufus occurs in the list of the rhetoricians of
whom Suetonius treated in his work "De Claris Rhetoribus". But there is nothing
to shew that any of them is the same as our Q. Curtius, though it may be, as F.
A. Wolf was inclined to think, that the rhetorician spoken of by Suetonius is
the same as the historia. This total want of external testimony compels us to
seek information concerning Q. Curtius in the work that has come down to us under
his name; but what we find here is as vague and unsatisfactory as that which is
gathered from external testimonies. There are only two passages in his work which
contain allusions to the time at which he lived. In the one (iv. 4, in fin.),
in speaking of the city of Tyre, he says, nunc tamen longa pace cuncta refovente,
sub tutela Romanae mansuetudinis acquiescit; the other, which is the more important
one (x. 9), contains an eulogy on the emperor for having restored peace after
much bloodshed and many disputes about the possession of the empire. But the terms
in which this passage is framed are so vague and indefinite, that it may be applied
with almost equal propriety to a great number of epochs in the history of the
Roman empire, and critics have with equal ingenuity referred the eulogy to a variety
of emperors, from Augustus down to Constantine or even to Theodosius the Great,
while one of the earlier critics even asserted that Q. Curtius Rufus was a fictitious
name, and that the work was the production of a modern writer. This last opinion,
however, is refuted by the fact, that there are some very early MSS. of Q. Curtius,
and that Joannes Sarisberiensis, who died in A. D. 1182, was acquainted with the
work. All modern critics are now pretty well agreed, that Curtius lived in the
first centuries of the Christian aera. Niebuhr regards him and Petronius as contemporaries
of Septimius Severus, while most other critics place him as early as the time
of Vespasian. The latter opinion, which also accords with the supposition that
the rhetorician Q. Curtius Rufus mentioned by Suetonius was the same as our historian,
presents no other difficulty, except that Quintilian, in mentioning the historians
who had died before his time, does not allude to Curtius in any way. This difficulty,
however, may be removed by the supposition, that Curtius was still alive when
Quintilian wrote. Another kind of internal evidence which might possibly suggest
the time in which Curtius wrote, is the style and diction of his work; but in
this case neither of them is the writer's own; both are artificially acquired,
and exhibit only a few traces which are peculiar to the latter part of the first
century after Christ. Thus much, however, seems clear, that Curtius was a rhetorician:
his style is not free from strained and high-flown expressions, but on the whole
it is a masterly imitation of Livy's style, intermixed here and there with poetical
phrases and artificial ornaments.
The work itself is a history of Alexander the Great, and written with
great partiality for the hero. The author drew his materials from good sources,
such as Cleitarchus, Timagenes, and Ptolemaeus, but was deficient himself in knowledge
of geography, tactics, and astronomy, and in historical criticism, for which reasons
his work cannot always be relied upon as an historical authority. It consisted
originally of ten books, but the first two are lost, and the remaining eight also
are not without more or less considerable gaps. In the early editions the fifth
and sixth books are sometimes united in one, so that the whole would consist of
only nine books; and Glareanus in his edition (1556) divided the work into twelve
books. The deficiency of the first two books has been made up in the form of supplements
by Bruno, Cellarius, and Freinsheim; but that of the last of these scholars, although
the best, is still without any particular merit. The criticism of the text of
Curtius is connected with great difficulties, for although all the extant MSS.
are derived from one, yet some of them, especially those of the 14th and 15th
centuries, contain considerable interpolations. Hence the text appears very different
in the different editions. The first edition is that of Vindelinus de Spira, Venice,
without date, though probably published in 1471. It was followed in 1480 by the
first Milan edition of A. Zarotus. The most important among the subsequent editions
are the Juntinae, those of Erasmus, Chr. Bruno, A. Junius, F. Modius, Acidalius,
Raderus, Popma, Loccenius, and especially those of Freinsheim, Strassburg, 1640,
and Ch. Cellarius, 1688. The best edition that was published during the interval
between that and our own time is the variorum edition by H. Senkenburg, Delft
and Leiden, 1724.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Deinon or Dinon, father of Cleitarchus, the historian of Alexander's expedition.
He wrote a history of Persia, to which C. Nepos (Con. 5) refers as the most trustworthy
authority on the subject. He had, however, a large fund of credulity, if we may
trust Pliny (H. N. x. 49). He is quoted also in the following passages: Plut.
Alex. 36, Artax. 1, 6, 9, 10, 13, 19, 22, Them. 27; Athen. ii., iv., xi, xiii.,
xiv; Cic. de Div. i. 23; Ael. H. A. xvii. 10, V. H. vii. i.; Diog. Laert. i. 8,
ix. 50, in which two passages we also find the erroneous reading Dion.
Marsyas. Son of Periander, a native of Pella, in Macedonia, was a contemporary of Alexander,
with whom, according to Suidas, he was educated. The same author calls him a brother
of Antigonus, who was afterwards king of Asia, by which an uterine brother alone
can be meant, as the father of Antigonus was named Philip. Both these statements
point to his being of noble birth, and appear strangely at variance with the assertion
that he was a mere professional grammarian (Grammatodidaskalos), a statement which
Geier conjectures plausibly enough to refer in fact to the younger Marsyas. Suidas,
indeed, seems in many points to have confounded the two. The only other fact transmitted
to us concerning the life of Marsyas, is that he was appointed by Demetrius to
command one division of his fleet in the great sea-fight of Salamis, B. C. 306.
(Diod. xx. 50.) But this circumstance is alone sufficient to show that he was
a person who himself took an active part in public affairs, not a mere man of
letters. It is probable that he followed the fortunes of his step-brother Antigonus.
His principal work was a history of Macedonia, in ten books, commencing
from the earliest times, and coming down to the wars of Alexander in Asia, when
it terminated abruptly with the return of that monarch into Syria, after the conquest
of Egypt and the foundation of Alexandria. (Suid. l. c.) It is repeatedly cited
by Athenaeus, Plutarch, Harpocration, and other writers. Whether the Ta peri Alechandron
which are twice quoted by Harpocration (s. v. Aristion, Margites) formed merely
a part of the same work, or were altogether distinct, is uncertain, but the former
hypothesis seems the more probable. Some authors, however, assign these fragments
to the younger Marsyas.
Suidas also speaks of a history of the education of Alexander (autou
tou Alechandrou agogen) as a separate work, and ascribes, moreover, to the elder
Marsyas a treatise on the history or antiquities of Athens (Attika), in twelve
books, which Bernhardy and Geier consider as being the same with the archaiologia,
the work of the younger historian of this name.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
POTIDEA (Ancient city) HALKIDIKI
Aristobulus, (Aristoboulos). A Greek historian, who in his youth accompanied
Alexander the Great on his campaigns. In his eighty-fifth year, when living at
Cassandrea in Thrace, he wrote a work upon Alexander, in which he recorded his
careful observations on geography, ethnography, and natural science. The book
is highly praised for its trustworthiness, but only fragments of it have reached
us. He and Ptolemy were the chief authorities for Arrian's Anabasis.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Mar 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Aristobulus (Aristoboulos) of Cassandreia, the son of Aristobulus, one of the
companions of Alexander the Great in his Asiatic conquests, wrote a history of
Alexander, which was one of the chief sources used by Arrian in the composition
of his work. Aristoblius lived to the age of ninety, and did not begin to write
his history till he was eighty-four (Lucian, Macrob. 22). His work is also frequently
referred to by Athenaeus (ii., vi., x., xii.), Plutarch (Alex. cc. 15, 16, 18,
21, 46, 75), and Strabo (xi., xiv., xv., xvi, xvii). The anecdote which Lucian
relates (Quoslodo hist. conscrib. c. 12) about Aristobulus is supposed by modern
writers to refer to Onesicritus.
Plutarch refers to a work upon stones, and another upon the affairs
of Italy, written by an Aristobulus, but whether he is the same person as the
preceding, is uncertain. (Plut. de Fluv. c. 14. Parall. Min. c. 32.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
MIEZA (Ancient city) NAOUSSA
Macedonian officer in the army of Alexander the Great, satrap of
Persis.
Peucestas was born in the Macedonian town Mieza (modern Naousa)
as the son of an otherwise unknown Alexander. The stages of his early career are
unknown to us and it is possible that he joined Alexander at a later stage of
his campaign. However this may be, Peucestas was present during the return from
the Punjab, which started in the summer of 326.
In a valuable document, he is mentioned as one of the thirty-three
trierarchs of the fleet that Alexander had built to ship his men to the Indian
Ocean. The word 'trierarch' means 'captain' but it seems that something more important
was meant in the present case, because all members of Alexander's inner circle
are mentioned as trierarchs. This makes it clear that Peucestas was an important
member of the royal court, and since he did nothing special during the earlier
campaigns, we may assume that he was a member of the highest Macedonian nobility.
Perhaps he was a younger youth friend of the Macedonian crown prince.
The nations along the Indus offered resistance against Alexander's
navy and army. In January 325, the Macedonians had to fight themselves a way through
the country of the Mallians (Indian Malava). During the siege of their capital,
modern Multan, Alexander was seriously wounded. He owed his survival to Leonnatus,
Abreas and Peucestas, who protected the king with a sacred shield that Alexander
had taken away from Troy.
One year later, Peucestas was rewarded with a golden diadem. This
was an exceptionally high honor, because only three others received this sign
of esteem. He was also appointed satrap of the heartland of the former Achaemenid
empire, Persis. In this quality, he commanded a company of Persian soldiers that
were to replace the Macedonian veterans (early 323).
Peucestas was still one of the members of Alexander inner when the
great conqueror died: he was present at the drinking party of Medius that was
to be Alexander's last supper, and he slept in the temple of Serapis, hoping to
receive in his dreams instructions about the cure of the king.
In the confused period of the Diadochi, which began with the death
of Alexander (June 11, 323), Peucestas remained satrap of Persis. Both Perdiccas
and Antipater, who served as regents for Alexander's brother Arridaeus, reinvested
him in his function (at the settlements of Babylon in June 323 and Triparadisus).
It must have been difficult to ignore him, because he was the only Macedonian
who had taken the trouble to learn the Persian language.
In 317, one of Alexander's successors, Peithon the satrap of Media,
tried to subdue the leaders of the eastern provinces. Peucestas and the other
satraps united and offered resistance. Their common army was still at Susa
when Eumenes arrived, the former secretary of Alexander. The regent Polyperchon
had appointed him as commander of an army in Asia that had to resist Antigonus
Monophthalmus, a general with plans identical to Peithon's.
Peucestas wanted to remain neutral, but was forced to join Eumenes'
army. After all, Eumenes was still fighting for the sake of the Macedonian royal
house. Antigonus and Eumenes joined battle in Paraetacene (near modern Esfahan),
but the engagement remained undecided. In the spring of 316, a second battle was
fought in the district of Gabiene (near Susa). Peucestas, who was an unwilling
ally of Eumenes, deliberately retreated from the battle field, which gave Antigonus
an opportunity to defeat his enemy.
After the battle, Peucestas surrendered to Antigonus, but he was not
reinstated. Peucestas' later career is unknown, but is seems that he survived
Antigonus and was one of the favorites of his son Demetrius.
Peucestas is not to be confused with his namesake, a military commander
of Egypt.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
PELLA (Ancient city) GIANNITSA
356 - 323
Alexander the Great between history and legend continues to provoke
a universal interest. His magnificent course, although brief, sealed indelibly
human history.
Through the spread of Greek language and Greek civilization, the adoption
of cultural elements of the East Traditions, the foundation of new cities that
developed to commercial centers, the expedition he open new horizons to the evolution
of civilizations.
It was the first time that a universal economical collaboration and
a united monetary system were put into practice. His political and administrative
reforms transformed many ruling systems to the Far East, and were embraced by
a lot of leaders during the following centuries.
His daring and his passion ensured the survival of Greek spirit as
far as the depths of Asia and created the spiritual and moral conditions for the
later evolutions of Roman and Byzantine civilization. Greek language spread out
as a means of people's communications, thus giving to the new universal Christian
religion the possibility to became easily understandable. Gospels are written
in common Greek language as well as the later translation of the Old Testament.
The great visionary Alexander crossed the world as a lightning, shocked
and flood with light people's lives. From history he passed on to the pantheon
of the legend, he became a source of inspiration and he deeply touched large masses
of different nations in all lengths and widths of the earth through the centuries
till today.
CHRONOLOGY
356B.C.
Birth of Alexander the Great in Pella son of Philip B' and Olympiad.
343B.C.
The great philosopher Aristotle undertakes Alexander's education.
338B.C.
Alexander leads in victorious battle of Cheronea.
336B.C.
Death of Philip II , Alexander King of Macedonia.
335B.C.
Alexander suppresses the rebellion of Thebes.
334B.C.
Greek expedition against the Persians with ... Granicus river battle.
Persian crushing defeat.
333B.C.
Victorious Issus Battle, decisive for Asia's Minor rule. Darius, king
of Persians flees abandoning his family.
332B.C.
Alexander is declared successor to the Pharaoh throne in Egypt. He
founds Alexandria, the city of cities
331B.C.
Battle of Gaugamila. Defeat of Persians. Alexander captures the capital
of Persian state. Satrap Vissos murders Darius. End of national Greek war against
the Persians.
329B.C.
Alexander passes through HindoKaukasos and occupies Vactriani and
Sogdiani. He founds Alexandria Eschate and marries Roxanne.
328B.C.
Alexander conquest of India. He cross Indus river and advances to Idaspis.
327B.C.
Landslide victory against Porus, ruler of India.
326B.C.
Alexander's co- warriors react against his plan to proceed to Gangi's valley.
Army and navy under Nearchus return from Patala to Babylon.
324B.C.
Celebrations in Susha. Simultaneous marriages with Persian women. Alexander marries
Statira, Darius daughter. 323B.C
Alexander returns to Babylon. Plan for a new expedition. At the pinnacle of glory
and dreams, he passes away aged 33.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Municipality of Pella URL below, which contains images.
Alexander, known as the Great, son of Philip II., king of Macedon, was born at
Pella, B.C. 356. He was educated by Aristotle, who acquired a great influence
over his mind and character. He first distinguished himself at the battle of Chaeronea
(338), where the victory was mainly owing to his impetuosity and courage. On the
murder of Philip (336), he ascended the throne, at the age of twenty, to find
himself surrounded by enemies on every side. He first put down rebellion in his
own kingdom, and then rapidly marched into Greece. His unexpected activity overawed
all opposition; Thebes, which had been most active against him, submitted when
he appeared at its gates; and the assembled Greeks at the Isthmus of Corinth elected
him to the command against Persia. He now directed his arms against the barbarians
of the North, and crossed the Danube (335). A report of his death having reached
Greece, the Thebans once more took up arms; but a terrible punishment awaited
them. Alexander took Thebes by assault, destroyed all the buildings, with the
exception of the house of Pindar, killed most of the inhabitants, and sold the
rest as slaves. He now prepared for his great expedition against Persia. In the
spring of 334 he crossed the Hellespont with some 35,000 men. Of these 30,000
were foot and 5000 horse, and of the former only 12,000 were Macedonians. Alexander's
first engagement with the Persians was on the river Granicus in Mysia (May, 334),
where they were entirely defeated by him. In the following year (333) he collected
his army at Gordium in Phrygia, where he cut or untied the celebrated Gordian
knot, which, it was said, was to be loosened only by the conqueror of Asia. From
thence he marched to Issus, on the confines of Syria, where he gained a great
victory over Darius, the Persian king. Darius himself escaped, but his mother,
wife, and children fell into the hands of Alexander, who treated them with the
utmost delicacy and respect. Alexander now directed his arms against the cities
of Phoenicia, most of which Coin representing Alexander the Great as Zeus Ammon.
submitted; but Tyre was not taken till the middle of 332, after an obstinate defence
of seven months. He next marched into Egypt, which unresistingly yielded to him.
At the beginning of 331 he founded near the mouth of the Nile the city of Alexandria,
and about the same time visited the temple of Zeus Ammon, in the desert of Libya,
where he was saluted by the priests as the son of Zeus. In the spring of the same
year (331) he set out against Darius, who had collected another army. He crossed
the Euphrates and the Tigris, and at length met with the immense hosts of Darius,
said to have amounted to more than a million of men, in the plains of Gaugamela.
The battle was fought in the month of October, 331, and ended in the complete
defeat of the Persians. Alexander was now the conqueror of Asia, and began to
adopt Persian habits and customs, by which he conciliated the affections of his
new subjects. From Arbela he marched to Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, all of
which surrendered to him. He is said to have set fire to the palace of Persepolis,
and, according to some accounts, in the revelry of a banquet, at the instigation
of Thais, an Athenian courtesan. At the beginning of 330, Alexander marched from
Persepolis into Media, in pursuit of Darius, whom he followed into Parthia, where
the unfortunate king was murdered by Bessus, satrap of Bactria. In 329 Alexander
crossed the mountains of the Paropamisus and marched into Bactria against Bessus,
who was betrayed to him and put to death. During the next two years he was chiefly
engaged in the conquest of Sogdiana. He also crossed the Iaxartes (the Sir), and
defeated several Scythian tribes north of that river. By the conquest of a mountain
fortress he obtained possession of Roxana, the daughter of the Bactrian chief
Oxyartes, whom he made his wife. It was about this time that he killed his friend
Clitus in a drunken brawl. He had previously put to death his faithful servant
Parmenion, on the charge of treason. In 327 he invaded India, and crossed the
Indus, probably near the modern Attock. He met with no resistance till he reached
the Hydaspes, where he was opposed by Porus, an Indian king, whom he defeated
after a gallant resistance, and took prisoner, subsequently restoring to him his
kingdom, and treating him with distinguished honour. He founded a town on the
Hydaspes, called Bucephala, in honour of his horse Bucephalus, who died here,
after carrying him through many victories. From thence he penetrated as far as
the Hyphasis (Garra). This was the farthest point which he reached, for the Macedonians,
worn out by long service, and tired of the war, refused to advance farther; and
Alexander, notwithstanding his entreaties and prayers, was obliged to lead them
back. He returned to the Hydaspes, and then sailed down the river with a portion
of his troops, while the remainder marched along the banks in two divisions. He
finally reached the Indian Ocean about the middle of 326. Nearchus was sent with
the fleet to sail along the coast to the Persian Gulf (see Nearchus); and Alexander
marched with the rest of his forces through Gedrosia, in which country his army
suffered greatly from want of water and provisions. He reached Susa at the beginning
of 325. Here he allowed himself and his troops some rest from their labours; and
anxious to form his European and Asiatic subjects into one people, he assigned
Asiatic wives to about eighty of his generals. He himself took a second wife,
Barsine, the eldest daughter of Darius. Towards the close of the year 325 he went
to Ecbatana, where he lost his great favourite, Hephaestion. From Ecbatana he
marched to Babylon, which he intended to make the capital of his empire, as the
best point of communication between his eastern and western dominions. His schemes
were numerous and gigantic, but he was cut off in the midst of them, being attacked
by a fever, which was probably aggravated by the quantity of wine he had drunk
at a banquet given to his principal officers, so that he died, after an illness
of eleven days, in the month of May or June, B.C. 323, at the age of thirty-two,
after a reign of twelve years and eight months. He appointed no one as his successor,
but just before his death gave his ring to Perdiccas. Roxana was with child at
the time of his death, and afterwards bore a son who is known by the name of Alexander
Aegus.
The body of Alexander was interred by Ptolemy in Alexandria, in a
golden coffin, and divine honours were paid to him, not only in Egypt, but also
in other countries. The sarcophagus in which the coffin was enclosed has been
in the British Museum since 1802.
No character in history has afforded matter for more discussion than
that of Alexander; and the exact quality of his ambition is to this day a subject
of dispute. By some he is regarded as little more than an heroic madman, actuated
by the mere desire of personal glory; others give him the honour of vast and enlightened
views of policy, embracing the consolidation and establishment of an empire, in
which commerce, learning, and the arts should flourish in common with energy and
enterprise of every description. Each class of reasoners find facts to countenance
their opinion of the mixed character and actions of Alexander. The former quote
the wildness of his personal daring, the barren nature of much of his transient
mastery, and his remorseless and unnecessary cruelty to the vanquished on some
occasions, and capricious magnanimity and lenity on others. The latter advert
to facts like the foundation of Alexandria, and other acts indicative of large
and prospective views of true policy; and regard his expeditions rather as schemes
of discovery and exploration than mere enterprises for fruitless conquest. The
truth appears to embrace a portion of both these opinions. Alexander was too much
smitten with military glory, and the common selfengrossment of the mere conqueror,
to be a great and consistent statesman; while such was the strength of his intellect,
and the light opened to him by success, that a glimpse of the genuine sources
of lasting greatness could not but break in upon him. The history of Napoleon
shows the nature of this mixture of lofty intellect and personal ambition, which
has seldom effected much permanent good for mankind in any age.
In person this extraordinary individual was of the middle size, with
a neck somewhat awry, but possessed of a fierce and majestic countenance.
After many dissensions and bloody wars among themselves, the generals
of Alexander laid the foundations of several great empires in the three quarters
of the globe. Ptolemy seized Egypt, where he firmly established himself, and where
his successors were called Ptolemies, in honour of the founder of their kingdom,
which subsisted till the time of Augustus. Seleucus and his posterity reigned
in Babylon and Syria. Antigonus at first established himself in Asia Minor, and
Antipater in Macedonia. The descendants of Antipater were conquered by the successors
of Antigonus, who reigned in Macedonia till it was reduced by the Romans in the
time of King Perseus. Lysimachus made himself master of Thrace; and Leonatus,
who had taken possession of Phrygia, meditated for a while to drive Antipater
from Macedonia. Eumenes established himself in Cappadocia, but was soon overpowered
by his rival Antigonus, and starved to death. During his lifetime, Eumenes appeared
so formidable to the successors of Alexander that none of them dared to assume
the title of king.
The element of the wonderful in the campaigns of Alexander, and his
tragic death at the height of his power, threw an intensely romantic interest
around his figure, so that Alexander soon became the hero of romantic story, scarcely
more wonderful than the actual, but growing from age to age with the myth-making
spirit which can work as freely in fact as in fiction. The earliest form of the
story which we know is the great romance connected with the name of Callisthenes,
which, under the influence of the popular tradition, arose in Egypt about A.D.
200, and was carried through Latin translations to the West, and through Armenian
and Syriac versions to the East. It became widely popular during the Middle Ages,
and was worked into poetic form by many writers in French and German. Alberich
of Besancon wrote in Middle High German an epic on the subject in the first half
of the twelfth century, which was the basis of the German Lamprecht's Alexanderbuch,
also of the twelfth century. The French poets Lambert li Court and Alexandre de
Bernay composed, between 1180 and 1190, a romance of Alexander, the twelve-syllable
metre of which gave rise to the name Alexandrines. The German poem of Rudolf of
Ems was based on the Latin epic of Walter of Chatillon, about 1200, which became
henceforward the prevailing form of the story. In contrast with it is the thirteenth-century
Old English epic of Alexander, based on the version of Callisthenes. The story
appears also in the East, worked up in conjunction with myths of other nationalities,
especially the Persian. It appears in Firdusi, and, among later writers, in Nizami.
From the Persians both the substance of the story and its form in poetical treatment
have extended to Turks and other Mohammedans, who have interpreted Alexander as
the Dsulkarnein ("two-horned") of the Koran, and to the Hindus, which
last had preserved no independent traditions of Alexander.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited May 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Alexander III. (Alexandros), king of Macedonia, surnamed the Great, was born at
Pella, in the autumn of B. C. 356. He was the son of Philip II. and Olympias,
and he inherited much of the natural disposition of both of his parents--the cool
forethought and practical wisdom of his father, and the ardent enthusiasm and
ungovernable passions of his mother. His mother belonged to the royal house of
Epeirus, and through her he traced his descent from the great hero Achilles. His
early education was committed to Leonidas and Lysimachus, the former of whom was
a relation of his mother's, and the latter an Acarnanian. Leonidas early accustomed
him to endure toil and hardship, but Lysimachus recommended himself to his royal
pupil by obsequious flattery. But Alexander was also placed under the care of
Aristotle, who acquired an influence over his mind and character, which is manifest
to the latest period of his life. Aristotle wrote for his use a treatise on the
art of government; and the clear and comprehensive views of the political relations
of nations and of the nature of government, which Alexander shews in the midst
of all his conquests, may fairly be ascribed to the lessons he had received in
his youth from the greatest of philosophers. It is not impossible too that his
love of discovery, which distinguishes him from the herd of vulgar conquerors,
may also have been implanted in him by the researches of Aristotle. Nor was his
physical education neglected. He was early trained in all manly and athletic sports;
in horsemanship he excelled all of his age; and in the art of war he had the advantage
of his father's instruction.
At the early age of sixteen, Alexander was entrusted with the government
of Macedonia by his father, while he was obliged to leave his kingdom to march
against Byzantium. He first distinguished himself, however, at the battle of Chaeroneia
(B. C. 338), where the victory was mainly owing to his impetuosity and courage.
On the murder of Philip (B. C. 336), just after he had made arrangements
to march into Asia at the head of the confederate Greeks, Alexander ascended the
throne of Macedon, and found himself surrounded by enemies on every side. Attalus,
the uncle of Cleopatra, who had been sent into Asia by Parmenion with a considerable
force, aspired to the throne; the Greeks, roused by Demosthenes, threw off the
Macedonian supremacy ; and the barbarians in the north threatened his dominions.
Nothing but the promptest energy could save him; but in this Alexander was never
deficient. Attalus was seized and put to death. His rapid march into the south
of Greece overawed all opposition; Thebes, which had been most active against
him, submitted when he appeered at its gates; and the assembled Greeks at the
Isthmus of Corinth, with the sole exception of the Lacedaemonians, elected him
to the command against Persia, which had previously been bestowed upon his father.
Being now at liberty to reduce the barbarians of the north to obedience, he marched
(early in B. C. 335) across mount defeated the Triballi, and advanced as far as
the Danube, which he crossed, and received embassies from the Scythians and other
nations. On his return, he marched westward, and subdued the Illylrians and Taulantii,
who were obliged to submit to the Macedonian supremacy. While engaged in these
distant countries, a report of his death reached Greece, and the Thebans once
more took up arms. But a terrible punishment awaited them. He advanced into Boeotia
by rapid marches, and appeared before the gates of the city almost before the
inhabitants had received intelligence of his approach. The city was taken by assault;
all the buildings, with the exception of the house of Pindar, were levelled with
the ground; most of the inhabitants butchered, and the rest sold as slaves. Athens
feared a similar fate, and sent an embassy deprecating his wrath; but Alexander
did not advance further; the punishment of Thebes was a sufficient warning to
Greece.
Alexander now directed all his energy to prepare for the expedition
against Persia. In the spring of B. C. 334, he crossed over the Hellespont into
Asia with an army of about 35,000 men. Of these 30,000 were foot and 5000 horse;
and of the former only 12,000 were Macedonians. But experience had shewn that
this was a force which no Persian king could resist. Darius, the reigning king
of Persia, had no military skill, and could only hope to oppose Alexander by engaging
the services of mercenary Greeks, of whom he obtained large supplies.
Alexander's first engagement with the Persians was on the banks of
the Granicus, where they attempted to prevent his passage over it. Memnon, a Rhodian
Greek, was in the army of the Persians, and had recommended them to withdraw as
Alexander's army advanced, and lay waste the country ; but this advice was not
followed, and the Persians were defeated. Memnon was the ablest general that Darius
had, and his death in the following year (B. C. 333) relieved Alexander from a
formidable opponent. After the capture of Halicarnassus, Memnon had collected
a powerful fleet, in which Alexander was greatly deficient; he had taken many
of the islands in the Aegaean, and threatened Macedonia.
Before marching against Darius, Alexander thought it expedient to
subdue the chief towns on the western coast of Asia Minor. The last event of importance
in the campaign was the capture of Halicarnassus, which was not taken till late
in the autumn, after a vigorous defence by Memnon. Alexander marched along the
coast of Lycia and Pamphylia, and then northward into Phrygia and to Gordium,
where he cut or untied the celebrated Gordian knot, which, it was said, was to
be loosened only by the conqueror of Asia.
In B. C. 333, he was joined at Gordium by reinforcements from Macedonia,
and commenced his second campaign. From Gordium he marched through the centre
of Asia Minor into Cilicia to the city of Tarsus, where he nearly lost his life
by a fever, brought on by his great exertions, or through throwing himself, when
heated, into the cold waters of the Cydnus. Darius meantime had collected an immense
army of 500,000, or 600,000 men, with 30,000 Greek mercenaries; but instead of
waiting for Alexander's approach in the wide plain of Sochi, where he had been
stationed for some time, and which was favourable to his numbers and the evolution
of his cavalry, he advanced into the narrow plain of Issus, where defeat was almost
certain. Alexander had passed through this plain into Syria before Darius reached
it; but as soon as he received intelligence of the movements of Darius, he retraced
his steps, and in the battle which followed the Persian army was defeated with
dreadful slaughter. Darius took to flight, as soon as he saw his left wing routed,
and escaped across the Euphrates by the ford of Thapsacus ; but his mother, wife,
and children fell into the hands of Alexander, who treated them with the utmost
delicacy and respect. The battle of Issus, which was fought towards the close
of B. C. 333, decided the fate of the Persian empire; but Alexander judged it
most prudent not to pursue Darius, but to subdue Phoenicia, which was especially
formidable by its navy, and constantly threatened thereby to attack the coasts
of Greece and Macedonia. Most of the cities of Phoenicia submitted as he approached;
Tyre alone refused to surrender. This city was not taken till the middle of B.
C. 332, after an obstinate defence of seven months, and was fearfully punished
by the slaughter of 8000 Tyrians and the sale of 30,000 into slavery. Next followed
the siege of Gaza, which again delayed Alexander two months, and afterwards, according
to Josephus, he marched to Jerusalem, intending to punish the people for refusing
to assist him, but he was diverted from his purpose by the appearance of the high
priest, and pardoned the people. This story is not mentioned by Arrian, and rests
on questionable evidence.
Alexander next marched into Egypt, which gladly submitted to the conqueror,
for the Egyptiaus had ever hated the Persians, who insulted their religion and
violated their temples. In the beginning of the following year (B. C. 331), Alexander
founded at the mouth of the western branch of the Nile, the city of Alexandria,
which he intended should form the centre of commerce between the eastern and western
worlds, and which soon more than realized the expectations of its founder. He
now determined to visit the temple of Jupiter Ammon, and after proceeding from
Alexandria along the coast to Paraetonium, he turned southward through the desert
and thus reached the temple. He was sahtted by the priests as the son of Jupiter
Ammon.
In the spring of the same year (B. C. 331), Alexander set out to meet
Darius, who had collected another army. He marched through Phoeniciaand Syria
to the Euphrates, which he crossed at the ford of Thapsacus; from thence he proceeded
through Mesopotamia, crossed the Tigris, and at length met with the immense hosts
of Darius, said to have amounted to more than a million of men, in the plains
of Gaugamela. The battle was fought in the month of October, B. C. 331, and ended
in the complete defeat of the Persians, who suffered immense slaughter. Alexander
pursued the fagitives to Arbela (Erbil), which place has given its name to the
battle, and which was distant about fifty miles from the spot where it was fought.
Darins, who had left the field of battle early in the day, fled to Ecbatana (Hamadan),
in Media. Alexander was now the conqueror of Asia; and he began to assume all
the pomp and splendour of an Asiatic despot. His adoption of Persian habits and
customs tended doubtless to conciliate the affections of his new subjects; but
these outward signs of eastern royalty were also accompanied by many acts worthy
only of an eastern tyrant; he exercised no controul over his passions, and frequently
gave way to the most violent and ungovernable excesses.
From Arbela, Alexander marched to Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, which
all surrendered without striking a blow. He is said to have set fire to the palace
of Persepolis, and, according to some accounts, in the revelry of a banquet, at
the instigation of Thais, an Athenian courtezan.
At the beginning of B. C. 330, Alexander marched from Persepolis into
Media, where Darius had collected a new force. On his approach, Darius fled through
Rhagae and the passes of the Elburz mountains, called by the ancients the Caspian
Gates, into the Bactrian provinces. After stopping a short time at Ecbatana, Alexander
pursued him through the deserts of Parthia, and had nearly reached him, when the
unfortunate king was murdered by Bessus, satrap of Bactria, and his associates.
Alexander sent his body to Persepolis, to be buried in the tombs of the Persian
kings. Bessus escaped to Bactria, and assumed the title of king of Persia. Alexander
advanced into Hyrcania, in order to gain over the remnant of the Greeks of Darius's
army, who were assembled there. After some negotiation he succeeded; they were
all pardoned, and a great many of them taken into his pay. After spending fifteen
days at Zadracarta, the capital of Parthia, he marched to the frontiers of Areia,
which he entrusted to Satibarzanes, the former satrap of the country, and set
out on his march towards Bactria to attack Bessus, but had not proceeded far,
when he was recalled by the revolt of Satibarzanes. By incredible exertions he
returned to Artacoana, the capital of the province, in two days' march : the satrap
took to flight, and a new governor was appointed. Instead of resuming his march
into Bactria, Alexander seems to have thought it more prudent to subdue the south-eastern
parts of Areia, and accordingly marched into the country of the Drangae and Sarangae.
During the army's stay at Prophthasia, the capital of the Drangae,
an event occurred, which shews the altered character of Alexander, and represents
him in the light of a suspicious oriental despot. Philotas, the son of his faithful
general, Parmenion, and who had been himself a personal friend of Alexander, was
accused of a plot against the king's life. life was accused by Alexander before
the army, condemned, and put to death. Parmenion, who was at the head of an army
at Ecbatana, was also put to death by command of Alexander, who feared lest he
should attempt to revenge his son. Several other trials for treason followed,
and many Macedonians were executed.
Alexander now advanced through the country of the Ariaspi to the Arachoti,
a people west of the Indus, whom he conquered. Their conquest and the complete
subjugation of Areia occupied the winter of this year. (B. C. 330.) In the beginning
of the following year (B. C. 329), he crossed the mountains of the Paropamisus
(the Hindoo Coosh), and marched into Bactria against Bessus. On the approach of
Alexander, Bessus fled across the Oxus into Sogdiana. Alexander followed him,
and transported his army across the river on the skins of the tents stuffed with
straw. Shortly after the passage Bessus was betrayed into his hands, and, after
being cruelly mutilated by order of Alexander, was put to death. From the Oxus
Alexander advanced as far as the Jaxartes (the Sir), which he crossed, and defeated
several Scythian tribes north of that river. After founding a city Alexandria
on the Jaxartes, he retraced his steps, recrossed the Oxus, and returned to Zariaspa
or Bactra, where he spent the winter of 329. It was here that Alexander killed
his friend Cleitus in a drunken revel.
In the spring of B. C. 328, Alexander again crossed the Oxus to complete
the subjugation of Sogdiana, but was not able to effect it in the year, and accordingly
went into winter quarters at Nautaca, a place in the middle of the province. At
the beginning of the following year, B. C. 327, he took a mountain fortress, in
which Oxyartes, a Bactrian prince, had deposited his wife and daughters. The beauty
of Roxana, one of the latter, captivated the conqueror, and he accordingly made
her his wife. This marriage with one of his eastern subjets was in accordance
with the whole of his policy. Having completed the conquest of Sogdiana, Alexander
marched southward into Bactria, and made preparations for the invasion of India.
While in Bactria, another conspiracy was discovered for the murder of the king.
The plot was formed by Hermolaus with a number of the royal pages, and Callisthenes,
a pupil of Aristotle, was involved in it. All the conspirators were put to death.
Alexander did not leave Bactria till late in the spring of B. C. 327,
and crossed the Indus, probably near the modern Attock. He now entered the country
of the Penjab, or the Five Rivers. Taxilas, the king of the people immediately
east of the Indus, submitted to him, and thus he met with no resistance till he
reached the Hydaspes, upon the opposite bank of which Porus, an Indian king, was
posted with a large army and a considerable number of elephants. Alexander managed
to cross the river unperceived by the Indian king, and then an obstinate battle
followed, in which Porus was defeated after a gallant resistance, and taken prisoner.
Alexander restored to him his kingdom, and treated him with distinguished honour.
Alexander remained thirty days on the Hydaspes, during which time he founded two
towns, one on each bank of the river: one was called Bucephala, in honour of his
horse Bucephalus, who died here, after carrying him through so many victories;
and the other Nicaea, to commemorate his victory. From thence he marched to the
Acesines (the Chinab), which he crossed, and subsequently to the Hydraotes (the
Ravee), which he also crossed, to attack another Porus, who had prepared to resist
him. But as he approached nearer, this Porus fled, and his dominions were given
to the one whom he had conquered on the Hydaspes. The Cathaei, however, who also
dwelt east of the Hydraotes, offered a vigorous resistance, but were defeated.
Alexander still pressed forward till he reached the Ilyphasis (Garra), which he
was preparing to cross, when the Macedonians, worn out by long service, and tired
of the war, refused to proceed; and Alexander, notwithstanding his entreaties
and prayers, was obliged to lead them back. He returned to the Hydaspcs, where
he had previously given orders for the building of a fleet, and then sailed down
the river with about 8000 men, while the remainder marched along the banks in
two divisions. This was late in the autumn of 327. The people on each side of
the river submitted without resistance, except the Malli, in the conquest of one
of whose places Alexander was severely wounded. At the confluence of the Acesines
and the Indus, Alexander founded a city, and left Philip as satrap, with a considerable
body of Greeks. Here he built some fresh ships, and shortly afterwards sent about
a third of the army, under Craterus, through the country of the Arachoti and Drangae
into Carmania. He himself continued his voyage down the Indus, founded a city
at Pattala, the apex of the delta of the Indus, and sailed into the Indian ocean.
He seems to have reached the mouth of the Indus about the middle of 326. Nearchus
was sent with the fleet to sail along the coast to the Persian gulf, and Alexander
set out from Pattala, about September, to return to Persia. In his march through
Gedrosia, his army suffered greatly from want of water and provisions, till they
arrived at Pura, where they obtained supplies. From Pura he advanced to Carman
(Kirman), the capital of Carmania, where he was joined by Craterus, with his detachment
of the army, and also by Nearchus, who had accomplished the voyage in safety.
Alexander sent the great body of the army, under Hephaetion, along the Persian
gulf, while he himself, with a small force, marched to Pasargadae, and from thence
to Persepolis, where he appointed Peucestas, a Macedonian, governor, in place
of the former one, a Persian, whom he put to death, for oppressing the province.
From Persepolis Alexander advanced to Susa, which he reached in the
beginning of 325. Here he allowed himself and his troops some rest from their
labours; and faithful to his plan of forming his European and Asiatic subjects
into one people, he assigned to about eighty of his generals Asiatic wives, and
gave with them rich dowries. He himself took a second wife, Barsine, the eldest
daughter of Darius, and according to some accounts, a third, Parysatis, the daughter
of Ochus. About 10,000 Macedonians also followed the example of their king and
generals, and married Asiatic women; all these received presents from the king.
Alexander also enrolled large numbers of Asiatics among his troops, and taught
them the Macedonian tactics. He moreover directed his attention to the increase
of commerce, and for this purpose had the Euphrates and Tigris made navigable,
by removing the artificial obstructions which had been made in the river for the
purpose of irrigation.
The Macedonians, who were discontented with several of the new arrangements
of the king, and especially at his placing the Persians on an equality with themselves
in many respects, rose in mutinyagainst him, which he quelled with some little
difficulty, and he afterwards dismissed about 10,000 Macedonian veterans, who
returned to Europe under the command of Craterus. Towards the close of the same
year (B. C. 325) he went to Ecbatana, where he lost his great favourite Hephaestion;
and his grief for his loss knew no bounds. From Ecbatana he marched to Babylon,
subduing in his way the Cossaei, a mountain tribe; and before he reached Babylon,
he was met by ambassadors from almost every part of the known world, who had come
to do homage to the new conqueror of Asia.
Alexander reached Babylon in the spring of B. C. 324, about a year
before his death, notwithstanding the warnings of the Chaldeans, who predicted
evil to him if he entered the city at that time. He intended to make Babylon the
capital of his empire, as the best point of communication between his eastern
and western dominions. His schemes were numerous and gigantic. His first object
was the conquest of Arabia, which was to be followed, it was said, by the subjugation
of Italy, Carthage, and the west. But his views were not confined merely to conquest.
He sent Heracleides to build a fleet on the Caspian, and to explore that sea,
which was said to be connected with the northern ocean. He also intended to improve
the distribution of waters in the Babylonian plain, and for that purpose sailed
down the Euphrates to inspect the canal called Pallacopas. On his return to Babylon,
he found the preparations for the Arabian expedition nearly complete; but almost
immediately afterwards he was attacked by a fever, probably brought on by his
recent exertions in the marshy districts around Babylon, and aggravated by the
quantity of wine he had drunk at a banquet given to his principal officers. He
died after an illness of eleven days, in the month of May or June, B. C. 323.
He died at the age of thirty-two, after a reign of twelve years and eight months.
He appointed no one as his successor, but just before his death he gave his ring
to Perdiccas. Roxana was with child at the time of his death, and afterwards bore
a son, who is known by the name of Alexander Aegus.
The history of Alexander forms an important epoch in the history of
mankind. Unlike other Asiatic conquerors, his progress was marked by something
more than devastation and ruin; at every step of his course the Greek language
and civilization took root and flourished; and after his death Greek kingdoms
were formed in all parts of Asia, which continued to exist for centuries. By his
conquests the knowledge of mankind was increased ; the sciences of geography,
natural history and others, received vast additions; and it was through him that
a road was opened to India, and that Europeans became acquainted with the products
of the remote East.
No contemporary author of the campaigns of Alexander survives. Our
best account comes from Arrian, who lived in the second century of the Christian
aera, but who drew up his history from the accounts of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus,
and Aristobulus of Cassandria. The history of Quintus Curtius, Plutarch's life
of Alexander, and the [Figure] epitomes of Justin and Diodorus Siculus, were also
compiled from earlier writers.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Cleitus, a Macedonian, surnamed Melas, son of Dropides, and brother to Lanice or Hellanice, nurse of Alexander the Great. He saved Alexander's life at the battle of Granicus, B. C. 334, cutting off with a blow of his sword the arm of Spithridates which was raised to slay the king. At the battle of Arbela, B. C. 331, he commanded, in the right wing, the body of cavalry called Agema (see Polyb. v. 65, xxxi. 3); and when, in B. C. 330, the guards (hetairoi) were separated into two divisions, it being considered expedient not to entrust the sole command to any one man, Hephaestion and Cleitus were appointed to lead respectively the two bodies. In B. C. 328, Artabazus resigned his satrapy of Bactria, and the king gave it to Cleitus. On the eve of the day on which he was to set out to take possession of his government, Alexander, then at Maracanda in Sogdiana, celebrated a festival in honour of the Dioscuri, though the day was in fact sacred to Dionysus--a circumstance which afterwards supplied his friends with a topic of consolation to him in his remorse for the murder of Cleitus, the soothsayers declaring, that his frenzy had been caused by the god's wrath at the neglect of his festival. At the banquet an angry dispute arose, the particulars of which are variously reported by different authors. They agree, however, in stating, that Cleitus became exasperated at a comparison which was instituted between Alexander and Philip, much to the disparagement of the latter, and also at supposing that his own services and those of his contemporaries were depreciated as compared with the exploits of younger men. Being heated with wine, he launched forth into language highly insolent to the king, quoting a passage from Euripides (Androm. 683, &c.) to the effect, that the soldiers win by their toil the victories of which the general reaps the glory. Alexander at length, stung to a frenzy of rage, rushed towards him, but was held back by his friends, while Cleitus also was forced from the room. Alexander, being then released, seized a spear, and sprung to the door; and Cleitus, who was returning in equal fury to brave his anger, met him, and fell dead beneath his weapon (Diod. xvii. 21, 57; Plut. Alex. 16, 50-52; Arr. Anab. i. 15, iii. 11, 27, iv. 8, 9; Curt. iv. 13.26, viii. 1; Just. xii.6)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Harpalus, (Harpalos). A Macedonian, son of Machatas. who belonged to the family of the princes of Elymiotis, and nephew of Philip, king, of Macedon, the latter having married Phila, a sister of Machatas. Notwithstanding this connection, the house of the Elymiot princes seems to have been always unfavourably disposed towards Philip, who had in fact deprived them of their hereditary dominions; and though we find Harpalus residing at the court of the Macedonian king, and even on one occasion employed by him on a mission of some importance, it appears that he did not enjoy much of his confidence. (Dem. c. Aristocr.; Plut. Apophth., ed. Reiske.) It is perhaps to this cause that we are to attribute his close attachment to Alexander, and his participation in the intrigues for the marriage of that prince with the daughter of Pixodarus, a scheme which gave so much offence to Philip, that all those who were thought to have taken part in it were banished from Macedonia, Harpalus among the rest. But this temporary disgrace was productive, both to him and his companions in exile, of the greatest subsequent advantages, for immediately on the death of Philip, Alexander not only recalled those who had suffered on his account, but promoted them to important and confidential offices. Harpalus, being unfitted by his constitution of body for services in war, was appointed to the superintendence of the treasury, and in this capacity accompanied Alexander to Asia. But he proved unfaithful to his trust, and shortly before the battle of Issus was induced (probably by the consciousness of peculation and the fear of punishment) to take to flight. He made his escape to Greece, and was lingering at Megara, when he received letters from Alexander intreating his return, and promising entire forgiveness for the past. He, in consequence, rejoined the king at Tyre on his return from Egypt (B. C. 331), and not only obtained the promised pardon, but was reinstated in his former important situation. (Plut. Alex. 10; Arrian, Anab. iii. 6.) When Alexander, after the conquest of Persia and Media, determined to push on into the interior of Asia, in pursuit of Dareius, he left Harpalus at Ecbatana, with 6000 Macedonian troops, in charge of the royal treasures. From thence lie appears to have removed to Babylon, and to have held the important satrapy of that province as well as the administration of the treasury. (Arrian, Anab. iii. 19.13; Plut. Alex. 35; Diod. xvii. 108.) It was here that, during the absence of Alexander in India, he gave himself up to the most extravagant luxury and profusion, squandering the treasures entrusted to him, at the same time that he alienated the people subject to his rule, by his lustful excesses and extortions. Not content with compelling the native women to minister to his pleasures, he sent to Athens for a celebrated courtesan named Pythionice, whom he received with the most extravagant honours, and to whom, after her death, he erected two costly monuments, one at Babylon, the other at Athens, where it is mentioned by Pausanias as one of the most splendid in ail Greece. (Paus. i. 37.5.) Pythionice was succeeded by Glycera, to whom he compelled all those subject to his authority to pay honours that were usually reserved for a queen. The indignation of Greeks, as well as barbarians, was now loud against Harpalus: among others, Theopompus the historian wrote a letter of complaint to Alexander, some extracts from which are still preserved. (Athen. xiii.; Diod. xvii. 108.) Harpalus had probably thought that Alexander would never return from the remote regions of the East into which he had penetrated; but when he at length learnt that the king was on his march back to Susa, and had visited with unsparing rigour those of his officers who had been guilty of any excesses during his absence, he at once saw that his only resource was in flight. Collecting together all the treasures which lie could, amounting to a sum of 5000 talents, and assembling a body of 6000 mercenaries, he hastened to the coast of Asia, and from thence crossed over to Attica. He had previously sent to Athens a magnificent present of corn, in return for which he had received the right of citizenship (Athen. xiii.); and he probably reckoned on a favourable reception in that city; but the Athenians refused to allow him to land, and he, in consequence, repaired to Taenarus, where he left his mercenaries, and himself returned to Athens. Being now admitted within the city, he employed the treasures that he had brought with him in the most unsparing manner, in order to gain over the orators and public men at Athens, and induce the people to undertake the support of his cause against Alexander and his vicegerent, Antipater. Among those whom he thus corrupted are said to have been Demades, Charicles, the son-in-law of Phocion, and even, as is well known. Demosthenes himself. Into the various questions connected with the conduct of these statesmen, and especially the last, it is impossible here to enter: but it should be mentioned that, after the death of Harpalus, one of his slaves, who had acted as his steward in the administration of his treasures, having fallen into the power of Philoxenus, the Macedonian governor of Caria, gave a list of all those persons at Athens who had received any sums of money from Harpalus, and in this list the name of Demosthenes did not appear. (Paus. ii. 33.4.) But to whatever extent Harpalus may have succeeded in bribing individuals, he failed in his general object, for Antipater, having demanded his surrender from the Athenians, it was resolved to place him in confinement until the Macedonians should send for him. He, however, succeeded in making his escape from prison, and rejoined his troops at Taenarus, from whence he transported his mercenary force and the remainder of his treasures to Crete, with what ulterior designs we know not; but soon after his arrival in that island he was assassinated by Thimbron, one of his own officers; or, according to another account, by a Macedonian named Pausanias. (Diod. xvii. 108; Paus. ii. 33.4; Arr. ap. Phot. p. 70 a; Plut. Dem. 25; Phoc. 21, Vit. X. Oratt., ed. Reiske; Curt. x. 2.) Plutarch tells us (Alex. 35) that Harpalus, during his residence at Babylon, endeavoured to introduce there the most valuable of the plants and shrubs, natives of Greece--perhaps the first instance on record of an attempt at exotic gardening.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Harpalos (d. 323 BC). Childhood friend and master of the treasury of Alexander the Great,
Harpalos was entrusted the responsibility of the riches won in the battles against
the Persians.
Harpalos could not resist all this wealth, though, and when Alexander
was away fighting in India,
he embezzled part of the treasury and spent it on a luxurious life style together
with his mistress Pythionike. When she died, he spent a fortune on her funeral
and had a monument built in her honour.
On Alexander's return, Harpalos had disappeared with 6000 talents
and a few troops to Athens.
The Athenian assembly gave him asylum, and let him deposit his treasure in the
temple of Athena on the Acropolis. Alexander demanded that Athens
give him Harpalos, but the city defended the man. When Harpalos realised that
Alexander was going to get to him in one way or the other, or that one of the
Athenians was going to betray him, he escaped to Crete,
where he was murdered in 323 BC.
After his escape it was discovered that half the sum of his treasure
had disappeared from the Acropolis. The Areopage made an investigation, and it
was found that several politicians had accepted bribes to help Harpalos flee Athens,
amongst others Demosthenes.
This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.
THESSALONIKI (Ancient city) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Daughter of Philip, wife of Cassander, murdered by her son Antipater.
355 - 296
Son of Antipater, brother of Plistarchus, husband of Thessalonice, daughter of Philip, at war with Athens, invades Attica, captures Salamis, makes Demetrius tyrant of Athens, murders Olympias, poisons sons of Alexander, restores Potidaeans, restores Thebes, attacks Pyrrhus, joins in war against Antigonus, besieges Elatea, instigates Lachares to make himself tyrant of Athens, brings Greece low, his miserable end, his sons, his family extirpated by deity.
PELLA (Ancient city) GIANNITSA
Archelaos (?-circa 399 BC), who restructured the Macedonian kingdom, was one of the foremost Temenid kings. Son of Perdikkas II and Simiche, he succeeded his father, possibly as guardian of the legal heir. He secured his position as ruler, successfully crushed the Pydna revolt, and lent support to his friends the Aleuadai of Larisa. He instituted reforms in his kingdom, building fortresses and roads, minting a strong coinage and organizing the army.
Besides being an able diplomat and innovative military leader, he was a patron of arts and letters. He invited to his court artists such as Choirilos, Timotheos, Agathon and Euripides, who taught "Archelaos" and "Bacchae", two of his tragedies. In 399 BC, at Archelaos' assassination by one of the Royal Pages, the Macedonian kingdom entered a period of dynastic strife.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Macedonian Heritage URL below.
Archelaus (Archelaos), king of Macedonia from B. C. 413 to 399. According to Plato, he was an illegitimate son of Perdiccas II. and obtained the throne by the murder of his uncle Alcetas, his cousin, and his half-brother (Plat. Gory.; Athen. v.; Ael. V. H. xii. 43), further strengthening himself by marriage with Cleopatra, his father's widow (Plat. Gory.; Aristot. Polit. v.10). Nor does there appear to be any valid reason for rejecting this story in spite of the silence of Thueydides, who had no occasion to refer to it, and of the remarks of Athenaeus, who ascribes it to Plato's love of scandal (Thuc.ii. 100; Athen. xi.). In B. C. 410 Pydna revolted from Archelaus, but he reduced it with the aid of an Athenian squadron under Theramenes, and the better to retain it, in subjection, rebuilt it at a distance of about two miles from the coast (Diod. xiii. 49). In another war, in which he was involved with Sirrhas and Arrhabaeus, he purchased peace by giving his daughter in marriage to the former (Aristot. Polit.). For the internal improvement and security of his kingdom, as well as for its future greatness, he effectually provided by building fortresses, forming roads, and increasing the army to a stronger force than had been known under any of the former kings (Thuc. ii. 100). He established also at Aegae (Arr. Anab. i.) or at Dium (Diod. xvii. 16), public games, and a festival which he dedicated to the Muses and called "Olympian". His love of literature, science, and the fine arts is well known. His palace was adorned with magnificent paintings by Zeuxis (Ael. V. H. xiv. 17); and Euripides, Agathon, and other men of eminence, were among his guests (Ael. V. H. ii. 21, xiii. 4). But the tastes and the (so-called) refinement thus introduced failed at least to prevent, even if they did not foster, the great moral corruption of the court (Ael. ll. cc.). Socrates himself received an invitation from Archelaus, but refused it, according to Aristotle (Rhet. ii. 23.8), that he might not subject himself to the degradation of receiving favours which he could not return. Possibly, too, he was influenced by disgust at the corruption above alauded to, and contempt for the king's character (Ael. V. H. xiv. 17). We read in Diodorus, that Archelaus was accidentally slain on a hunting party by his favourite, Craterus or Crateuas (Diod. xiv. 37; Wess. ad loc.); but according to other accounts of apparently better authority, Craterus murdered him, either from ambition, or from disgust at his odious vices, or from revenge for his having broken his promise of giving him one of his daughters in marriage (Aristot. Polit. v. 10).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Archelaus, taken by Plato/Socrates as an example of a tyrant who cannot
be happy because of his injustice in the discussion with Polus in the Gorgias,
was king of Macedon from
the death of his father Perdiccas II in 413 to around 400. Being in fact the son
of the king by a slave woman, he was not supposed to inherit the kingship and
had to dispose of his uncle and his half-brother, the legitimate successor, by
having them assassinated, in order to reach the throne.
Despite this fact, he seems to have been a good king, initiating the
rise of Macedon that would
eventually culminate less than a century later with his successors Philip and
Alexander the Great. His court in Pella was brilliant and he attracted there such
famous figures as Euripides (who spent there the last years of his life and died
there in 406) and Agathon (the tragic poet at whose house Plato's Symposium takes
place).
During Archelaus' reign, Macedon
was in good terms with Athens.
He was assassinated in 399 and it is not until Philip reached the
throne in 359, that Macedon
again became a noteworthy kingdom.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
396 - 393
Aeropus II. King of Macedonia, guardian of Orestes, the son of Archellaus, reigned nearly six years from B. C. 399. The first four years of this time he reigned jointly with Orestes, and the remainder alone. He was succeeded by his son Pausanias. (Diod. xiv. 37, 84; Dexippus, ap. Syncell. comp. Polyaen. ii. 1. 17)
393
Son of Aeropos II (Diod. 14,84).
Amyntas II., king of Macedonia, was son of Philip, the brother of Perdiccas II (Thuc. ii. 95). He succeeded his father in his appanage in Upper Macedonia, of which Perdiccas seems to have wished to deprive him, as he had before endeavoured to wrest it from Philip, but had been hindered by the Athenians (Thuc. i. 57). In the year 429 B. C. Amyntas, aided by Sitalces, king of the Odrysian Thracians, stood forward to contest with Perdiccas the throne of Macedonia itself; but the latter contrived to obtain peace through the mediation of Seuthes, the nephew of the Thracian king (Thuc. ii. 101); and Amyntas was thus obliged to content himself with his hereditary principality. In the thirtyfifth year, however, after this, B. C. 394, he obtained the crown by the murder of Pausanias, son of the usurper Aeropus (Diod. xiv. 89). It was nevertheless contested with him by Argaeus, the son of Pausanias, who was supported by Bardylis, the Illyrian chief: the result was, that Amyntas was driven from Macedonia, but found a refuge among the Thessalians, and was enabled by their aid to recover his kingdom (Diod. xiv. 92; Isocr. Archid.; comp. Diod. xvi. 4; Cic. de Off. ii. 11). But before his flight, when hard pressed by Argaeus and the Illyrians, he had griven up to the Olynthians a large tract of territory bordering upon their ownn, despairing, as it would seen, of a restoration to the throne, and willing to cede the land in question to Olynthus rather than to his rival (Diod. xiv. 92, xv. 19). On his return he claimed back what he professed to have entrusted to them as a deposit, and as they refused to restore it, he applied to Sparta for aid (Diod. xv. 19). A similar application was also made,B. C. 382, by the towns of Acanthus and Apollonia, which had been threatened by Olynthus for declining to join her confederacy (Xen. Hell. v. 2.11, &c.). With the consent of the allies of Sparta, the required succour was given, under the command successively of Eudamidas (with whom his brother Phoebidas was associated), Teleutias, Agesipolis, and Polybiades, by the last of whom Olynthus was reduced, B. C. 379 (Diod. xv. 19-23; Xen. Hell. v. 2, 3). Throughout the war, the Spartans were vigorously seconded by Amyntas, and by Derdas, his kinsman, prince of Elymia. Besides this alliance with Sparta, which he appears to have preserved without interruption to his death, Amyntas united himself also with Jason of Pherae (Diod. xv. 60), and carefully cultivated the friendship of Athens, with which state he would have a bond of union in their common jealousy of Olynthus and probably also of Thebes. Of his friendship towards the Athenians he gave proof, 1st, by advocating their claim to the possession of Amphipolis (Aesch. Peri Parapr.); and, 2ndly, by adopting Iphicrates as his son (Id. p. 32). It appears to have been in the reign of Amyntas, as is perhaps implied by Strabo (Exc. vii.), that the seat of the Macedonian government was removed from Aegae or Edessa to Pella, though the former still continued to be the burying-place of the kings. Justin (vii. 4) relates, that a plot was laid for his assassination by his wife Eurydice, who wished to place her son-in-law and paramour, Ptolemy of Alorus, on the throne, but that the design was discovered to Amyntas by her daughter. Diodorus (xv. 71) calls Ptolemy of Alorus the son of Amyntas; but see Wesseling's note ad loc., and Thirlwall, Gr. Hist. Amyntas died in an advanced age, B. C. 370, leaving three legitimate sons, Alexander, Perdiccas, and the famous Philip (Just. l. c. ; Diod. xv. 60).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Eurydice, an An Illyrian princess, wife of Amyntas II., king of Macedonia, and mother of the famous Philip. According to Justin (vii. 4, 5), she engaged in a conspiracy with a paramour against the life of her husband; but though the plot was detected, she was spared by Amyntas out of regard to their common offspring. After the death of the latter (B. C. 369), his eldest son, Alexander, who succeeded him on the throne, was murdered after a short reign by Ptolemy Alorites, and it seems probable that Eurydice was concerned in this plot also. From a comparison of the statements of Justin (vii. 5) and Diodorus (xv. 71, 77, xvi. 2), it would appear that Ptolemy was the paramour at whose instigation Eurydice had attempted the life of her husband; and she certainly seems to have made common cause with him after the assassination of her son. But the appearance of another pretender to the throne, Pausanias, who was joined by the greater part of the Macedonians, reduced Eurydice to great difficulties, and led her to invoke the assistance of the Athenian general Iphicrates, who readily espoused her cause, drove out Pausanias, and reinstated Eurydice and Ptolemy in the full possession of Macedonia, the latter being declared regent for the young king Perdiccas (Aeschin. de Fals. Leg. 8, 9; Corn. Nep. Iphicrat. 3; Suidas, s. v. Karanos). Justin represents Eurydice as having subsequently joined within Ptolemy in putting to death Perdiccas also; but this is certainly a mistake. On the contrary, Perdiccas in fact put Ptolemy to death, and succeeded him on the throne: what part Eurydice took in the matter we know not, any more than her subsequent fate. (Diod. xvi. 2; Syncell.)
This text is from: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890) (eds. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin). Cited Dec 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
370 - 368
Alexander II. (Alexandros), the sixteenth king of Macedonia, the eldest son of
Amyntas II., succeeded his father in B. C. 369, and appears to have reigned nearly
two years, though Diodorus assigns only one to his reign. While engaged in Thessaly
in a war with Alexander of Pherae, a usurper rose up in Macedonia of the name
of Ptolemy Alorites, whom Diodorus, apparently without good authority, calls a
brother of the king. Pelopidas, being called in to mediate between them, left
Alexander in possession of the kingdom, but took with him to Thebes several hostages;
among whom, according to some accounts, was Philip, the youngest brother of Alexander,
afterwards king of Macedonia, and father of Alexander the Great. But he had scarcely
left Macedonia, before Alexander was murdered by Ptolemy Alorites, or according
to Justin (vii. 5), through the intrigues of his mother, Eurydice, Demosthenes
(de fails. Leg.) names Apollo-phanes as one of the murderers (Diod. xv. 60, 61,
67, 71, 77; Plut. Pelop. 26, 27; Athen. xiv.; Aeschin. de fals. Leg. p. 31, 1.
33).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Leader of the city of Aloros, married to Euridice, who was the wife of Alexander II. He came to power after the death of Alexander II.
365 - 359
Amyntas, Grandson of Amyntas II., was left an infant in nominal possession of the throne of Macedonia, when his father Perdiccas III. fell in battle agains the Illyrians, B. C. 360 (Diod. xvi. 2). He was quietly excluded from the kingly power by his uncle Philip, B. C. 359, who had at first acted merely as regent (Just. vii. 5), and who felt himself so safe in his usurpation, that he brought up Amyntas at his court, and gave him one of his daughters in marriage In the first year of the reign of Alexander the Great, B. C. 336, Amyntas was executed for a plot against the king's life.
Son of Amyntas, employs traitors, his mania for women, perjured and faithless, expels people of Anticyra, repairs to Arcadia, deposes Athenians from empire of sea, ruins Greece, bribes leading men of Elis, attacks Lacedaemonians, settles disputes between Lacedaemonians and Argives, removes bones of Linus from Thebes to Macedonia, restores exiled Orchomenians, gives Oropus to Athenians, attacks Perinthus, defeats Phocians under Onomarchus, restores exiled Plataeans, expels Potidaeans, puts an end to Sacred War, assassinated, father of Alexander the Great.
Audata, an Illyrian, the first wife of Philip of Macedon, by whom he had a daughter, Cynna. (Athen. xiii.)
Cleopatra (Kleopatra), niece of Attalus, one of the generals of Philip of Macedonia. Philip married her when he divorced Olympias in B. C. 337; and, after his murder, in the next year she was put to death by Olympias, being either compelled to hang herself (Justin, ix. 7) or boiled to death in a brazen cauldron (Paus. viii. 7.5). Her infant son or daughter, according to Justin, perished with her, being apparently looked upon as a rival to Alexander. (Just. l. c., and ix. 5; Diod. xvi. 93, xvii. 2; Plut. Alex. 10)
Eurydice, An Illyrian by birth, wife of Philip of Macedon, and mother of Cynane or Cynna. (Arrian, ap. Phot. p. 70, b.; Kuhn, ad Aelian. V. H. xiii. 36; Paus. v. 17.4). According to Dicaearchus (ap. Athen. xiii.), her name was Audata.
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