Listed 29 sub titles with search on: Biographies for destination: "GREVENA Town MAKEDONIA WEST".
ELIMIA (Ancient area) KOZANI
Antigonidae, the descendants of Antigonus, king of Asia. The following genealogical table of this family is taken from Droysen's Geschichte der Nachfolger Alexanders.
Antigonus (Antigonos), king of ASIA, surnamed the One-eyed (Lucian, Macrob. 11;
Plut. de Pueror. Educ. 14), was the son of Philip of Elymiotis. He was born about
B. C. 382, and was one of the generals of Alexander the Great, and in the division
of the empire after his death (B. C. 323), he received the provinces of the Greater
Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphylia. Perdiccas, who had been appointed regent, had formed
the plan of obtaining the sovereignty of the whole of Alexander's dominions, and
therefore resolved upon the ruin of Antigonus, who was likely to stand in the
way of his ambitious projects. Perceiving the danger which threatened him, Antigonus
fled with his son Demetrius to Antipater in Macedonia (321); but the death of
Perdiccas in Egypt in the same year put an end to the apprehensions of Antigonus.
Antipater was now declared regent; he restored to Antigonus his former provinces
with the addition of Susiana, and gave him the commission of carrying on the war
against Eumenes, who would not submit to the authority of the new regent. In this
war Antigonus was completely successful; he defeated Eumenes, and compelled him
to take refuge with a small body of troops in Nora, an impregnable fortress on
the confines of Lycaonia and Cappadocia; and after leaving this place closely
invested, he marched into Pisidia, and conquered Alcetas and Attalus, the only
generals who still held out against Antipater (B. C. 320).
The death of Antipater in the following year (B. C. 319) was favourable
to the ambitious views of Antigonus, and almost placed within his reach the throne
of Asia. Antipater had appointed Polysperchon regent, to the exclusion of his
own son Cassander, who was dissatisfied with the arrangement of his father, and
claimed the regency for himself. He was supported by Antigonus, and their confederacy
was soon afterwards joined by Ptolemy. But they found a formidable rival in Eumenes,
who was appointed by Polysperchon to the command of the troops in Asia. Antigonus
commanded the troops of the confederates, and the struggle between him and Eumenes
lasted for two years. The scene of the first campaign (B. C. 318) was Asia Minor
and Syria, of the second (B. C. 317) Persia and Media. The contest was at length
terminated by a battle in Gabiene at the beginning of B. C. 316, in which Eumenes
was defeated. He was surrendered to Antigonus the next day through the treachery
of the Argyraspids, and was put to death by the conqueror.
Antigonus was now by far the most powerful of Alexander's generals,
and was by no means disposed to share with his allies the fruits of his victory.
He began to dispose of the provinces as he thought fit. He caused Pithon, a general
of great influence, to be brought before his council, and condemned to death on
the charge of treachery, and executed several other officers who shewed symptoms
of discontent. After taking possession of the immense treasures collected at Ecbatana
and Susa, he proceeded to Babylon, where he called upon Seleucus to account for
the administration of the revenues of this province. Such an account, however,
Seleucus refused to give, maintaining that he had received the province as a free
gift from Alexander's army; but, admonished by the recent fate of Pithon, he thought
it more prudent to get out of the reach of Antigonus, and accordingly left Babylon
secretly with a few horsemen, and fled to Egypt.
The ambitious projects and great power of Antigonus now led to a general
coalition against him, consisting of Seleucus, Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus.
The war began in the year 315, and was carried on with great vehemence and alternate
success in Syria, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, and Greece. After four years, all parties
became exhausted with the struggle, and peace was accordingly made, in B. C. 311,
on condition that the Greek cities should be free, that Cassander should retain
his authority in Europe till Alexander Aegus came of age, that Lysimachus and
Ptolemy should keep possession of Thrace and Egypt respectively, and that Antigonus
should have the government of all Asia. The name of Seleucus, strangely enough,
does not appear in the treaty.
This peace, however, did not last more than a year. Ptolemy was the
first to break it, under pretence that Antigonus had not restored to liberty the
Greek cities in Asia Minor, and accordingly sent a fleet to Cilicia to dislodge
the garrisons of Antigonus from the maritime towns (B. C. 310). Ptolemy was at
first successful, but was soon deprived of all he had gained by the conquests
of Demetrius (Poliorcetes), the son of Antigonus. Meanwhile, however, the whole
of Greece was in the power of Cassander, and Demetrius was therefore sent with
a large fleet to effect a diversion in his father's favour. Demetrius met with
little opposition ; he took possession of Athens in B. C. 307, where he was received
with the most extravagant flattery. He also obtained possession of Megara, and
would probably have become master of the whole of Greece, if he had not been recalled
by his father to oppose Ptolemy, who had gained the island of Cyprus. The fleet
of Demetrius met that of Ptolemy off the city of Salamis in Cyprus, and a battle
ensued, which is one of the most memorable of the naval engagements of antiquity.
Ptolemy was entirely defeated (B. C. 306), and Antigonus assumed in consequence
the title of king, and the diadem, the symbol of royal power in Persia. He also
conferred the same title upon Demetrius, between whom and his father the most
cordial friendship and unanimity always prevailed. The example of Antigonus was
followed by Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus, who are from this time designated
as kings. The city of Antigoneia on the Orontes in Syria was founded by Antigonus
in the preceding year (B. C. 307).
Antigonus thought that the time had now come for crushing Ptolemy.
He accordingly invaded Egypt with a large force, but his invasion was as unsuccessful
as Cassander's had been : he was obliged to retire with great loss. (B. C. 306.)
He next sent Demetrius to besiege Rhodes, which had refused to assist him against
Ptolemy, and had hitherto remained neutral. Although Demetrius made the most extraordinary
efforts to reduce the place, he was completely baffled by the energy and perseverance
of the besieged; and was therefore glad, at the end of a year's siege, to make
peace with the Rhodians on terms very favourable to the latter (B. C. 304). While
Demetrius was engaged against Rhodes, Cassander had recovered his former power
in Greece, and this was one reason that made Antigonus anxious that his son should
make peace with the Rhodians. Demetrius crossed over into Greece, and after gaining
possession of the principal cities without much difficulty, collected an assembly
of deputies at Corinth (B. C. 303), which conferred upon him the same title that
had formerly been bestowed upon Philip and Alexander. He now prepared to march
northwards against Cassander, who, alarmed at his dangerous position, sent proposals
of peace to Antigonus. The proud answer was, " Cassander must yield to the pleasure
of Antigonus". But Cassander had not sunk so low as this: he sent ambassadors
to Seleucus and Ptolemy for assistance, and induced Lysimachus to invade Asia
Minor in order to make an immediate diversion in his favour. Antigonus proceeded
in person to oppose Lysimachus, and endeavoured to force him to an engagement
before the arrival of Seleucus from upper Asia. But in this he could not succeed,
and the campaign accordingly passed away without a battle (B. C. 302). During
the winter, Seleucus joined Lysimachus, and Demetrius came from Greece to the
assistance of his father. The decisive battle took place in the following year
(B. C. 301), near Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus fell in the battle, in the eighty-first
year of his age, and his army was completely defeated. Demetrius escaped, but
was unable to restore the fortunes of his house. The dominions of Antigonus were
divided between the conquerors: Lysimachus obtained the greater part of Asia Minor,
and Seleucus the countries between the coast of Syria and the Euphrates, together
with a part of Phrygia and Cappadocia (Diod. lib. xviii.-xx.; Plut. Eumenes and
Demetrius).
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
277 - 239
Antigonus (Antigonos Gonatas), son of Demetrius Poliorcetes and Phila (the daughter
of Antipater), and grandson of Antigonus, king of Asia. When his father Demetrius
was driven out of Macedonia by Pyrrhus, in B. C. 287, and crossed over into Asia,
Antigonus remained in Peloponnesus; but he did not assume the title of king of
Macedonia till after his father's death in Asia in B. C. 283. It was some years,
however, before he obtained possession of his paternal dominions. Pyrrhus was
deprived of the kingdom by Lysimachus (B. C. 286); Lysimachus was succeeded by
Seleucus (280), who was murdered by Ptolemy Ceraunus. Ceraunus shortly after fell
in battle against the Gauls, and during the next three years there was a succession
of claimants to the throne. Antigonus at last obtained possession of the kingdom
in 277, notwithstanding the opposition of Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, who
laid claim to the crown in virtue of his father's conquests. But he withdrew his
claim on the marriage of his half-sister, Phila, with Antigonus. He subsequently
defeated the Gauls, and continued in possession of his kingdom till the return
of Pyrrhus from Italy in 273, who deprived him of the whole of Macedonia, with
the exception of a few places. He recovered his dominions in the following year
(272) on the death of Pyrrhus at Argos, but was again deprived of them by Alexander,
the son of Pyrrhus. Alexander, however, did not retain possession of the country
long, and was compelled to retire by the conquests of Demetrius, the brother or
son of Antigonus, who now obtained part of Epeirus in addition to his paternal
dominions. He subsequently attempted to prevent the formation of the Achaean league,
and died in B. C. 239, at the age of eighty, after a reign of forty-four years.
He was succeeded by Demetrius II. (Plut.Demetr. 51, Pyrrhus, 26; Justin, xxiv.
1, xxv. 1-3, xxvi. 2; Polyb. ii. 43, &c.; Lucian, Macrob. c. 11). Antigonus' surname
Gonatas is usually derived from Gonnos or Gonni in Thessaly, which is supposed
to have been the place of his birth or education. Niebuh, however, remarks, that
Thessaly did not come into his father's possession till Antigonus had grown up,
and he thinks that Gonatas is a Macedonian word, the same as the Romaic gonatas,
which signifies an iron plate protecting the knee, and that Antigonus obtained
this surname from wearing such a piece of defensive armour.
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
229 - 221
Antigonus Doson (Antigonos Doson), so called because it was said he was always
about to give but never did, was the son of Olympias of Larissa and Demetrius
of Cyrene, who was a son of Demetrius Poliorcetes and a brother of Antigonus Gonatas.
On the death of Demetrius II., B. C. 229, Antigonus was appointed guardian of
his son Philip, whence he was sometimes designated by the surname Epitropos (Athen.
vi.; Liv. xl. 54). He married the widow of Demetrius, and almost immediately afterwards
assumed the crown in his own right. At the commencement of his reign he was engaged
in wars against the barbarians on the borders of Macedonia, but afterwards took
an active part in the affairs of Greece. He supported Aratus and the Achaean league
against Cleomenes, king of Sparta, and the Aetolians, and was completely successful.
He defeated Cleomenes, and took Sparta, but was recalled to Macedonia by an invasion
of the Illyrians. He defeated the Illyrians, and died in the same year (B. C.
220), after a reign of nine years. Polybius speaks favourably of his character,
and commends him for his wisdom and moderation. He was succeeded by Philip. V.
(Justin, xxviii. 3, 4; Plut. Arat. and Cleom.; Polyb. ii. 45, &c., 70)
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
Antigonus (Antigonos), son of Echecrates, the brother of Antigonus Doson, revealed
to Philip V., king of Macedonia, a few months before his death, B. C. 179, the
false accusations of his son Perseus against his other son Demetrius, in consequence
of which Philip had put the latter to death. Indignant at the conduct of Perseus,
Philip appointed Antigonus his successor; but on his death Perseus obtained possession
of the throne, and caused Antigonus to be killed (Liv. xl. 54-58)
Halcyoneus, (Alkuoneus), a son of Antigonus Gonatas, king of Macedonia. We know nothing of the time of his birth, but we find him already grown up to manhood in B. C. 272, when Antitgonus advanced into the Peloponnesus to oppose the schmes of Pyrrhus, and he accompanied his father on that expedition. During the night attack on Argos, by which Pyrrhus attempted to force his way into the city, Halcyoneus was dispatched by Antigonus with a body of troops to oppose him, and a vehement combat took place in the streets. In the midst of the confusion, word was brought to Halcyoneus that Pyrrhus was slain; he hastened to the spot, and arrived just as Zopyrus had cut off the head of the fallen monarch, which Halcyoneous carried in triumph to his father. Antigonus upbraided him for his barbarity, and drove him angrily from his presence. Taught by this lesson, when he soon after fell in with Helenus, the son of Pyrrhus, he treated him with respect, and conduscted him in safety to Antigonus. (Plut. Pyrrh. 34.) It appears from an anecdote told by Aelian (V. H. iii. 5) and Plutarch (De Consolat. 33) that Halcyoneus was killed in battle during the lifetime of Antigonus, but on what occasion we are not informned.
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
KOZANI (Town) MAKEDONIA WEST
1795 - 1827
He wrote memoirs.
1793 - 1870
A scholar.
LYGISTIS (Ancient area) GREECE
Alexander (Alexandros), son of Aerotus, a native of the Macedonian district called
Lyncestis, whence he is usually called Alexander Lyncestes. Justin (xi. 1) makes
the singular mistake of calling him a brother of Lyncestas, while in other passages
(xi. 7, xii. 14) he uses the correct expression. He was a contemporary of Philip
of Macedonia and Alexander the Great. He had two brothers, Heromenes and Arrhabaeus;
all three were known to have been accomplices in the murder of Philip, in B. C.
336. Alexander the Great on his accession put to death all those who had taken
part in the murder, and Alexander the Lyncestian was the only one that was pardoned,
because he was the first who did homage to Alexander the Great as his king (Arrian,
Anab. i. 25; Curtius, vii. 1; Justin, xi. 2). But king Alexander not only pardoned
him, but even made him his friend and raised him to high honours. He was first
entrusted with the command of an army in Thrace, and afterwards received the command
of the Thessalian horse. In this capacity he accompanied Alexander on his eastern
expedition. In B. C. 334, when Alexander was staying at Phaselis, he was informed,
that the Lyncestian was carrying on a secret correspondence with king Darius,
and that a large sum of money was promised, for which he was to murder his sovereign.
The bearer of the letters from Darius was taken by Parmenion and brought before
Alexander, and the treachery was manifest. Yet Alexander, dreading to create any
hostile feeling in Antipater, the regent of Macedonia, whose daughter was married
to the Lyncestian, thought it advisable not to put him to death, and had him merely
deposed from his office and kept in custody. In this manner he was dragged about
for three years with the army in Asia, until in B. C. 330, when, Philotas having
been put to death for a similar crime, the Macedonians demanded that Alexander
the Lyncestian should likewise be tried and punished according to his desert.
King Alexander gave way, and as the traitor was unable to exculpate himself, he
was put to death at Prophthasia, in the country of the Drangae (Curtius, l. c.,
and viii. 1; Justin. xii. 14; Diod. xvii. 32, 80). The object of this traitor
was probably, with the aid of Persia, to gain possession of the throne of Macedonia,
which previous to the reign of Amyntas II. had for a time belonged to his family.
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
ORESTIS (Ancient area) KASTORIA
360 - 320
Commander in the army of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great,
after his death regent of his mentally unfit successor, Philip Arridaeus. He was
the first of the Diadochi ('successors').
Perdiccas was born as the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Orestes,
in Orestis (the mountainous 'lake district' between modern Greece and Albania).
His year of birth is unknown, but he seems to have been of about the same age
as Alexander.
In his accession year (335), Alexander attacked a group of rebels
in Illyricum (modern Albania).
He used the phalanx battalions of Coenus and Perdiccas for a nightly attack on
the Illyrian camp. This is Perdiccas' first-known military action, although he
must have seen battle before, during the reign of Philip.
A rumor that Alexander had died during the Illyrian campaign caused
a rebellion in Greece, where
the Thebans killed a Macedonian garrison. Almost immediately, Alexander went to
the south. After a short siege, Thebes
was stormed by the phalanx battalion of Perdiccas. In his history of Alexander's
reign, Ptolemy wrote that this assault had not been planned, but was due to lack
of discipline: Perdiccas' men broke the official line of command. This may be
true -Perdiccas was not an experienced commander- but it may also be an invective.
After all, Ptolemy and Perdiccas were enemies in 320.
However this may be, the result of Perdiccas' attack was clear: the
city was taken. Perdiccas himself was severely wounded. Thebes was razed to the
ground, except for its temples and the house that had once belonged to the poet
Pindar, who had once written an ode on an earlier Macedonian king named Alexander
and had introduced to Greece the favorite god of Alexander, Zeus Ammon.
In May 334, Alexander launched his long-planned campaign against Persia.
In June, he defeated the local levies of the Persian satraps of Asia
Minor on the banks of the Granicus. During this battle, Perdiccas commanded
his battalion of heavy phalanx infantry again.
During the summer, the Macedonians liberated the towns of the Ionian
Greeks in western Asia. The largest was Miletus,
but the most important city to capture was Halicarnassus.
This was the Persian naval base, defended by the greatest army commander of that
age, Memnon of Rhodes, a
mercenary general who had sided with the Persians. Alexander took half of his
phalanx with him, including Perdiccas' battalion, which suffered a big defeat
when it tried to attack the walls. (The historian Arrian, who uses Ptolemy as
his source, writes that Perdiccas' soldiers were drunk; again, this may be an
attempt to discredit Perdiccas.) Although in the end, Alexander was able to take
the city, the Persian navy could sail away without having suffered great losses;
unhindered, its commander Pharnabazus could continue a full-scale offensive in
the Aegean Sea.
In the summer of 333, Alexander prepared for the march to the east,
where he hoped to find and defeat the Persian army, settling the war in a big
battle. He was not disappointed. In November, his army defeated the army of king
Darius III Codomannus near Issus.
Like all phalanx commanders, Perdiccas was there.
By now, he was important enough to take charge of an independent command.
When Alexander had to leave the siege of the city Tyre, which had refused to surrender
after the battle of Issus, Perdiccas was left in charge of the war.
It is not known whether Perdiccas was present during Alexander's Egyptian
campaign. Phalanx units are not mentioned in the narrative of our best source,
Arrian of Nicomedia. However,
they played an important role during the battle of Gaugamela (October 1, 331).
Again, Perdiccas is mentioned as commander of one of the phalanx battalions. Like
Hephaestion, Alexander's closest friend, and Coenus, he was almost mortally wounded.
After this battle, Alexander could easily subdue Babylonia and invade
the heartland of Persia.
However, he first had to take the mountain pass that was known as the Persian
gates (December 331). According to Arrian, Alexander used Perdiccas' battalion
to make the encircling maneuver that secured the pass (Quintus Curtius Rufus says
that he used Coenus' battalion).
After this fight, Perdiccas disappears from our sources for almost
two years. This is not surprising. The phalanx played no role during the pursuit
of the Persian king Darius III, and after this, there was no real fighting action.
Alexander's army moved through Aria, Drangiana, and Arachosia, crossed the Hindu
Kush and marched through Bactria and Sogdiana to the river Jaxartes, the modern
Syrdar'ya. Here, seven towns had to be captured, and Perdiccas is mentioned during
one of the sieges.
Perdiccas and his future enemy Ptolemy are mentioned several times
as two of Alexander's seven bodyguards. This title is a bit misleading; in fact,
these people are better called adjutants. However, sometimes, they were indeed
bodyguards. They are known in this capacity from a tragic incident that took place
during a dinner party in Sogdiana.
Many courtiers were flattering Alexander. Some called him the son
of Zeus Ammon and belittled Alexander's human father Philip, others made jokes
about commanders who had been defeated and killed by the native leader Spitamenes.
This was more than Clitus, a cavalry commander who had served under Philip and
knew the dead commanders, could stomach. He started to praise Philip. Alexander
felt offended, and in a drunken rage, he pushed aside Ptolemy and Perdiccas and
run a lance through Clitus, who died on the spot.
In 326, Alexander invaded Gandara, the west of the Punjab. Perdiccas
and Hephaestion were to bring the main force through the Khyber pass to the Indus,
where they had to build ships and make a bridge. (Alexander himself attacked the
city states in the Swat valley and the rock Aornus.)
During the Indian campaign, we encounter Perdiccas as cavalry commander.
For example, he commanded a squadron during the battle on the banks of the river
Hydaspes (modern Jhelum) and during the siege of Sangala (near Amritsar). In this
aspect, his career was similar to that of Coenus.
Alexander continued to the east, but when he had arrived at the river
Hyphasis (Beas), his men refused to go any further, and Alexander decided to march
to the south, to the Indian Ocean, from where he wanted to sail back to Babylonia.
During their homeward bound campaign, the Macedonians had to subdue the Mallians
and the Oxydracans, two Indian nations that offered resistance. Perdiccas, now
in command of his own squadron and that of Coenus (who had died), commanded one
of the armies. Arrian tells that there was a tradition -he does not say whether
he believes it or not- that Perdiccas was the only one who dared to help Alexander
when he was wounded during the siege of the town of the Mallians (probably modern
Multan).
As it turned out, Alexander decided not to ship all his troops across
the sea to Babylonia, but divided his army in three parts. Craterus commanded
a large army (and the elephants) across the Bolan Pass through Arachosia, Drangiana
and Carmania, Nearchus commanded the navy along the shores of the Indian Ocean
and Persian Gulf, and Alexander led his men through the Gedrosian desert and Carmania.
Perdiccas and his squadron may have belonged to any of these three divisions.
In any case, it is clear that at this stage Perdiccas, trusted as he was, was
inferior in rank to Craterus and Nearchus.
When Alexander's armies united in Susa, the capital of Elam (March
324), he ordered his officers to marry Persian ladies (click here for the story).
Perdiccas took as his bride a daughter of Atropates, the satrap of Media. The
only ones to marry princesses from the ancient Persian royal house, the Achaemenids,
were Alexander, Hephaestion and Craterus. Again, this illustrates the court hierarchy:
first the king, then Hephaestion and Craterus, and after that, people like Nearchus
and Perdiccas.
However, he was soon to rise. In August, Craterus was sent away on
a very important mission: he was to bring back 11,500 veterans to Europe, where
he would become the supreme commander of the Macedonians forces. Two months later,
Hephaestion unexpectedly died. This meant that Perdiccas suddenly found himself
as the highest ranking officer at Alexander's court. He was appointed in Hephaestion's
functions: commander of the Companion cavalry and chiliarch (vizier).
In the afternoon of June 11, 323, Alexander died in Babylon. He had
been ill for several days and had given his ring to Perdiccas, saying that he
gave his empire kratistoi. This means 'to the strongest', but may also mean 'to
Craterus'. The interpretation of Alexander's last will was to be the biggest problem
of the next years. In fact, it was never solved.
Alexander's generals discussed the situation. Perdiccas proposed to
wait until Alexander's first wife, Roxane, who was pregnant, had given birth.
If it were a son, it would be logical to chose him as the new king. Everybody
could see through this: if this proposal was accepted, Perdiccas would be in sole
command until the boy had grown up. Nonetheless, he received support of the commanders
of the cavalry.
The commander of the phalanx, Meleager, was the most important dissenting
voice. He pointed out that Alexander had a brother, Arridaeus, who was the first
in line of succession. The infantry agreed to this proposal, although they knew
that Arridaeus was technically a bastard and was mentally incapable to rule.
The situation was tense as it seemed that Meleager's soldiers wanted
to fight for Arridaeus against Perdiccas and his adherents. That would mean a
war between the cavalry and the infantry. Although violence was used and Perdiccas
ordered Meleager to be killed, the cooler heads on both sides improvised a compromise.
Perdiccas was to be regent for king Arridaeus and Roxane's son (if the baby were
a son, of course). Seeing that this was the only way to prevent civil war, everybody
agreed. Arridaeus became king under the name of Philip, Roxane's baby turned out
to be a son (Alexander), Alexander's second wife Statira was murdered, and Perdiccas
could start his regency. One of his first acts was to appoint reliable generals
as satraps.
Another act was the cancellation of Alexander's last plans. Perdiccas
still had to establish a power base and wanted to stay in the center of the empire.
The naval expedition against Maka and the incense country Arabia that Alexander
had planned would bring him to the periphery of the empire. Besides, in this new
war, the infantry was to play an important role, and he did not trust these men.
With Alexander's secretary Eumenes, he published the 'last plans of Alexander'.
It has been assumed that they added several outrageous plans that were only meant
to make sure that they were rejected.
To Perdiccas, it was important to connect the two centers of his empire,
Macedonia and Babylonia. Therefore, it was necessary to conquer Cappadocia (central
Turkey). Alexander had merely passed through this country, and the last Persian
satrap, a man named Ariarathes, had created a kingdom of his own. The Macedonian
satrap of Greater Phrygia, Antigonus Monophtalmus ('one eye'), had grown accustomed
to defending the road between Macedonia and the east against Ariarathes' attacks.
However, when Perdiccas successfully invaded Cappadocia, Antigonus did not appear.
It is not clear why. What is certain, however, is that when Perdiccas asked him
to appear for a military court, Antigonus fled to Antipater's court in Macedonia.
Eumenes was made satrap in Antigonus' place.
At this time, Perdiccas was engaged to Nicaea, the daughter of Antipater,
who had been the supreme commander of the Macedonian forces in Europe; Alexander
had sent Craterus to replace him, and they had joined forces to suppress the Greek
rebellion known as the Lamian war. In the last months of 322, Perdiccas broke
off the engagement with Nicaea, because Alexander's mother offered him Cleopatra,
a full sister of Alexander. This marriage would make Perdiccas a member of the
Macedonian royal house. Since Philip Arridaeus was an illegitimate son, and the
baby of Alexander and Roxane was a half-breed, Perdiccas could claim more than
the regency: the crown.
Antipater had excellent personal reasons to feel insulted. Craterus,
who had been the most important general when Alexander was still alive, had been
ignored when Perdiccas seized power in Macedonia.
Antigonus Monophtalmus had reason to fear Perdiccas. So, the three agreed to revolt
against the regent.
Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt, was the first to act and provoked the
conflict. In December 322, Perdiccas sent the remains of Alexander to the tomb
that had been prepared in Macedonia's religious capital, Aegae. When it arrived
in Damascus, Ptolemy convinced
the leader of the convoy that Alexander had wanted to be buried in the temple
of his heavenly father Zeus Ammon. Accordingly, the corpse was brought to Egypt,
where it was to find its final resting place in Alexandria.
This was a provocation that Perdiccas could not ignore. He was forced to organize
a punitive action.
Perdiccas saw that a formidable coalition was being organized. He
decided to invade Egypt, and ordered Eumenes to defend Asia against the armies
of Antipater and Craterus. The satrap of Greater Phrygia had no experience as
a military commander and had to face Craterus, the most experienced of all Macedonian
generals. But Perdiccas knew that Eumenes was the only one he could trust. Against
everybody's advise, Eumenes accepted battle (probably somewhere near the Hellespont),
and defeated his opponent. Craterus died fighting; what was left of his army managed
to leave the battle field and joined Antipater.
Meanwhile, Perdiccas and king Philip Arridaeus were on their way to
Egypt. In May 320 they reached Ptolemy's realm. Unopposed, Perdiccas crossed through
the Sinai desert and reached the Nile
near Pelusium. However, Ptolemy
prevented Perdiccas from crossing the river. The invader moved to the apex of
the Delta, and retried the river crossing in the neighborhood of Heliopolis. However,
his men were carried away by the Nile. To all those present, it was obvious that
Perdiccas could never invade Egypt, and his soldiers -already resenting his harsh
discipline- revolted. Perdiccas sought the advice of his colonels Peithon, Antigenes,
and Seleucus. They, however, decided to kill their commander, to put an end to
the civil war.
Perdiccas' career had been dazzling. He had started as battalion commander
and, due to his capacities as a general and his friendship with Alexander, had
risen to the function of vizier. After the king's death, he had tried to become
sole ruler, and he came very, very close to this. He was regent of a mentally
unfit and a very young king, which made him virtually sole ruler. His successes
in Cappadocia would have
made him acceptable to many people: he was a worthy successor of the great Alexander.
His mistake was that he wanted the throne too fast. He insulted Craterus
and Antipater, so that he felt himself isolated when he was challenged by Ptolemy.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
Perdiccas, Perdikkas. Son of Orontes, a Macedonian of the province of Orestis, was one of the most distinguished of the generals of Alexander the Great. He accompanied Alexander throughout his campaign in Asia; and the king, on his death-bed, is said to have taken the royal signet ring from his finger and given it to Perdiccas. After the death of the king (B.C. 323), Perdiccas had the chief authority intrusted to him under the command of the new king Arrhidaeus, who was a mere puppet in his hands, and he still further strengthened his power by the assassination of his rival Meleager. The other generals of Alexander regarded him with fear and suspicion; and at length his ambitious schemes induced Antipater, Craterus, and Ptolemy to unite in a league and declare open war against Perdiccas. Thus assailed on all sides, Perdiccas determined to leave Eumenes in Asia Minor, to make head against their common enemies in that quarter, while he himself marched into Egypt against Ptolemy. He advanced without opposition as far as Pelusium, but found the banks of the Nile strongly fortified and guarded by Ptolemy, and was repulsed in repeated attempts to force the passage of the river; in the last of which, near Memphis, he lost great numbers of men. Thereupon his troops, who had long been discontented with Perdiccas, rose in mutiny and put him to death in his own tent.
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
Perdiccas : Perseus Encyclopedia
Amphoterus (Amphoteros), the brother of Craterus, was appointed by Alexander the Great commander of the fleet in the Hellespont, B. C. 333. Amphoterus subdued the islands between Greece and Asia which did not acknowledge Alexander, cleared Crete of the Persians and pirates, and sailed to Peloponnesus B. C. 331, to put down a rising against the Macedonian power. (Arrian, i. 25, iii. 6; Curt. iii. 1, iv. 5, 8.)
Craterus (d.320): Macedonian army commander, one of the leading generals of
Alexander the Great.
Craterus was born as the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Alexander,
in Orestis (the mountainous 'lake district' between modern Greece and Albania).
His career started as commander of one of the phalanx brigades. In this capacity,
he was present during the battle near the river Granicus (June 334), where Alexander
and Parmenion defeated the Persian satraps of Asia
Minor.
He must have been a capable commander (or knew how to deal with his
king), because in November 333, during the battle near Issus,
he commanded not only his own brigade, but the complete phalanx and all infantry
on the left wing. This meant that only Parmenion, the commander of the left wing
as a whole, was between him and Alexander.
During the naval attack on Tyre, he commanded the ships on the left
wing. Probably, this was because Parmenion was away; there are no indications
that Craterus had surpassed his former superior, because during the battle of
Gaugamela (October 1, 331), Craterus was again Parmenion's inferior. During this
battle, he was, again, commander of a phalanx battalion, of the phalanx and all
infantry on the left wing.
In the last weeks of 331, Craterus is mentioned in two fights during
the invasion of Persia proper (against the Uxians and near the Persian Gates).
In both cases, he and Alexander are the supreme commanders. The same happened
during the pursuit of the Persian king Darius III: Alexander commanded the vanguard,
Craterus the main body of the army (early July 330). During the war in Hyrcania,
he was sent on a mission against the Tapurians -his first independent command-
and when the Macedonian army had reached Aria, he commanded the rearguard during
the campaign against the rebel satrap Satibarzanes.
A famous anecdote tells that Craterus loved Alexander as a king (philobasileus)
but that Alexander's lover Hephaestion loved him because he was Alexander (philalexandros).
This suggests that there was some rivalry -perhaps even hostility- among the Macedonian
commanders. At this stage of Alexander's war in the Achaemenid empire,
Craterus' most important rival was the commander of the Companion cavalry, Philotas,
the son of Parmenion. When Philotas failed to report a conspiracy he had discovered,
Craterus was one of those who accused him. The general feeling among the judges
was that Philotas was guilty and ought to be stoned to death, but Craterus, Hephaestion
and Coenus believed that Philotas was part of a larger conspiracy, and should
first be tortured. As was to be expected, Philotas told many things, but the truth
could not be established. In the end, he was executed, and so was his father Parmenion,
who was certainly innocent but could no longer be relied upon. It should be pointed
out that Craterus' role in the Philotas affair is not mentioned by our best source,
Arrian of Nicomedia; we know about it from Quintus Curtius Rufus, who is less
reliable - but this does not mean that he is a liar.
In July 329, the Macedonian army marched through Sogdiana and reached
the river Jaxartes, the modern Syrdar'ya. Seven towns had to be captured, and
Craterus took the largest one of these, Cyreschata, which had been founded two
centuries before by the founder of the Achaemenid empire, Cyrus the Great. Craterus
also fought against the Massagetes, a tribe of nomads that usually lived north
of the Jaxartes in modern Kirgizistan, but had probably moved to the south. During
this campaign, he commanded a cavalry unit. In 328, he oversaw the construction
of military settlements in Margiana, which secured the northern border of Alexander's
empire. A similar action took place in the east of Sogdiana, where Craterus defeated
the Pareitecanians (Persian Paritakanu, 'mountain people').
In 326, Alexander invaded Gandara, the west of the Punjab. Craterus
played a role during the campaign in the Swat valley, where he fortified several
towns - a job he had already had at hand in Margiana. At this moment, he was Alexander's
most important and reliable commander. And yet, we see him falling away from his
favor.
A first sign may have been his task during the battle on the Hydaspes
river (Jhelum). Craterus commanded the rearguard, that stayed on the northern
bank; Alexander and Coenus did the real fighting, and Craterus' men only crossed
the battle during the final stages of the battle. But perhaps, this is no sign
of disfavor: after all, Alexander had taken with him only a small army, and the
fact that he took Craterus with him may suggest that the latter was still in the
king's favor.
But after the battle, Craterus was sent on very honorable missions
that kept him far from court. He was ordered to built the cities Nicaea and Bucephala
on the site of the battlefield; and during Alexander's campaign to the east, Craterus
was to look for supplies. He was not present when the Macedonian army revolted
on the banks of the Hyphasis (Beas), and we hear from him again during the march
downstream along the rivers Hydaspes, Acesines and Indus. During that campaign,
he commanded one of the two armies: it was marching on the west bank. The other
army was commanded by Craterus' rival Hephaestion and was campaigning on the east
bank. Alexander was on the ships between the two armies.
In June 325, Alexander ordered Craterus' army to go back to the west.
(His own army was to reach the Indian Ocean and return partly by ship, partly
through the Gedrosian desert.) It was a very important task: it was the first
time since the death of Parmenion that Alexander entrusted a general with responsibilities
like these. And yet, it also meant that Craterus was far away from court.
Craterus, his army and the elephants crossed the Bolan pass, and passed
through Arachosia and Drangiana, and arrived in Carmania, where his army met that
of Alexander. During his march, Craterus arrested Ordanes, an otherwise unknown
rebel.
Alexander's army arrived in Susa
in March 323. There were large festivities to celebrate the return from the far
east, and Alexander invited his officers to marry Persian princesses. Craterus
was married to Amestris, the daughter of Oxyartes, the brother of Darius. Again,
this was a very honorable thing: Alexander, Hephaestion and Craterus were the
only ones to marry a princess from the Achaemenid family, the royal dynasty of
ancient Persia.
But again, he was sent away. This time, he and an officer named Polyperchon
were to lead 11,500 veteran soldiers back to Macedonia, where Craterus should,
from then on, be the supreme commander of the Macedonian forces in Europe. (A
function that had been occupied by Antipater until then.) When the veterans were
in Cilicia, they were to build a large navy that Alexander could use to attack
Carthage. Craterus
had arrived in Cilicia and
was building the fleet, when he heard that in Babylon,
Alexander had unexpectedly died (June 11, 323). Almost immediately, the Greeks
revolted (the so-called Lamian war). In Babylonia, Alexander's generals were discussing
the future, but Craterus was not there, and even though it was agreed that he
would be one of the two regents of the new king, Alexander's mentally deficient
brother Philip Arridaeus, it was easy for his colleague Perdiccas to seize the
sole rule. This was the beginning of the era of the Diadochi, the 'successors'.
Craterus may have been angry about the fact that he had been ignored,
but it does not show from his acts. (At least not now.) When Antipater requested
his help in the Lamian war, he sailed with his Cilician navy to Greece
and helped suppressing the revolt (322).
In the last months of 322, Antipater rose in rebellion against Perdiccas,
and he was joined by Craterus (who may have resented the fact that he had been
ignored), Antigonus (the satrap of Phrygia,
who had been expelled from his satrapy by Perdiccas), and Ptolemy (the satrap
of Egypt). The men cemented
their alliance by marriage: Craterus married Phila, a daughter of Antipater. This
was a serious civil war, but is could not be prevented: Perdiccas had become too
powerful.
Perdiccas decided to attack Ptolemy, and left the war against Antipater,
Craterus and Antigonus to Eumenes, the new satrap of Phrygia.
Eumenes was not an experienced soldier. He had been Alexander's secretary and
nothing more. In 321 or 320, he was forced to fight a battle against Craterus,
somewhere near the Hellespont. To everybody's surprise, he was not defeated: it
was Craterus who was killed. Craterus and Phila had one son, Craterus
(321-250). This second Craterus ordered the statue of his father and Alexander
in a lion hunt that was made by the famous sculptor Lysippus, to be placed in
Delphi. The statue
is known from a mosaic that was found in the capital of Macedonia, Pella.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
Craterus (Krateros), one of the most distinguished generals of Alexander the Great, was a son of Alexander of Orestis, a district in Macedonia, and a brother of Amphoterus. When Alexander the Great set out on his Asiatic expedition, Craterus commanded the pezetairoi. Subsequently we find him commanding a detachment of cavalry, as in the battle of Arbela and in the Indian campaign; but it seems that he had no permanent office, and that Alexander employed him on all occasions where a general of able and independent judgment was required. He was a man of a noble character, and although he was strongly attached to the simple manners and customs of Macedonia, and was averse to the conduct which Alexander and his followers assumed in the East, still the king loved and esteemed him, next to Hephaestion, the most among all his generals and friends. In B. C. 324 he was commissioned by Alexander to lead back the veterans to Macedonia, but as his health was not good at the time, Polysperchon was ordered to accompany and support him. It was further arranged that Antipater, who was then regent of Macedonia, should lead reinforcements to Asia, and that Craterus should succeed him in the regency of Macedonia. But Alexander died before Craterus reached Europe, and in the division of the empire which was then made, Antipater and Craterus received in common the government of Macedonia, Greece, the Illyrians, Triballians, Agrianians, and Epeirus, as far as the Ceraunian mountains. According to Dexippus (ap. Phot. Bibl.), the government of these countries was divided between them in such a manner, that Antipater had the command of the armies and Craterus the administration of the kingdom. When Craterus arrived in Europe, Antipater was involved in the Lamian war, and was in a position in which the arrival of his colleague was a matter of the utmost importance to him, and enabled him to crush the daring attempts of the Greeks to recover their independence. After the close of this war Craterus divorced his wife Amastris, who had been given him by Alexander, and married Phila, the daughter of Antipater. Soon after Craterus accompanied his father-in-law in the war against the Aetolians, and in B. C. 321 in that against Perdiccas in Asia. Craterus had the command against Eumenes, while Antipater marched through Cilicia to Egypt. Craterus fell in a battle against Eumenes, which was fought in Cappadocia, and Eumenes on being informed of his death, lamented the fate of his late brother in arms, honoured him with a magnificent funeral, and sent his ashes back to Macedonia. (Arrian, Anab., ap. Phot. Bibl.; Q. Curtius; Diod. xviii. 16, 18, xix. 59; Plut. Alex. 47, Phoc. 25; Corn. Nep. Eum. 4)
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
ARGOS ORESTIKON (Ancient city) KASTORIA
EORDEA (Ancient area) GREECE
355 - 314
Macedonian officer, bodyguard of Alexander the Great, satrap of
Media, one of the Diadochi.
Peithon was the son of Crateuas, a nobleman from Eordia in western
Macedonia. He took part in the campaign of Alexander the Great, and is first mentioned
as a trierarch in 326. Trierarchs were the builders and nominal commanders of
ships; in this case, the most influential courtiers of Alexander helped him build
ships to navigate the river Indus. Next year, he was appointed as one of Alexander's
seven bodyguards.
There is a strange report that when Alexander was on his death bed,
Peithon, Seleucus, Peucestas, and several others visited the temple of Serapis
in Babylon, spent the night, and asked the god what to do. He answered that the
king should remain where he was; soon after Alexander heard the news, he died
(June 11, 323). The problem is that Serapis was a Greek adaptation of an Egyptian
god from the early thrid century, a generation after the death of Alexander. It
is impossible to establish the historical value of the anecdote.
After his death, Perdiccas was made regent because Alexander's half-brother
Philip Arridaeus was mentally unfit to rule. At Babylon, the satrapies were divided,
and Peithon was made satrap of Media,
the strategically important region that controlled all roads between east and
west (e.g., the Silk road). Actually, the satrapy was too large for one man: Peithon
would be a very powerful man, and could destabilize the entire empire. Therefore,
he had to give up the northern part, which was given to Atropates, a native who
was to play an important role in the history of Zoroastrianism.
Peithon was immediately involved in a full-scale war, because the
veterans who had been forced by Alexander to live in punitive colonies in the
eastern satrapies, decided to fight themselves a way back to Greece.
Peithon defeated them and sent them back home, showing that he was a very capable
general. Contrary to Perdiccas' orders, however, he accepted the capitulation
of his opponents and offered very reasonable terms. This was intelligent, because
Macedonian manpower in the east was low, and the eastern satraps could not afford
to lose their men. Unfortunately, Peithon's soldiers disobeyed: led on by hopes
of plunder, they massacred many veterans. This was the worst of all possible outcomes:
not only was there a considerable loss of manpower, but Perdiccas had started
to distrust Peithon as well.
However, he was not strong enough to replace the satrap of Media,
and therefore demanded his help at all possible occasions. Peithon probably had
to join Perdiccas' campaign against a native leader in Cappadocia.
In this way, the regent could control him.
Perdiccas' regency started with a success that augured well for the
future unity of the empire: the veterans, the Cappadocians and the insurgent Greeks
were all defeated within one year. However, he made one big mistake: when Alexander's
full sister Cleopatra offered him her hand, he accepted the marriage, and offended
the supreme commander of the Macedonian forces in Europe, Antipater, because he
was already engaged to his daughter Nicaea.
This was the immediate cause of the so-called First War of the Diadochi,
the successors of Alexander. However, offended pride was not the real cause. What
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, Antigonus, and the satrap of Egypt,
Ptolemy.
Perdiccas decided to invade Egypt, and ordered Peithon to join the
expedition. Twice, the expeditionary force tried to cross the Nile near Pelusium,
but Ptolemy was able to prevent this. Now, Perdiccas moved to the apex of the
Delta, and retried the river crossing in the neighborhood of Heliopolis. However,
his men were carried away by the Nile.
To all those present, it was obvious that Perdiccas could never invade Egypt,
and his soldiers revolted. Perdiccas sought the advice of Peithon, Antigenes,
and Seleucus. They, however, decided to kill their general, to put an end to the
civil war (summer 320).
Ptolemy started negotiations with Perdiccas' officers. They offered
the Egyptian ruler the regency, but he was too intelligent to accept this offer:
he was not a gambler and wanted to keep what he had, not risking it in a larger
game. Therefore, he appointed Peithon and an officer named Arridaeus. The latter's
only merit was that he had been the first officer of Perdiccas to change sides,
and he was detested by the defeated army. Peithon certainly had more prestige,
but it was easy to see that the new regents lacked personal influence and would
never be able to stop separatists like Ptolemy.
This outcome was considered outrageous and therefore, a conference
was organized at Triparadisus (in Syria),
in 320. Antipater, the commander of the Macedonian forces in Europe, was chosen
as the new regent; Antigonus Monophthalmus became the supreme commander of the
Macedonian forces in Asia; Peithon and Arridaeus were forced to accept demotion;
the satrapies were divided again. This was the result of the conference at Triparadisus
(320).
Understandably, Peithon felt cheated, and when he heard that Antipater
had died, he decided to use his forces to enlarge his power. His victim was Philip,
the satrap of Parthia (318). He overcame his resistance and made his brother Eudamus
satrap. However, the other satraps in the east united to drive the two men back.
They defeated Peithon once, he had to give up Parthia, and they were ready for
the final attack when Peithon was miraculously saved.
After the death of Antipater, an officer named Polyperchon had been
made regent, but he had to fight for the regency with Antipater's son Cassander.
In this confused situation, Antigonus had attempted to enlarge his power in Asia,
and he had launched a war against Eumenes, who had been recognized as commander
of the Macedonian forces in Asia by Polyperchon. Antigonus pursued Eumenes, who
went to Babylon and Susa.
Here, he met the army of the eastern satraps, which decided to join forces with
Eumenes. In this way, Peithon survived. In January 315, Antigonus defeated his
opponent, and returned to the west, leaving Peithon as the strongest ruler in
the eastern half of the empire.
Immediately, Peithon started to rebuild his power base. Antigonus,
however, was not a man of half measures. He lured the satrap if Media
to his court, arrested him, accused him, and had Peithon executed.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
LYGISTIS (Ancient area) GREECE
Leonnatus. One of the officers of Alexander the Great, saved his king's life
in India and played a minor role in the wars of the Diadochi.
Leonnatus was the son of Anteas, a member of the royal house of Lyncestis,
a small kingdom in the valley of the Crna that had been included in Macedonia
by king Philip, the father of Alexander and the son of a mother who belonged to
the Lyncestian dynasty.
Leonnatus, being a distant relative of Alexander, must have been close
to the crown prince. They were of the same age and may have shared the same teachers
(e.g., the famous Macedonian philosopher Aristotle). The Lyncestian prince was
present when Philip was assassinated in October 336 and played a role in the pursuit
and killing of the killer.
When Alexander set out against Persia,
Leonnatus was in his personal company. Military commands are unknown, but he played
a role in the aftermath of the battle of Issus (November 333). The Persian king
Darius III Codomannus had been defeated, his chariot and bow captured, and his
mother, wife, and daughters taken prisoner. When the women saw the bow and chariot,
they thought that Darius was dead, and started mourning. Alexander sent Leonnatus
to inform them that Darius was not dead, and that they need not fear any harm.
When Alexander was in Egypt,
one of his seven bodyguards died, and Leonnatus was appointed as successor. This
meant that he was very close to the king and could exercise great influence. He
could make and break people, as Philotas was to discover in October 330: the cavalry
officer was suspected of treason and Leonnatus was one of his accusers. He was
executed. On the other hand, when Alexander was angry with the aged officer Clitus
and wanted to kill him, Leonnatus tried to prevent the murder. However, this time,
he had insufficient influence on his king (Autumn 328). Later, he discovered a
conspiracy among the pages.
There is a strange story that Leonnatus was so fond of wrestling,
that he took trainers and camel-loads of sand wherever he went in Asia. If there
is any truth to this, we must date it in these years.
In the Summer of 327, Alexander wanted to introduce the Persian custom
of proskynesis at his court. Most Macedonians felt offended by what they considered
to be an act of slavish submissiveness. Leonnatus even started to laugh and make
fun of the ritual, which caused Alexander's anger. They were reconciled, however,
and in the months after the incident, we meet Leonnatus for the first time as
a commander: with Ptolemy (another bodyguard) and Perdiccas (a cavalry officer),
he besieged one of the mountain fortresses in Sogdiana. In the Spring of 326,
he played a role in the attack on a village in Gandara (i.e., the valley of the
river Kabul), where he was wounded. The wound can not have been very severe, because
in May, he took part in the battle of the Hydaspes, in which Alexander defeated
the Indian king Porus.
That Leonnatus, in spite of the fact that he did not command large
units, remained very close to Alexander, can be shown from the fact that he was
one of those who occupied the office of trierarch in the Autumn of 326. They were
responsible for the building of parts of the fleet that the Macedonians had to
build to advance along the Indus river to the Indian Ocean. On their voyage to
the south, they had to subdue the Mallians, which proved to be difficult. During
the siege of their capital, modern Multan, Alexander was seriously wounded by
an arrow; he owed his survival to his bodyguards Leonnatus, Abreas and Peucestas,
who protected the king with the sacred shield that the king had taken with him
at Troy (January 325).
In July, the army reached the Ocean. It was divided in two groups:
Alexander commanded an army that moved along the coast to the west to Carmania,
and Nearchus led the navy. Alexander's men first defeated the Oreitans, the 'mountain
people' of southern Pakistan. Hephaestion, who commanded the baggage train, was
ordered to build a new city, Rhambaceia (modern Las Bela). Leonnatus was left
behind to defend the region; after all, Nearchus still had to pass along the shore
and the grain store had to be kept intact. The Oreitans attempted to attack the
Macedonian rearguard, but Leonnatus defeated them, for which he received a diadem
in the Spring of 324, when the armies had reunited at Susa.
On June 11, 323, Alexander died in Babylon.
Immediately, his generals -known as the Diadochi- started to quarrel about the
succession, in which cavalry and infantry were at each other's throats. Leonnatus
sided with Perdiccas, Lysimachus (another bodyguard), Seleucus, Eumenes and Ptolemy,
cavalry commanders that were to play an important role in the next years. The
commander of the infantry Meleager was killed, and Perdiccas was appointed regent
for the new king, Alexander's mentally unfit brother Philip Arridaeus. Perdiccas
made Leonnatus satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia.
A civil war was prevented, but war had become inevitable. When the
Athenians heard that Alexander had died, they revolted (Autumn 323). They had
been preparing the war for some time and were joined by several other Greek towns.
They occupied Thermopylae,
and when the Macedonian commander Antipater arrived, he was repelled and forced
to hide in the nearby fortress of Lamia.
In the meantime, Alexander's sister Cleopatra, the widow of king Alexander
of Molossis, offered her hand to Leonnatus. If they married, Leonnatus would be
a powerful rival to Perdiccas, and might reasonably claim the throne. However,
the marriage never took place. In the Spring of 322, Leonnatus set out from his
satrapy to relieve Antipater. A victory over the Greeks would certainly enhance
his claim to the throne. He was successful, but was killed in action, having survived
his friend with only one year. It is tempting to think that he was murdered to
prevent a civil war with Perdiccas.
Jona Lendering, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Livius Ancient History Website URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
KASTORIA (Town) MAKEDONIA WEST
Leontios Hadjileontiadis was born in Kastoria,
Greece, in March 14, 1966. At the age of nine he began his studies of classical
guitar which, from 1983, he continued at the Macedonian Conservatory. He got the
Guitar Diploma with honours and the first prize of performance in 1993.
From 1984 to 1990 he attended the Class of Advanced Theory with D.
Athanasiadis, obtaining the Diplomas in Harmony, Instrumentation, Counterpoint,
Orchestration and Fugue with honours.
He attended guitar seminars presented by H. Kappel, R. Aussel, D.
Russel, C. Kotsiolis and T. Perring.
He also attended Composition Classes presented by Th. Antoniou, G.
Cramp, A. Baltas, D. Athanassiadis.
In June '98 he obtained the diploma of composition from the composition
class of Prof. Th. Antoniou, (Boston Univ., USA) with honours and the first prize
of distinguished work.
In January 1990, he received the Third Prize of Composition in the
Panhellenic Composition Competition, organised by the Ministry of Culture (Centre
of Art and Culture) for his composition for guitar solo "Tone Transmutations".
In May 1990, he recorded "Guitar Works".
In September 1991, he presented his original work for chamber music
in a concert organised by the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
In May 1992, he received the First Prize of The Panhellenic Composition
Competition organised by "TECHNI" Cultural Society with his work "Mythology"
for 4 voices mixed choir (poetry by Zoe Karelli), presented in Athens and published
the same year.
In October 1992, The National Orchestra presented his work "Macedonian
Suite" for orchestra and piano, dedicated to the late Professor Manolis Andronikos
in the frame of the celebration of the 35 anniversary of the School of Technology,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
In October 1992, he was invited to Goettingen, Germany, where the
string quartet "Rosenquartett" performed his work "Theme and Variations"
for string quartet.
In November 1993, he wrote a piece called "Fuzzification" for harp
and violin requested by Union des Compositeurs Helleniques, which is based on
Fuzzy Logic, and performed and broadcast by the National Greek Radio Station one
year later in Athens.
In May 1994, three works for piano ("Fillochoros", "Eikonoseira",
"Scherzo") were awarded in a National Composition Competition for educational
works of contemporary music in Thessaloniki.
In June 1994, he became a member of the Union of Greek Composers.
In September 1994, he wrote the original soundtrack for the film "God's
Garden" produced by the Centre of Hellenic Cinema. The film has been presented
at International Film Festival of Thessaloniki, where the music gained excellent
reviews.
From March 1995 till September 1996 he served his duty in the army
as a sergeant.
In November 1996, one work for violin "Shadows" and one for flute
"Elegia" were awarded in a National Composition Competition for educational works
of contemporary music in Athens and performed and broadcast from the 3rd program
of the National Greek Radio Station.
In May 1998, he was selected to participate, composing an original
work for chamber music ("Wavelets"), in a workshop dedicated to Greek
composers with George Cramp, as a special invited guest, from the organisation
of Athens MEGARON.
In November 1998, his string quartet No1 was included in a CD (ARKADIA)
with works of Greek composers, performed by the Greek Quartet, and it would soon
be available in the market.
In December 1998, the Symphonic Orchestra of Thessaloniki Municipality
will perform his latest work "Ihnomythia", for string quintet and string orchestra.
Since today he has written various compositions for orchestra, chamber
music, theatre music, solo music and electronic music. Some of his works combine
theories from mathematics ("Fazzification", "Wavelets"), transformed for music
assessment, while others are in the frame of ideas of ancient Greeks, e.g. Aristotelian
Theory ("Akinito Kinoun" for 2 flutes, clarinet, string quartet and piano, written
for the celebration of the beginning of the academic year in the School of Technology,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) or under other metaphysical theories, resulting
in a rather narrative way of composing.
He is a student of the School of Arts, Faculty of Musicology and in
May 1997 he received his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical engineering, Electrical and
Computer Engineering, at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece,
with honour. Since 1996, he has published over 20 papers in international journals
and currently he is a Research Assistant at the Unit of Biomedical Signal Analysis
of the Telecommunications Laboratory of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His scientific work was awarded three times
by sound international scientific organisations.
He is also the conductor of the Orchestra of the School of Technology
of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the conductor and founder of the
"Mandoulidis School Orchestra".
He is currently a professor of composition at Conservatory of THERMI
CULTURAL CENTER, Thessaloniki, and a professor of contemporary music at public
IEK of CULTURE, Thessaloniki.
Since March '97, he is the Director of the Cultural Centre of Municipality
of Thermi. Within that frame he participates in various cultural networks (EC-STRATCULT),
taking initiatives on establishing contemporary cultural institutions.
In April '99, he was unanimously elected as a Lecturer at the Dept.
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
Thessaloniki, Greece, Division of Telecommunications, Signal Processing Unit.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Friends of Music Society "Lilian Voudouri" URL below, which contains image.
KASTORIA (Town) MAKEDONIA WEST
1936
Painter, Photographer, Sculptor
1772 - 1847
1956
General Secretary for Hellenes Abroad
MAVROCHORI (Village) KASTORIA
1950
Deputy Minister of Education & Religious Affairs
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