Hermeias of Caria

Hermeias ( Greek  Ἑρμείας ; † late autumn 220 BC ) was the highest court minister of the Seleucid king Antiochus III. of the great .

Hermeias came from the province of Caria and already served in the retinue of King Seleucus III. up. From this he was 223 BC. He was entrusted with the management of state affairs in Syria when the king set out on a campaign to Asia Minor , on which he was immediately murdered. His prominent position at the top of the state could Hermeias when the young Antiochus III came to power. claim, whereby he pursued primarily self-interest and eliminated every possible competitor for power. This arbitrary regiment provoked the defection of the governors Achaios in Asia Minor and Molon in media , who elevated themselves to kings. Instead of addressing their immediate submission, Hermeias urged the king to campaign against the Ptolemies in order to conquer the province of Koilesyria . As a pretext for this attack he faked an alleged alliance between Ptolemy IV and the apostate Achaios. Only three lower-ranking generals were sent against Molon, while Antiochus III. even as Hermeias intended to move to Koilesyria. But after the generals succumbed to Molon and the king had to withdraw from Koile Syria due to excessive resistance, the power of the chief minister began to wane.

Within the royal council, the respected general Epigenes was able to prevail against Hermeias and change the king's mind to campaign against Molon. The rival was immediately eliminated by a riot of the mercenary troops from the Kyrrhestike due to outstanding pay payments, whereupon Epigenes had to be dismissed by the king and was killed shortly afterwards on the instructions of Hermeias. The campaign against Molon was nevertheless carried out, which was successfully ended with a victory in the Battle of Apollonia , in which Hermeias commanded the left wing of the army together with Zeuxis .

Encouraged by this victory, Antiochus III. made the decision to undertake a lengthy campaign in the Central Asian provinces (anabasis) in order to recapture them to the Seleucid Empire after they had fallen away in the previous years. Hermeias was again opposed to these plans and favored a resumption of the war against the Ptolemies. But when he heard of the birth of Prince Antiochus , he agreed to the king's plan in the secret hope that he would fall in the fight against the barbarians or that he himself would find an opportunity to eliminate the king by assassination. Then he could take over the de facto sole rule over the Seleucid Empire as the guardian of the underage prince. The king, however, was warned of the plot by his personal physician in good time and Hermeias was surprised by his friends while attempting an assassination attempt during a morning walk and killed immediately. His end was seen by the population as liberation from tyranny, in Apamea his wife and sons were publicly stoned to death by the angry crowd.

From the historian Polybius , the only source of Hermeias' life, a thoroughly negative character image of the court minister has come down, according to which he tried to dominate the young king completely, won supporters by means of bribery and met opposition against him with terror. After his end, Antiochus III. never again become so dependent on any of his followers.

literature

• John D. Grainger: A Seleukid Prosopography and Gazetteer. 1997, p. 93.
• Kay Ehling: Unrest, uprisings and movements of the people of Phenicia, Syria and Cilicia under the Seleucids. In: Historia: magazine for ancient history . Vol. 52 (2003), pp. 300-336.

Remarks

1. ↑ For the dating of the date of death see Ehling, p. 315.
2. ↑ Polybios 5, 41, 1-3.
3. ↑ Polybios 5, 41, 4; 42, 1-4.
4. ↑ Polybios 5, 42, 7.
5. ↑ Polybios 5, 42, 5-9; 45, 6.
6. ↑ Polybios 5:49.
7. ↑ Polybios 5:50 .
8. ↑ Polybios 5, 53, 6.
9. ↑ Polybios 5, 55, 3-5.
10. ↑ Polybios 5:56.