#philip ii of Macedon

[gemsofgreece]

Photos from the Palace of Aegae (~ 350 BC), the royal residence of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, in Aegae, Imathia, Greece. The site can be visited after being closed for many years but it is still under reconstruction works.

Source of the mosaic close-up

Source of the rest of the photos

[jeannereames]

How important was it, really, that Alexander didn't have more brothers? He had Karanos, and it there's the gossip that ATG or his mother killed the boy. Philip Arridhaios apparently wasn't seen as a direct challenge and ATG kept him around. But if Philip had more healthy male offspring around Alexander's age, would that have threatened his hold on power, the partition of the empire or even the military campaigns themselves (the brothers becoming generals for example)?

Philip’s (Lack of) Sons

So, first I need to correct the bit about Karanos. He didn’t exist. Justin gave baby Europē a sex-change. No historian reports two children for Kleopatra Eurydikē, and Justin alone names a boy. We get two children when modern historians try to reconcile Justin and Diodoros/others. But Justin gets things wrong a lot. So, where Justin disagrees with other historians, I’ll go with the others (especially if it’s more than one). Justin wasn’t simply epitomizing Pompeius Trogus; he had his own agendas and themes, so he changed things when it suited him.

Therefore, “Karanos” = Europē,* born just a few days (maybe a week or two) before Philip’s murder.

The wives and children of Philip are reported in a fragment from Satyrus preserved in Athenaeus (13.557b-c). Of his (living) children, we have four girls (Kynannē, Kleopatra, Thessalonikē, and Europē), and only two boys (Arrhidaios and Alexander).

I specify living because ancient accounts don’t usually list children who died young unless it somehow impacted events. So, the murder of Europē, which led to the suicide of Kleopatra Eurydikē, means Europē got a mention whereas if she’d died of some childhood disease, we’d probably not hear about her.

Ergo, it’s possible Philip did sire other children who simply didn’t survive long enough to make it into the histories—especially if they’d been born (and died) in his earlier years. In Dancing with the Lion, I invented a son (Menelaos) by the shadowy Phila of Elimeia, who died young, specifically to illustrate that point.

The two-to-four ratio of boys to girls suggests Philip fathered girls more than boys. Would more boys have endangered Alexander’s place? Certainly, if they were around his age. But not if they were notably younger—another point I make in Dancing with the Lion: why Alexander is less upset by Philip’s seventh marriage than his mother. The chance that Kleopatra Eurydike might bear a male child threatened Olympias’s position far more than Alexander’s. Even some of my colleagues seem to forget that. While yes, sons and mothers did form a political unit at polygamous courts, that doesn’t mean that threats to the mother’s status necessarily entailed threats to a son’s. Philip’s marriage to Kleopatra Eurydikē was just such a case. Any son she produced would’ve been so far behind Alexander in achievements (and thus, a shot at the throne), that the marriage was no threat—which is why he attended the wedding. That makes events at the wedding very curious indeed! And convinces me that we don’t even begin to have the whole story there.

I made up some things in Rise (no spoilers), precisely because we don’t know and I had to come up with something that didn’t make Alexander into a reactionary rube. Too often people point to him as a “hotheaded youth” who made a mountain out of a molehill at his mother’s instigation. Folks, he was eighteen or nineteen. Hotheaded (always), but not some little kid to jump at shadows and Mommy’s tales. Something truly threatening generated that level of reaction from him (and beyond what Diodoros relates at the wedding). It wasn’t fear of being replaced by an as-yet-not-even-conceived infant brother--unless Philip had other reasons to replace him, and there weren’t any … on the face of it.

Anyway, I want to end by pointing to the Big Pink Elephant in the room that way too many people seem to forget….

AMYNTAS PERDIKKA was Alexander’s chief rival, not Arrhidaios or a fictional infant brother. Amyntas was older than Alexander, the only son of Philip’s older brother Perdikkas (III), who’d been king before Philip. Amyntas didn’t become king when his father died in battle precisely because he was only about a year old, while Philip was c. 23/24, and the kingdom was in crisis. Being a baby was also why Philip didn’t kill him. He needed an heir until he could father his own.**

So despite being the eldest Argead after Philip and the legitimate son of a former king, Amyntas spent his life as “the spare.” Imagine the resentment that would have generated. It’s not an accident that Alexander had him killed inside six months of taking the throne. And it’s probably in that time frame that Amyntas would’ve staged a bid for the throne himself. After all, not only was he an Argead, with military experience, he was married to Philip’s eldest child, who was already pregnant, showing he was fertile. He had a really good claim.

Such a clearing out of competing Argeads was standard for any new king’s first year or so. It’s what whittled down available Argead males from the five sons (and progeny) of Alexandros I to just three at Philip’s death, a hundred years later: Amyntas, Alexander, and Arrhidaios. Alexander wasn’t unique in house-cleaning. Philip had killed his three half-brothers upon taking the throne, keeping only Amyntas, his nephew. This was so typical it’s of note that Alexandros II not only didn’t get rid of Perdikkas (III) or Philip (II), but kept around his half-brothers too. It was the exception, not the rule (perhaps because all of them were still too young to be a threat?).

So basically, given Argead patterns, the survival of male siblings/cousins depended on a couple things:

The age of the sibling(s)/cousins. Siblings and half-siblings who were notably younger were likely to be spared if they didn’t appear to offer an immediate threat. After all, the new king needed an heir until he could father his own.

The apparent competence of the sibling(s)/cousins. Arrhidaios is our best evidence for this: Alexander took him with him to Asia to keep an eye on him—prevent his use as a stooge in a coup—but he otherwise kept him alive.

The king’s personal relationship with the sibling(s)/cousins. This is obviously very hard to determine, as our sources may not tell us, or not tell us honestly, but even if it’s hard, that doesn’t mean we should neglect it as a possible motivating factor. It may, in fact, explain why Alexander II (Philip’s older brother) didn’t kill his siblings. He may have loved them (and them, him). While we can’t say from the evidence, we also shouldn’t dismiss that as a possible motivating factor.

Here's an earlier posts about Amyntas, btw.

AMYNTAS PERDIKKA

* The names themselves are a give-away. “Europē,” like “Thessalonikē” was bestowed in celebration of Philip’s military victories. By contrast, “Karanos” (which means generic “chief”) isn’t a royal Macedonian name at all. Bill Greenwalt talks about the name’s significance in one of his articles, but I can’t now recall which.

** There is some question as to whether Amyntas was ever king, however briefly, due to a reference to an “Amyntas IV.” But many of us believe that was part of a challenge to Alexander later, not proof that Amyntas was king briefly, and Philip his regent.

[elfinfen]

Philip II of Macedon for Charlene Ferlay ⭐️ This image belongs to the story "La Flèche d'Artémis" ("Arrow of Artemis"; you can read it on Wattpad in French).

[charleneferlay]

Kleitos the Black

Art by TheAngelIncarnate on Instagram, for my story La Flèche d'Artémis !

He looks angry and tbh he is often angry! However, he's probably the character of the cast who is the most into caring for everyone else.

What we know about him is that is the brother of Lanike, Alexander's nurse, and that he had a brilliant career as a cavalry officer until Alexander killed him in a drunken quarrel. The quarrel reveals that Kleitos was loyal to Alexander's father Philip.

More below about Kleitos in my novel.

In Pressfield's The virtues of war, Kleitos is shown as Philip's eromenos and I really liked this idea, especially since Philip was older but not *that much* older.

In my story, Kleitos and Philippos were hostages in Thebai together, in the same house, with Kleitos looking up to the older prince. They later met again when Kleitos came to Pella as a royal page, in the last weeks of Perdikkas' reign. He followed the new regent of Makedonia as his royal page and they started a relationship in the dangerous first month when basically Everyone Wanted To Invade Macedonia. Their relationship was officially Philippos' longest time with one of his page, lasting for two years until he was discarded because of his age.

Very few people know that their relationship never stopped and, at forty and thirty five, they are still together, hiding because dating a grown man is not the best move for someone who wants a military career. They also ditched the eromenos/erastes thing a long time ago and define themselves as equals in the bedroom, though they are very secretive about this.

Because of his bond with Philippos, Kleitos' sister was selected to become Alexandros' nurse and Kleitos always played an important role as a mentor, like a surrogate uncle. He is usually the one Alexandros goes to when he needs to talk to a fatherly figure, since Alexandros and Philippos have a very complicated relationship; the teenager doesn't know about the long lasting love story between the two men until the end of the first book, and let's say that's a discovery that didn't go well.

[alexjcrowley]

Guys is this a safe space to say that Demosthenes and Philip II should have fucked nasty

[gilbertledino]

Philip II : For the last time, Alexander, you cannot be a part of this family if you are a satanist!

Alexander : ...

Alexander : I was literally just eating a salad.

[whimsimarion]

Demosthenes talking about Philip II of Macedon.

Click below for "artist rendering" and for the reference (and yes, it's a Hazbin Hotel reference).

Artist Rendering:

Reference:

[siegeperilousgalahad]

"Such was the end of Philip, who had made himself the greatest of the kings of Europe in his time, and because of the extent of his kingdom had made himself a throned companion of the twelve gods"

Diodorus Siculus book 16.

[tanz423]

Some Guy: I wouldn't touch that with a 20 foot pole!

Philip II of Macedon: ...what did you just say?

[coolunspokenforname]

Okay, but like, what did Alexander the 'Great' even do? The nepo baby gets an army, kills his cousin, and conquers an empire? Like, good job? But I bet your dad would have done better.

[classicalshorts]

More than Classical

Ever wonder what happened to Athens after her defeat in the Peloponnesian War?

If you’re curious, please check out my review for World History Encyclopedia on Ian Worthington’s, Athens After Empire.

[toumpasebay]

Philip II of Macedon Pendant Necklace Ancient Silver Greek Macedonian Coin.

[jeannereames]

Well, well, well ... more evidence that Tomb II is not Philip II, but (probably) Philip Arrhidaios and Hadea Eurydikē.

Maybe it's time to dust off my "Who's Buried in Philip's Tomb?" public lecture. Anybody at a department with money to bring in a guest lecturer and Macedonian specialist? :-)

[xbexfreexx]

Who killed my father?

You rare no blood to that man.

[charleneferlay]

The four boys <3

The four portraits painted by @elfinfen for my novel!

Orestis (hunter of Artemis sent to protect Alexandros) gets the night, with white as his main color and night blue as the second; Hephaistion for dawn, wearing night blue and white; Alexandros as day in beige, bronze and dark red, and Philippos with his own background in dark red, bronze and beige. You may notice Alexandros is the only one looking up, because he's way smaller than everyone else XD

Which one is your favorite?

[blueiscoool]

Second Ancient Statue Found at Bulgaria’s Heraclea Sintica Site

Heraclea Sintica, Bulgaria – Archaeologists have unearthed a second large statue in a sewer in the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica, founded by King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. This discovery comes just months after the July 2024 finding of a near-intact statue, believed to represent the god Hermes, in the same sewer system.

The newly discovered statue, like its predecessor, is made of marble and is significantly large. It was found face down in the eastern section of the sewer, close to the location of the Hermes statue.

Professor Ludmil Vagalinski, who is leading the excavation, stated that while the second statue shares a similar artistic style with the first, it presents new challenges for researchers. Notably, the head of the statue was missing. Several days later the head was found in the sewer.

The discovery of the first statue in July fueled speculation that it had been deliberately hidden during the transition from paganism to Christianity. This theory suggests that the owners buried the statue to avoid its destruction.

The proximity of the second statue to the first raises further questions about their placement and purpose. Archaeologists are now working to determine the identity of the subject depicted in the second statue and its connection to the first.

The statue identified as Hermes, initially thought to date back to the 2nd century AD, is now believed to be older, potentially dating back to the 1st century BC. This revised dating, along with a closer examination of the statue’s features, has led some to believe it may not depict Hermes at all, but rather a ruler or another significant figure of that era.

Both statues are significant finds, offering invaluable insights into the history and culture of Heraclea Sintica, a city founded by Philip II between 356 and 339 BC, now located in southwestern Bulgaria.