Alexander I (Macedonia)

Alexander I ( Greek  Ἀλέξανδρος Α ' ) was king of Macedonia from around 498/497 to around 454 BC. He was the son of Amyntas I and father of Alketas II , Perdiccas II , Philip and Stratonice.

According to Herodotus , he was an opponent of Persia before his reign , who had the ambassadors of the Persian king Darius I killed when they came to his father's court at the time of the Ionian uprising . During the invasion of Greece by Darius' son Xerxes I , however, he was forced to submit to the Persians and acted as the representative of the Persian governor Mardonios in the peace negotiations after the Persian defeat at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Despite his collaboration with Persia, he often supported and advised the Greeks, warning them of Mardonios' plans for the Battle of Plataeae in 479 BC. After the end of the Persian Wars, Alexander regained independence for Macedonia.

Although Macedonia was viewed by the Greeks as a semi-barbaric state, Alexander claimed for himself and for the royal family a Greek descent from Argos , due to which he and his family, but not the simple Macedonians who were not Greeks, were allowed to participate in the Olympics Play to participate. He designed his court after the Athenian model and was a patron of the poet Pindar .

swell

• Herodotus , Histories 5: 17-22; 8,139.
• Hieronymus , Chronicon (The Merton manuscript) , Folio 96 recto – Folio 97 verso.
• Junianus Justinus 7.2-4.

literature

• Julius Kaerst : Alexandros 8 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 1411 f.

Web links

• Macedonia at the time of Alexander I (map) ( Memento from November 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

predecessor	Office	successor
Amyntas I.	King of Macedonia approx. 498/497 – approx. 454 BC Chr.	Alcetas II