Menelaus of the Pelagons

Menelaus the Pelagons ( Greek Μενέλαος Πϵλαγών ) was probably a prince of the Upper Macedonian landscape of Lynkestis in the 4th century BC.

Menelaus is known from two inscriptions that date back to 363/2 and 360 BC. To date. In the first inscription from Athens , he is honored for his military and financial support on the Chalkidike peninsula against Macedonia as a "benefactor" ( ϵὐεϱγέτης ; Euergētes ). He is also called here with the ethnicon "the pelagons" ( Πϵλαγών ; Pelagōn ). The second inscription is a decree of the Ilians , who made Menelaus an honorary citizen. In it he is referred to by the nickname "the Athenian" ( Αθηναος ; Athenaios ), probably in memory of his support for Athens, which is likely to have earned him the honor of attic citizenship.

Menelaus is identified in historical research as a prince of Lynkestis. His father's name ( patronymic ) "Arrhabaios", recorded in the inscription of Ilion, is used as an indication of this . It dates from around 400 to 390 BC. Prince Arrhabaius II of Lynkestis is identified. Menelaus was probably around 363 BC. By the Macedonian king Perdiccas III. were driven out of the Lynkestis, whereupon this landscape fell under the direct Macedonian rule. He is likely to have taken his exile in Athens, with which his ancestors were already connected.

literature

Fritz Geyer: Macedonia up to Philip II's accession to the throne. In: Historische Zeitschrift , Vol. 30 (1930), pp. 1–148 (for Menelaos, pp. 81–82).
AB Bosworth: Philip II and Upper Macedonia , In: The Classical Quarterly , Vol. 21 (1971), pp. 93-105 (for Menelaus, p. 98).

Remarks

^ Wilhelm Dittenberger : Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum (3rd edition, 1915-1924), no. 174 = Inscriptiones Graecae II² 110 . This inscription was placed on a marble tablet on the Acropolis, which is now in the Epigraphic Museum of Athens ( Inv. EM 7024 ).
^ Wilhelm Dittenberger: Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum (3rd edition, 1915-1924), No. 188 = Peter Fritsch: The inscriptions of Ilion (1975), No. 23.

personal data
SURNAME	Menelaus of the Pelagons
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Μενέλαος Πϵλαγών
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Prince of Lynkestis
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	4th century BC Chr.

[1] Wilhelm Dittenberger : Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum (3rd edition, 1915-1924), no. 174 = Inscriptiones Graecae II² 110 . This inscription was placed on a marble tablet on the Acropolis, which is now in the Epigraphic Museum of Athens ( Inv. EM 7024 ).

[2] Wilhelm Dittenberger: Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum (3rd edition, 1915-1924), No. 188 = Peter Fritsch: The inscriptions of Ilion (1975), No. 23.