#hadea eurydike

[jeannereames]

What was Alexander’s relationship with his sisters like?

Short answer: We mostly don’t know.

Longer answer: We have some clues that he may have got on well at least with Kleopatra and Thessalonike. Kynanne is more of a crap-shoot, as she was married to his cousin and rival, Amyntas. But as Philip arranged that marriage, she had little/no say in the matter, so we just don’t know what she thought of her husband-cousin versus her brother. (Not addressing the infant Europe, as she died at just a few weeks.)

First, let me link to an article by Beth Carney, and at the end, I’ll add some links to my own prior entries that address the question too.

Elizabeth Carney, “The Sisters of Alexander the Great: Royal Relics” Historia 37.4 (1988), 385-404.*

Beth’s article discusses Argead marriage policies, and the fate of the women after ATG’s death. I know she’s changed her mind about a few things, but it’s still well worth reading.

Also, a general reminder to folks who may be new to Alexander/Macedonia … Macedonian kings practiced royal polygamy: e.g., they married for politics, not love, and had more than one wife at the same time. Philip married 7 women (the most of any Macedonian king), although there weren’t 7 wives living in the palace at once. There may have been as many as 5 at times, however.

Because of royal polygamy, they did not use the term basilissa (queen) until after Alexander’s death. The chief wife was the mother of the heir; she had the most power. Because of the rivalry inherent in such courts, a woman’s primary allegiance was to her son, not her husband. Her secondary allegiance would be to her father (if living) and/or brothers. This was not unique to Macedonia, but a feature of most courts with polygamous structures.

These are not love matches, although our later sources may present them as love matches. (These authors had their own ideological reasons for such characterizations.) Did love never come after marriage? Perhaps. It would have depended. Also, within the women’s rooms, wives may have allied with each other at points, particularly if several of them. If only two (as seems more characteristic in Macedonia, aside from Philip), they’d have been rivals seeking to produce the heir.

I state all that to explain why Alexander’s sisters may have courted their brother’s affection (and protection), after Philip’s death. Only Kleopatra had a son, and he was 12 at most at Alexander’s death.

In his final year, Philip married off Alexander’s older sister, Kynanne (d. of Audata, ergo half- Illyrian), and Alexander’s younger and only full sister, Kleopatra (d. of Olympias). Kleopatra’s wedding was literally the day before Philip’s assassination. The timing of Kynnane’s marriage is less clear, but Philip married her to Amyntas, his nephew (her cousin), some time after his own marriage to his last wife, Kleopatra Eurydike. Kynnane had a daughter by Amyntas, Hadea (later Hadea Eurydike). We’re not sure if she was born before or after her father’s execution by Alexander, but it does let us nail down her age to c. 12/13 at Alexander’s death.

After he had Amyntas executed, Alexander planned to marry Kynnane to one of his trusted allies, Langaros, king of Agriana, which lay north of Macedonia, between Paionia and Illyria. Agriana was arguably Paionian, but similar to Illyria. Ergo, this may show a bit of thoughtfulness on Alexander’s part, to match his sister to a man who wouldn’t attempt to trammel her. Recall that Illyrian women wielded more power and even fought in battle. Yet Langaros died (perhaps of injury) before Alexander could make good on that.

It would be the last time Alexander planned any nuptials for his sisters. In part because he invaded Persia not long after, but it wouldn’t have stopped him from summoning one of them if he’d really wanted to marry her off.

Kynanne raised her daughter Hadea in traditional Illyrian ways, which Alexander allowed (although he probably couldn’t have stopped her). After his death, she took off to Asia to see Hadea married to her uncle, (Philip III) Arrhidaios. Kynanne was murdered by Perdikkas’s brother Alkestas, because Perdikkas (then regent) didn’t want the marriage. BUT the army (who liked and respected Kynanne) forced Alkestas to allow it anyway. Hadea (now) Eurydike and Philip III Arrhidaios eventually fell under Kassandros’s authority/possession, where she/they opposed Olympias and baby Alexander IV (and Roxane).

It was inevitable that the co-kingship that followed ATG’s death wouldn’t hold, and Hadea, who clearly wore the pants, wasn’t about to step aside for her cousin Alexander IV. Nor did Kassandros want them to, as he could control them. He couldn’t control Olympias. Yet none of that would necessarily reflect how Kynanne and Hadea had felt about their brother/uncle during his lifetime.

So, we must say the jury is out on Kynanne’s relationship with Alexander.

But for Kleopatra and Thessalonike, I do believe we have enough hints that they cared for him and he for them.

Kleopatra’s husband (another Alexander, of Epiros) died in combat in Italy in 332—around the time Alexander was besieging Tyre and Gaza, or four years after their marriage. In that time, Kleopatra produced two children, a girl (Kadmea) and a boy (Neoptolemos). The girl was named to honor her uncle’s victory over Thebes,** which happened at the tail-end of 335. As Alexander of Macedon and Alexander of Epiros both left on separate campaigns in 334, the boy would have to have been fathered not long after Kadmea was born. (It’s possible that Alexander of Epiros didn’t get to Italy until 333.)

After Alexander of Epiros’s death, Kleopatra did not marry again, although after her brother died, she had a couple marriage offers/offered marriage herself. She was THE prize during the early Successor wars…the full sister of Alexander.

Two titbits might suggest she was close to him (even if he didn’t marry her off again). First, the name of her first child is for his victory, not one by her husband. Sure, Alexander of Epiros didn’t have a battle victory at that point to name her for…but he could have insisted on a family name. Instead, he let Kleopatra give the child a name celebrating Alexander of Macedon’s victory. I suspect she fought for that.

Second, an anecdote reports that when Alexander was told his sister was having an affair some years after she’d become a widow, he reportedly replied, “Well, she ought to have a little fun.” This, btw, was viewed as a bad answer…e.g., he didn’t properly discipline her. As Alexander was constantly used for moral lessons (good or bad), we should take it with a grain of salt. But it’s possible his approximate reaction was preserved and became fodder for moralizing about those wild, half-barbarian Macedonians from the north…couldn’t keep their women in check!

As for Thessalonike, data here is also circumstantial. She stayed with Olympias after Alexander’s death and was never married until after Olympias herself was killed by Kassandros—who then forced her to marry him to cement his claim to the Macedonian throne. She had a sad life, at least in her latter years. Her eldest son (Philip) wasn’t healthy and died not long after he became king. Her second son (Antipatros) and her last son (Alexandros) apparently hated each other. After Philip’s death, Thessalonike argued that Antipatros should co-rule with the younger Alexandros. So Antipatros killed his mother! (Matricide, folks, is SUPER-bad.) Then Alexandros killed Antipatros, and was eventually killed in turn by Demetrios Poliorketes.

Well, if Justin can be trusted, and there are problems with Justin. Ergo, it’s possible that internecine spate of murders didn’t go the way Justin reports.

Yet the naming of her youngest boy may tell a story, along with her insistence that he co-rule with his brother.

There’s also the legend of Mermaid Thessalonike, but we can’t take that as any sort of evidence.

Here are some additional posts that also talk about the sisters:

“Writing Kleopatra and Alexander’s Other Sisters” — Although aimed primarily at the novels, it obviously must deal with the girls as historical persons. Pretty short for me.

“What Philip Thought about His Other Children” — A sideways take on this same question. Not long.

“On Amyntas” — About Alexander’s older cousin, his real rival for the throne when Philp was assassinated. Also discusses Kynanne as a matter-of-course. Not long.

“On Kassandros” — Mostly about Antipatros’s son Kassandros, who had Alexander IV murdered, but also discusses Thessalonike, who he forced to marry him. Relatively long.

--------------------------------------------

* The link takes you to academia.edu, where, by clicking on Beth’s name, you can find more of her articles. Keep in mind the woman has something north of 150, many on women, PLUS a bunch of books. Not everything is uploaded due to copyright, but several of her older articles are, such as this one.

** It was something of a “thing,” at least in Macedon, for daughters to be named in honor of their father’s victories. Kynanne not so much, but Kleopatra means “Glory of Her Father,” and both Thessalonike (Victory in Thessaly) and Europe (Victory in Europe) reflected their father’s triumphs.

#asks #alexander the great #alexander the great's sisters #kleopatra of macedon #thessalonike of macedon #kynnane of macedon #hadea eurydike #philip II of macedon #philip of macedon #alexander of epirus #classics #ancient macedonia #ancient greece #alexander's sisters #ancient greek family relations

[jeannereames]

Which "side characters" to Alexander's story are you most interested in both as a historian and as a fiction author?

Well, Hephaistion is obvious. But my interests as an historian and as a writer are slightly different.

As an historian, I could wish for a more unbiased account of Perdikkas. Of Alexander's age cohort, he had the highest appointments at the youngest age. I suspect it owes to equally high birth. We aren't sure, but his father Orontes was probably the prince/once-king of the canton of Orestis. In the sources, he's poorly treated in part due to bad press from the Successor Wars.

Reputedly, he was arrogant and high-handed, and his own officers (led by Seleukos) killed him in Egypt. But was he that bad, or are these reports part of that bad press (and Seleukos's and Ptolemy's ambitions)? If he were a prince, perhaps his arrogance had cause. Alexander seemed to think he was the most competent of those who remained in Babylon and gave him the ring. Would he still have got it if Krateros hadn't been sent away earlier on his own mission? I suspect not, but we just don't know.

And then there's Krateros, who may also have hailed from Orestis and was probably a cousin of Perdikkas. But, again, we can't be sure. I'd like a better sense of Krateros, as well, to evaluate his place at court. Like Perdikkas, our sources attach a bias to him, but in his case, a positive one. I'm as suspicious of that as I am of the negative one assigned to Perdikkas.

After that, it's largely the women. Olympias, yes. But even more Kleopatra, Thessalonike, and Kynanna. Also Philip's mother Eurydike. I expect THAT woman was someone to be reckoned with. As was Audata, Kynanna's mother. And Hadea, the daughter/granddaughter. Roxana, and Darius's daughters.

Oh, I'd like to know a little more about Parmenion's family--where they came from originally (Pelagonia or not?), and the two younger sons. Philotas sucks up all the air in the room.

Last, I wish we knew more about Darius himself: who he was before being raised to the throne. My friend, Scott Oden, has decided to work on a novel about Darius, which I expect to be spectacular. He has a real talent for detailing the losing side with compassion and insight. If you've not read his novel, Memnon, I recommend it, or Men of Bronze. I think he'll do a great job giving Darius a fair shake.

Now, as an AUTHOR, my interests are similar, but I get to include fictional characters, such as Kampaspe. She may be mentioned in our sources, but was almost certainly a Roman-era invention. Also, you'll get to meet a priest of Ammon who'll travel with Alexander. While also fictional, Alexander must have had such officiants, as he regularly included Ammon in his sacrifices. And, of course, Kleopatra will continue as a voice and window on what's happening in Europe while Alexander is out gallivanting around Asia.

Last, there's a fellow in Athens you'll get to hear more about: Phokion. Plutarch wrote a life of him, in which he's portrayed as the last respectable Athenian general, and was nicknamed "the Good," in antiquity. In the novel, Hephaistion meets him in Athens, when he's there the second time, and he becomes one of (several) people Hephaistion corresponds with, besides Aristotle and Kleopatra.

Oh, I forgot…not a side character of Alexander, but I REALLY REALLY wish we knew more about Alexander (I) “the Golden.”

#asks #Alexander the Great #Other people in Alexander's orbit #Macedonian women #Perdikkas of Orestis #Krateros of Orestis #Kleopatra of Macedon #Kampaspe #Hephaistion #ancient Macedonia #Phokion

[jeannereames]

Would Alexander have really married Cleopatra Eurydice? He seems to have respected her enough despite her relation to Attalus- some sources say when removing her statue from the Philippeum he transferred it to another respected place in Heraion. Did they get along personally? How would their marriage have changed matters, if at all?

Okay, first, I believe we have a confusion/conflation of Eurydikes. The one from the Philippion is Philip’s mother, wife of Amyntas III. Her statue was never removed out by Alexander, so I’m unsure what the asker is referring to? The statues were lost over time, but we have the statue bases, and descriptions of the monument. See especially Elizabeth D. Carney, “The Philippeum, Women, and the Formation of Dynastic Image,” in W. Heckel, L. Tritle, and P. Wheatley (eds.) Alexander’s Empire: Formulation to Decay (Claremont, CA, 2007) 27-70. For Eurydike herself, see Olga Palagia, “Philip's Eurydice in the Philippeum at Olympia,” in E. Carney and D. Ogden (eds.), Philip II and Alexander the Great (Oxford 2010) 33-41.

“Eurydike” became a dynastic name, so it keeps popping up among Argeads (and later). Philip’s mother was Eurydike, as was his daughter, wife of Philip III Arrhidaios: (Hadea) Eurydike. Also Kleopatra, niece of Attalos, took the name Eurydike when she married Philip. But she was never in the Philippeon. Philip’s only wife represented there was Olympias, mother of his heir, Alexander. Amyntas III and Eurydike appeared as his parents.

We have no idea if Alexander shared more than a few words with Attalos’s neice. Given her uncle’s hostility towards him, he would likely have minimized contact. Also, timing was against it. Alexander left on the heels of the marriage, was gone 6 months to a year, then likely kept his distance after his return. While Macedonian women were not as sequestered as in Athens, men and (respectable) unrelated women still didn’t mingle freely. If he did interact with her, it would have been when visiting the women’s rooms to see his sisters, with plenty of women present. If marrying a dead father’s widow had precedent, an affair with the wife of one’s living father was another thing. Alexander knew his mythology, and would’ve had no desire to be Hippolytos.* After he took the throne, he had to leave relatively quickly to settle affairs in the south…and she was (likely) dead before he returned.

As for the marriage… this was suggested by my colleague, Tim Howe: “The Giver of the Bride, the Bridegroom, and the Bride,” in T. Howe, S. Müller, and R. Stoneman, Ancient Historiography on War and Empire (Oxbow, 2017) 92-124. Nothing in the ancient sources says Alexander planned such a marriage BUT marrying the wife (especially if young) of the former king wasn’t novel in Macedonia; Archelaos did the same. It was accepted practice generally.

The titbit that might suggest Alexander did plan to wed Kleopatra-Eurydike … Olympias murdered her.

Now, ignoring Justin’s account of a son Karanos, which is wrong (for reasons I don’t have time to go into), Kleopatra-Eurydike’s child was a girl (Europa). That means Kleopatra had no power in the women’s rooms after Philip’s assassination. So why the hell would Olympias kill the infant (and her, by extension)? Revenge alone?

Possibly. Revenge, especially for a slight to timē (personal honor), was a perfectly respectable reason to kill someone. “Turn the other cheek,” or “When they go low, we go high,” is a very Christianized view. But an even better revenge would have been to let her live to raise an extra daughter under the king her uncle had insulted and schemed to replace. Philip had 3 prior adult/almost adult daughters. A 4th, well over a decade from marriageability, was a day late and a dollar short. She could expect a miserable existence in the Pella palace where she was no threat to Olympias.

Unless Alexander planned to marry her in a diplomatic solution to suppress Attalos’s faction, and secure Parmenion’s support. (Attalos had married Parmenion’s daughter.) I strongly suspect Philip’s final marriage was not the midlife-crisis love match Plutarch/Diodoros present, but an attempt to deal with push back in his latter years. Alexander may have decided that marrying the girl was the best way to deal with it too.

And if Alexander did plan to marry her, she was a threat to Olympias’ influence. This isn’t necessarily jealousy. Olympias may have decided that wooing the snake wasn’t sound policy. Remember that Alexander was barely twenty and Olympias would have been between 36 and 38, with oodles more political experience. While sure, her move was self-serving, it also may have been sound policy to keep her son from the match. (Two things can be true at once.)

Alexander need not have publicly declared an intention to marry his father’s widow; he had bigger fish to fry in the immediate aftermath. Yet if he’d discussed it privately, his mother may have moved to eliminate the possibility while he was out of the country. The brutality of the murder certainly suggests a vengeance theme.

Incidentally, while the death of Europa at Olympias’s hands (and Eurydike’s subsequent suicide) is not securely dated in our sources—except that Alexander wasn’t in Pella—it almost certainly occurred in the first months after Philip’s death, during Alexander’s first trip into the Greek south, to shore up support for the Persian invasion and re-ratify the Corinthian League.

As for how their marriage may have changed things…it would almost certainly have put Alexander under the thumb of Attalos-Parmenion. We can see, in the appointments of his two sons, that Parmenion alone held great sway in Alexander’s early years—but at least he wasn’t an in-law. For once, Olympias and Antipatros were likely on the same side. (Antipatros and Parmenion weren’t precisely friendly.) If, as I suspect, Philip made that marriage for political reasons, it suggests the Attalos faction—whatever that entailed—was strong enough to force Philip’s hand before leaving on a probable long-term campaign. That means Attalos was powerful. And a 20-year-old Alexander was no match for him, even if adolescent arrogance may have made him think he was. Olympias may also have decided/suspected that the Attalos-Parmenion tie wasn’t as strong as Alexander feared—which proved to be true. When push came to shove, Parmenion allowed Attalos to be eliminated on Alexander’s order.

Arrian glosses over all this. I wish we had the first two books of Curtius, who likely covered the story of Alexander’s accession in more detail. It would provide more clues. Attalos sorta comes out of nowhere at the end of Philip’s life. Although Diodoros’ account of his reign is so truncated we don’t know the marshals under Philip well, so he may have been around longer than it seems.

————-

* Alexander knew his mythology. Theseus’s second wife, Phaidra, was reportedly cursed to conceive a passion for her (more age-appropriate) son-in-law, Hippolytos. Yet Hippolytos had pledged his virginity to Artemis, offending Aphrodite, who was behind the curse. When Hippolytos rebuked poor Phaedra’s advances, she suicided, leaving a note implicating Hippolytos (for rape). As punishment, Theseus asked his father Poseidon to kill his son. While out in his chariot, a sea monster spooked the horses, he fell out the back but got tangled in the reins, and they dragged him to death. A variation exists in which Aisklepios brings him back from death but Hades is so offended/(worried) by this power, he asks his brother Zeus to strike down Aisklepios by lightning…which he does. One of the few cases of a god dying. (They’re immortal, yes…but can be killed; it’s just that few things can kill one. Being fried by lightning will do it.)

#asks #Kleopatra-Eurydike #Alexander the Great #Philip II #Attalos #Attalus #Cleopatra-Eurydice #Olympias #Macedonian marriage #Parmenion #ancient Macedonia #Alexander the Great's early years #ancient Greece #Classics

[jeannereames]

I have...so many emotions about Roxana and Thessalonike. I like to think that they were friends, since I'm pretty sure they were living with Olympias at the same time. Like poor Thessalonike, she was married with probably little choice to the man who killed her step mother and imprisoned her sister in law and nephew. And Roxana spending years in prison probably knowing she and her son were going to die. I have soo many feelings about them

I do feel very sorry for many of the women, who were often pitted against each other. Roxana was no shrinking violet. I suspect Olympias approved of her. After all, she got rid of her chief rival, Statiera, even though the latter had higher status. Perdikkas helped, may even have talked her into it, but she doesn't seem to have hesitated.

She and Thessalonike may indeed have been at least friendly, as Thessalonike was not her rival in any way.

Certainly, by that point, Thessalonike and Hadea Eurydike were enemies, albeit of necessity. In the novels, I tried to seed some hints that their alliance is unfortunately likely to be short-lived, and they know it. But for a while, all three sisters do work together.

#Roxana #Thessalonike #Olympias #Successor Wars #asks

[jeannereames]

Can you tell us more of Alexanders brother Arrhidaeos ?

I will admit up front that much information about Philip III Arrhidaios belongs to the very early Hellenistic Era in the immediate aftermath of Alexander’s death…

…which extends beyond the period I know well. I can tell you more of the reign of Alexander I (in the Persian Wars down to c. 450ish) than what immediately followed the reign of Alexander III (e.g, the Great).

So I’ll just put that out there.

Yet as the asker named Arrhidaios (not Philip III), I assume them more interested in his life while Alexander was alive.

First, there’s real question as to the order of birth. Common consensus now says Arrhidaios was slightly older than Alexander: a year or two. Remember, Philip married his first five wives in his first five or so years. Their order is debated, but not for Arrhidaios’s mother.

Audata (#1…or #2)…mother of Kynnane

Phila (#2…or #1)

Philinna #3…mother of Arrhidaios

Nikesepolis (#4…or #5)…mother of Thessalonike (but after Kleopatra)

Olympias (#5…or #4)…mother of Alexander and Kleopatra

Meda #6

Kleopatra Eurydike #7…mother of Europa

My best guess, as I portrayed him in Dancing with the Lion, makes Arrhidaios about a year older than Alexander.

Nowhere in Greece was “primogeniture” (inheritance by the eldest male) fixed. There might be a slight favor for it in Macedon, but other matters such as status of the mother or health of the child (and his ability) also figured. Remember, Macedonia practiced royal polygamy at least back to Perdikkas II, and probably earlier. Most prior kings married 2 or 3 wives, for political reasons. Philip married 7 times. (!!)

He had four daughters, but only two living boys. Ad only one of those was mentally viable.

Let me remind folks, infant mortality was high. These 0robably weren’t Phil’s only kids. In Dancing with the Lion, I gave Phila a boy who didn’t make it to adolescence (Menelaos), dead of malaria, and Nikesepolis had other miscarriages before Thessalonike (not much mentioned). This was fictional, but meant to underscore that the Greeks rarely record children who died young (without a good reason).

So, that said…WE HAVE NO IDEA what was wrong with Arrhidaios. Many theories have been advanced, but all we know from the sources is that he had some mental defect which showed up after his first year or so. How severe, we don’t know. Severe enough he was never in contention for the throne. Alexander’s REAL rival was always his elder cousin Amyntas (son of Perdikkas III, Philip’s older brother).

Plutarch is the one who suggests Olympias poisoned Arrhidaios with her pharmaka, which can be medicine OR poison/witchery. Plutarch hated Olympias. Yet the reference to pharmaka is why I made her a healer in Dancing with the Lion! Women “healers” and midwives were often looked at askance and conflated with witchery.

Olympias was ruthless, and all about securing the throne for her son, So if she did have medical knowledge, it would have included dangerous herbs. She could have done it. Even so, I want to emphasize this wouldn’t be because Olympias was a snaky, awful bitch who hated babies. Had she done so, it would ENTIRELY have owed to securing HER son’s inheritance.

Don’t fall prey to the misogynistic Greek male narrative about women.

Yet I remain unconvinced she had anything to do with it, so didn’t follow that thread in my novels.

The texts say Arrhidaios was born “normal,” but evinced issues as a toddler. As we know today, developmental delays may not manifest until after the first year, when a baby is expected to start walking and talking.

He was not so incapacitated that he couldn’t be considered as a king after Alexander’s death. Yet Kynanne (Philip’s eldest child) brought her OWN daughter (by Amyntas, their cousin)—Hadea Eurydike—to marry him. Hadea was a teen of marriageable age, while her uncle, Arrhidaios, was by then about 35-ish? So less than half his age. Nonetheless, it seems clear she wore the pants. And that’s why Kynanne wanted to make the marriage. She knew H. Eurydike would be the real power on the throne. And Kassandros apparently supported them because he knew HE could be the power behind both.

Olympias supported Alex IV, which led to the great confrontation of armies from Epiros (Olympias) and Macedon (Eurydike-Philip III) in 317/(16) that resulted in the Macedonians defecting to Olympias and taking the royal pair captive. Olympias then killed them and refused to bury them (SUPER insulting/impiety). Eventually Olympias would be pinned down in Pydna and killed, where Kassandros would collect Thessalonike and hold a shot-gun wedding to give his rule legitimacy. Also, he captured Alex IV and Roxanne, held them captive, and eventually killed Alex IV c. 309, when Alex was about 14 and should be able to assume rule. Yeah, Kassandros couldn’t let that happen.

That encompasses the major beats of Arrhidaios’s life. We really don’t know a lot more. Alexander seems to have brought him along to Asia because leaving him behind could give his enemies a puppet to use against him. So even if Alexander didn’t give a damn about his brother, he had to secure him.

Yet I get a sense he also did it to protect him. He couldhave eliminated Arrhidaios at some point in Asia—had him disappear. He didn’t. Yes, he was a spare Argead male, but he doesn’t appear to have been even considered as king until Alexander’s unexpected death. If ATG wasn’t in a hurry to pop out Argead babies to fill the “heir” bill, why worry about keeping Arrhidaios alive just to be A Spare?

So often, I’ve seen developmentally normal siblings assume special care of developmentally delayed ones that I wanted to seize on that for Dancing with the Lion. Alexander genuinely loves Arrhidaios, protecting him from their father as he can, and after Philip’s death, he’ll continue to do so. Sure, he doesn’t want his enemies to seize on his brother as a puppet…but largely because he doesn’t want to see Arrhidaios abused. He brings him to Asia to protect him, not just to nullify him as a potential rival.

In my novels, I decided to go with frequent, early epileptic seizures that affected Arrhidaios’s mind while an infant. That choice explains why he was born “normal,” but experienced mental delays later. Yet it’s only one of a wide variety of possibilities.

And again, I want to stress that we really have no idea what he suffered, or exactly how mentally incapacitated he was. I expect he could engage socially, and take care of regular hygiene and basic self-care, but was unable to make significant decisions or exercise complicated judgement. So yes, Hadea Eurydike would effectively have been king—probably not outside Illyrian norms, but certainly outside Macedonian.

#asks #Arrhidaios #Philip III Arrhidaios #Hadea Eurydike #Adea Eurydike #Eurydice #ancient Macedonia #Kassandros #Olympias #Alexander the Great #early Hellenistic Era #Successor Wars

[jeannereames]

What do we know, and what do you think, about Alexander's cousin Amyntas?

We know very little. He was about a year old when his father died. Despite some contention that he was (briefly) Amyntas IV with Philip as regent, that assumes a constitutional monarchy that most current Macedoniasts reject. Macedonian kings weren’t “elected,” but acclaimed. As a warrior people, the Macedonians wanted a warrior king, where that was an option.

Any Argead male was a viable king, although nomos (custom) seems (I stress the seems) to have offered a little guidance. The son of the prior king was preferred, and the son of the prior king whose mother had the highest social status. But this did not stop Argeads from cheerfully killing each other for the kingship, especially half-siblings from different mothers if they were considered a threat.

Part of the problem is that most of our history of Argead Macedonia is being related by Greeks, who didn’t understand their royal polygamy…or much else. So we’re trying to piece it together from confused texts.

Anyway, with the choice between an infant barely old enough to toddle and a young man who already had archonship of his own canton (and a mini-army to boot), who would you choose?

Yeah. Philip became king. He let Amyntas live because 1) he had no son of his own yet, and 2) Amyntas was literally no threat at all. As soon as Philip had Alexander, Amyntas was sidelined.

We can look at treaties for a hint. Macedonian kings made treaties in their own names, not “the Macedonian people,” unlike the southern city-states. And all the male Argeads were lined up behind in order of (apparent) inheritance. We don’t have a lot of these for Philip, but the Corinthian League treaty has Alexander before Amyntas. Also, notice that Amyntas is never mentioned in Diodoros (el al.) as head of any major military action. We hear more about some of Philip’s generals than his nephew.

So Amyntas got to live, but it was clearly circumscribed. Waldemar Heckel, however, has suggested that he may have been given his own set of syntrophoi (companions of a prince), and that Philotas was among them. Age-wise, they’d have been more contemporary than Philotas and Alexander. I found that so intriguing I stole it for the novels, but do note it’s speculation purely.

We don’t really hear about Amyntas until right before Philip’s death, when the king married him to Kynanne while Alexander was in exile. I said in an earlier ask that seems to have been Philip’s stop-gap until Alexander came home…or in case he didn’t. Arrhidaios was also promised in marriage…but out of the country. Even if that proposal fell through, it suggests Philip intended Amyntas to be the “runner up” heir, not Arrhidaios. This is backed up by the Corinthian inscription. Amyntas, btw, was the father of Hadea Eurydike, who eventually married Arrhidaios.

AND by Alexander’s actions after Philip’s death. If Philip could afford to leave an infant alive, Alexander couldn’t. Amyntas was killed within 6 months of Philip, probably sooner rather than later, accused of having been in on the murder, but Alexander didn’t really need an excuse. Filicide, or cousin-cide in this case, was pretty normal succession procedure in Macedon. Arrhidaios got to live because, again, as with Philip and Amyntas, Arrhidaios was no threat to Alexander…but Alexander still took him to Asia so nobody else could use him to usurp the throne in Alexander’s absence. They were the last surviving male Argeads.

Given the blood one waded through to get to the throne, it’s a wonder that line didn’t die out sooner….

#Amyntas #Alexander the Great #Philip of Macedon #Philip II of Macedon #Macedonian succession #Argead Macedonia #Amyntas IV #Kynanne #Hadea Eurydike #asks #Classics #ancient Macedonia

[jeannereames]

Have you read the series by ruth kozak shadow of the lion? If so what's your opinion about the books? Also how do you feel about alexanders half sisters and neice?

Yes! I’ve read part of the first from “In the Shadow of the Lion” series, Blood on the Moon, and bought the second. The Fields of Hades. I didn’t get to finish the first because it’s quite long, and I had too many real-life commitments related to other things, but I liked what I did read. Ruth writes about a *very* confusing time period, but knows it well. I can think of only two other novels that tackled the era immediately after Alexander’s death: Mary Renault’s Funeral Games (and I split from the pack by liking it perhaps best of her Alexander series), and Jo Graham’s Stealing Fire. So I really liked that Ruth took on that too-often overlooked period, and her knowledge of Greece from having lived there is very much in evidence.

I do hope to get back to finish the novels.

As for his sisters and niece, I write about both Kleopatra and Thessalonike, and to a slightly less degree Kynnane in Dancing with the Lion. Kleopatra is even a POV character (and will continue to be, going forward). I think Kleopatra may be one of the more underappreciated women at the court. *grin*Beth Carney wrote a pretty good article called “The SIsters of Alexander of Alexander the Great: Royal Relics,” Historia 37.4 (1988), 385-404. In it, she examines the straits in which these women had to operate, which ended up pitting some of them against each other.

Of them, Kleopatra probably had the greatest freedom, being a widow, and regent for her children, but even so, notice how after her brother’s death, and her mothers, she has to find someone to protect her. I’ve often thought poor Thessalonike didn’t have much choice about marrying Kassandros. Notice the internicene bloodshed between her second son and the youngest, “Alexander.” Kynnane was just trying to keep her daughter and herself alive. She succeeded in the former, at least, for a time. Hadea’s marriage to her uncle preserved her life, but also necessitated her siding against her cousin Alex IV.

#Alexander the Great #Ruth Kozak #Successor Wars #Alexander the Great's sisters #Kleopatra of Macedon #Thessalonike #Kynnane #Hadea Eurydike #asks

[jeannereames]

So, one of the theories about the Amphipolis tomb is that it's Olympias', not Hephaistion's. But I thought that Kassander denied her burial? Also, I read that Kassander eventually decided to give Alexander IV proper burial rights, what do you think became of Roxanne's body?

Olympias was buried at Pydna. If she was dug up and moved later (possible), it would have been to Aigai (and there is a Greek archaeologists who thinks he’s found that tomb, although I’m skeptical if not unconvinced). The same would apply to Roxane. As a king’s wife, she’d be buried at Aigai.

It was *required* for the new king to give the prior one proper burial righrs, whatever their feelings about each other. So if Kassandros wanted to become king, he had to bury BOTH Arrhidaios/Hadea Eurydike AND Alexander IV.

I’ve said a couple times that given the color scheme of the pebble mosaic in the Kasta Tomb (Amphipolis), I don’t think it’s a 4th century tomb. I think it’s 3rd century at the earliest, and belongs to the Antigonid period. It certainly was built by somebody rich (and likely prominent), but I doubt it’s a figure from Alexander’s time.

#Alexander the Great #Olympias #Kasta Tomb #Amphipolis #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #asks

[jeannereames]

I was reading a new biographical book I got about Alexander and the authors mention how Olympias got her new name when Philip won the Olympic Games and that “the same day — if we accept the usual synchronism — of august 356, Alexander was born.” so I’m a bit confused considering I’ve always read he was born in July and in your book she’s still called Myrtalē when he’s a pre-teen

Okay, first, whoever the author is didn’t pay close attention to what the actual ancient source says. Philip wasn’t in Pella when Alexander was born. He was off fighting a battle. So he received three pieces of good news on the same day: Parmenion had won a major campaign, his chariot had won at Olympia, and his wife had borne him a son. All this news no doubt came with one message ship/runner, but that doesn’t mean they all happened at the same time. He just heard about it all at the same time. In antiquity, news traveled slowly.

To celebrate the news, he awarded the mother of his new son a “throne name”: Olympias. Macedonian women sometimes took, or were given, new names. Olympias herself had FOUR, in her lifetime (Polyxena, Myrtale, Olympias, and Stratonike). Hadea, daughter of Kynanne took the throne name Eurydike, as, apparently, did Philip’s last wife, also born a Kleopatra. Both choices were to honor Philip’s mother, Eurydike, although we don’t know if that was her given name, or one she assumed. In short, it’s unclear when “throne names” took off. They’re popular more in the Hellenistic period.

Also, “throne name” is a bit of a misnomer in Philippos’s day. Macedonians didn’t use thrones until Alexander…maybe Philip. In the novels, I mention Philippos has one; Hephaistion thinks it’s Asian, and cheeky. Only gods (and their priest/esses) sat in thrones, in Greece. It was an Asian “conceit.” Also, up to at least Philippos, these were “wives of the king,” NOT “queens.” Carney has shown definitively that “basileia” is a Hellenistic term.

ANYway, in the novel, I have Alexander’s mother REJECT “Olympias” because Philippos gave it to her, and continue to prefer “Myrtale” because the God (e.g., Dionysos) gave her that one. And gods are higher than kings. Only those not close to her call her “Olympias” in the novels (including Hephaistion).

That was deliberate, of course. One’s name is one’s identity. Myrtale struggles to maintain her sense of herself (as physician, midwife, and priestess) against Philippos’s erasing her identity to make her just another wife, and renaming her.

It’s not unlike the quandary facing modern women: to take their husband’s last name, to hyphenate it with their own, or just to keep their own. If they choose anything but the former, they’re often made fun of for “daring” to be their own person.

My Myrtale dares to be her own person. ;)

Of the totally random, I just realized, NOBODY seems to paint/draw/imagine Olympias as *blonde*, just black-haired or red-haired. That’s why I made her blonde in the novel. My Alexandros is a strawberry-blond. Philippos was (we think) dark. So Alexandros didn’t get that fair hair from nowhere. Yeah, I know a blondie can turn up from a recessive, but as it IS a recessive, I thought it made a helluva lot more sense for Olympias to be blonde, as well.

#Olympias #Myrtale #Macedonian royal women #Macedonian royal women's naming patterns #Eurydike #Kleopatra #ancient Macedonia #Alexander the Great #Classics #Philip of Macedon #asks