Aiacids
The Aiakiden ( ancient Greek Αἰακίδαι ) were the ruling dynasty of the tribe of the Molossians in ancient Epeiros . The family represented from the 5th to the middle of the 3rd century BC. The kings of the Molossians and at the same time the leaders ( hēgemṓn ) of the united Epiroten .
The Homeric hero Neoptolemus , son of Achilles, was considered the mythological ancestor of the Aiakids in antiquity . After his nickname "Pyrrhos" (the redhead, head of fire), the dynasty was also known under the name "Pyrrhiden" ( Πυρρίδαι ). The name "Aiakiden", however, refers to Aiakos , son of Zeus , the great grandfather of Neoptolemus. The first historically tangible Aiakide was King Tharyps , who, according to Pausanias , is said to have been a descendant of Neoptolemus in the fifteenth generation. The most famous member of the family, however, was Pyrrhos I , who invaded Italy and came into conflict with the Romans. After the death of King Ptolemy , the Molossians abolished the monarchy and the Epirotic symmachy developed into a republican alliance ( koinon ).
Alexander the Great was also a descendant of the Aiakids on his mother's side. He had given this relationship a high personal value, as he could also count his great role model Achilles among his ancestors.
The rulers from the Aiakid family
| Surname | Government data |
| Tharyps (tharypas) | until 390/85 BC Chr. |
| Alketas I. | approx. 385-370 |
| Neoptolemus I. | 370 - approx. 360/58 |
| Arybbas | 370-343 / 2 |
| Alexander I. | 343 / 2-331 / 30 |
| Aiakides | approx. 320-317 |
| Alcetas II | 313 / 2-306 |
| Neoptolemus II. | 331 / 30-312 and 302-297 / 6 |
| Pyrrhus I. | 306-302 and 297-272 |
| Alexander II | 272-245 / 40 |
| Pyrrhus II | 245/40 - approx. 233 |
| Olympias | 245/40 - approx. 231 |
| Ptolemy | approx. 233 - approx. 231 |
|
End of the monarchy League of the Epiroten |
from approx. 231 BC Chr. |
Family tree of the Aiakids (simplified)
swell
See also
literature
- Peter Robert Franke : Old Epirus and the kingship of the Molossians . Kallmütz & Lassleben, 1955.
- Susanne Funke: Aiakid myth and epiphany royalty. The way of a Hellenic monarchy . Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-515-07611-5