Eurydice (Macedonia)

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Eurydice , actually Adea (Greek: Εὐρυδίκη; * around 335 BC; † 317 BC ), was the daughter and wife of Macedonian kings from the house of the Argeads . She was a daughter of King Amyntas IV and the Kynane , who in turn was a daughter of King Philip II .

Life

origin

Adea's father was ousted from the rule of Macedonia by his uncle, Philip II, as a child, but remained a member of the royal court. After Philip II in 336 BC Was murdered and his son, Alexander the Great , took over the throne, Amyntas IV was eliminated by him as a possible competitor for power. Adea was born months after her father's death. She was trained in the arts of war by her mother, who was of Illyrian origin on her mother's side .

After Alexander's death in 323 BC In Babylon , Kynane moved with her daughter over the Hellespont to Asia to live with her uncle, the weak-minded King Philip III. Arrhidaius to marry. Kynane was intercepted and murdered by Alketas , the brother of the regent Perdiccas , but the Macedonian warriors of Perdiccas revolted and insisted on the royal marriage. Perdiccas had to agree. At the wedding, Adea took the Macedonian name Eurydice. After the death of Perdiccas in the first Diadoch war in 320 BC. BC Eurydice began to intervene actively in politics on behalf of her husband. At the conference of Triparadeisos she arranged for the deposition of the short-term rulers Arrhidaios and Peithon , probably with the intention of taking over the government of the Alexander Empire themselves . However, the Macedonian army assembly elected the old general Antipater , who had already exercised the authority in Macedonia, as the new regent of the empire, who knew how to bend Eurydice's will.

Second Diadoch War

Antipater led her back to Macedonia, as did the entire royal family. The regent died there in 319 BC. After which the second Diadoch war broke out between his successor, Polyperchon , and his son Kassander .

Eurydice's ambition to use this war to strengthen her husband's royal authority contributed to a split within the royal family. The reason for this lay in the succession plan for Alexander the great laid down by the generals . In addition to Philip III. Arrhidaios also raised the child Alexander IV Aigos , son of Alexander the great, to the rank of king with equal rights. Since both kings were unable to rule , various factions now used their names to gain political advantage. Within the royal family, this led to a struggle for sole rule. The opponent of Eurydikes was her step-grandmother Olympias , who stood up for her grandson Alexander IV Aigos and her step-son, Philip III. Arrhidaios, despised. Olympias was in a far better position, since she and the regent Polyperchon had common interests as enemies of Kassander.

The war was mainly fought in Greece, Cassander's power base. At the same time, his ally Antigonus Monophthalmos fought against the royal strategist Eumenes in Asia . In 317 BC Chr. Took Eurydice's side and appointed Kassander in the name of her husband as the new regent, thereby giving his claims a legal basis and the support of his family for herself. The opposing party reacted immediately, Olympias returned to Macedonia with his army from their long exile in Epirus . Eurydice raised her own army with Nikanor, a brother of Kassander, at the head, and went to meet her. The armies of the two queens met at Euïa (unknown location). Before the battle, Eurydice's troops ran over to Olympias, who as the mother of Alexander the Great had a higher reputation among the Macedonian warriors.

On Olympias' orders, Eurydice and her husband were imprisoned. Philip III Arrhidaios was soon killed. Eurydice was forced to commit suicide by Olympias, either with a sword, a rope or with poison. Instead, Eurydice hanged herself with her belt.

The second diadoch war resulted in the end of the Macedonian royal family of the Argeads. Since Olympias persecuted the Kassander family, the latter went in 316 BC. On the offensive, Polyperchon struck back on the Peloponnese and set Olympias prisoner in Pydna . After a trial, he had her executed. He then had King Alexander IV arrested Aigos and his mother Roxane , in order to kill them in 309 BC. To eliminate.

Eurydice, Philip III. Arrhidaios and Kynane were buried in the royal tombs of Vergina .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arrian Anabasis 1.5.4
  2. ↑ Duris FrGrHist 76 F52
  3. ↑ Diodorus 19.52.5
  4. ↑ Arrian Tà metà Aléxandron 1.22-23
  5. ↑ Arrian Tà metà Aléxandron 1.33
  6. ↑ Diodorus 18.39.3-4
  7. ↑ Justin 14.5.1-3
  8. ↑ Diodorus November 19, 1-7; Justin 14.5.8-10
personal data
SURNAME Eurydice
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Εὐρυδίκη, Adea
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Daughter of Amyntas IV., Wife of Philip III. Arrhidaios
DATE OF BIRTH around 335 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 317 BC Chr.