Philippos (son of Balakros)

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Philippos ( Greek  Φίλιππος ), son of Balakros, was a general of Alexander the great in the 4th century BC.

During Alexander's Balkan campaign in 335 BC Philippos is first mentioned when he and Meleager led the conquered train of the Geten back to Macedonia . At the beginning of the Asian campaign in 334 BC He led a taxis of the pezhetairoi in the battle of Granikos . In the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC He is named by Diodor and Curtius Rufus in command of the Amyntas battalion of the pezhetairoi , although Arrian names Simmias , the brother of Amyntas, in this position . However, historical research tends towards the statements of Diodor and Curtius Rufus, since Simmias was probably too young and inexperienced for this important battle to be in command of a taxi in the Macedonian phalanx.

Philippos, son of Balakros, is no longer mentioned after Gaugamela, Amyntas had taken over command of his unit again. Waldemar Heckel thinks it is possible, however, that Philip is identical with the bodyguard of the same name ( somatophylax ) of King Alexander IV Aigos and later follower of Demetrios Poliorketes , who is named in an inscription in Athens . So Philip would have extended beyond the Asia campaign up to about 301 BC. Lived.

Family origin

Waldemar Heckel thinks it is likely that Philippus was the son of the Alexander bodyguard and satrap of Cilicia , Balakros, son of Nikanor , from an earlier first marriage. The second wife of that Balakros, Phila, daughter of Antipater , may have been too young as his mother. Philippos would also have had an older full brother named Nikanor, who would have been identical to the later strategos of Antigonos Monophthalmos ( Nikanor ).

 
 
 
 
 Nikanor
 
 
 
 
 
 Antigonos Monophthalmos
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
?
 
 Balacros
 
 Phila
 
 Demetrios Poliorketes
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nikanor
 
 Philip
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Antipater
Thraseas
Balacros
 
 
 
 
 
 

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 1, 4, 5.
  2. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 1, 14, 2-3.
  3. ↑ Diodorus 17:57, 3; Curtius Rufus 4, 13, 28; Arrian, Anabasis 3, 11, 9.
  4. ↑ Inscriptiones Graecae II² 561 (Athens Epigraphic Museum).
  5. ↑ For Nikanor, son of Balakros, see Suda N 376 .

literature

  • AB Bosworth: A New Macedonian Prince. In: The Classical Quarterly. Vol. 44: 57-65 (1994).
  • Waldemar Heckel: Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great. Prosopography of Alexander's empire . Blackwell, Oxford 2006, ISBN 978-1-4051-1210-9 , pp. 211-212.
  • Waldemar Heckel: Nicanor Son of Balacrus. In: Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. Vol. 47 (2007), pp. 401-412 ( PDF file ).
personal data
SURNAME Philip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Macedonian general
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 4th century BC BC or 3rd century BC Chr.