Philotas

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Philotas ( Greek Φιλώτας ; † 330 BC ) was a general of Alexander the Great of Macedonia , who, however, eventually fell out of favor with him and was executed.

Life

Origin and youth

Philotas came from the highest Macedonian nobility. He was the eldest son of Parmenion , one of the most important loyal followers and generals of King Philip II . His brothers were Nikanor and Hector, a sister unknown by name was married to the general Attalus (an enemy of Alexander) and Koinos . Philotas did not belong to the circle of youth companions ( syntrophoi ) of Prince Alexander. Rather, he was a companion of Amyntas IV , the king who was ousted by Philip II. 336 BC He was named as a witness of Philip II after he had banished Alexander from court in the course of the Pixodaros affair . Presumably Philotas served the old king as an informant about the unauthorized actions of the prince, which throws a rather negative light on the relationship between him and Alexander.

Philotas' military career under Alexander

In the first years of the Asian campaign , Philotas, as Hipparchus, commanded the Macedonian horsemen and, together with his father Parmenion, was largely responsible for the implementation of the Asian campaign and the battles (e.g. at Granikos, Arr. 1, 14.1; at the siege of Milet, Arr. 1, 19,8; in Gaugamela, Arr. 3, 11, 8). His brother Nikanor commanded the Hypaspists, a special elite unit of foot soldiers. During the stay in Egypt in 332/331 BC BC he confided to his mistress Antigone that Alexander owed the great victories against the Persians to him and his father alone. Without him the king is nothing but a child. Antigone reported these statements to the general Krateros , who in turn communicated them to Alexander. These verbal attacks on the king's reputation caused displeasure within the army command, and Philotas was even reprimanded by his father for not making himself taller than he was. Alexander himself did not draw any conclusions from this. Brother Hector died in Egypt and was buried with full military honors. In the battle of Gaugamela Philotas was, as usual, the Hipparch of the Hetairenreiterei , the most important part of the army , although Alexander personally led this division into the battle. After the Persian great king Darius III. had fled, Philotas advised against a pursuit in order to come to the aid of the troubled left wing of the army, which was led by his father. After capturing the Persis , Parmenion stayed in Ekbatana to ensure supplies for the onward army. With this, Philotas' father resigned from both the military leadership and the immediate followers of the king. Parmenion had previously attracted attention several times as a critic of the orientalization of the army promoted by Alexander and the move to the Asian East. When in the autumn of 330 BC When Nikanor had also died, Philotas received instructions from Alexander to take care of the burial of his brother in the province of Areia while the army moved on. With this, Philotas left the management staff for a short period of time.

Trial against Philotas

Philotas rejoined the army when it was encamped in Phrada (now Farah ), the capital of the Drangiana province . There he received reports from the soldier Kebalinos about a conspiracy of several warriors around Dimnos , who intended to assassinate the king. Philotas should inform the king of this, since as a commanding officer he has access to him at least twice a day. Philotas, however, missed several opportunities to do so, which is why Kebalinos then successfully requested his own audience with Alexander, to whom he reported the assassination plan and those involved. The failure to report immediately suspected Philotas of having participated in the conspiracy, even if his name was not mentioned among the conspirators. Several officers such as Krateros and Hephaistion , with whom he had previously made himself unpopular because of his arrogance, as well as his own brother-in-law Koinos, immediately turned against him, Alexander demanded the death penalty in the subsequent proceedings before the army assembly. After it could not be proven that he had participated in the conspiracy, Philotas made a confession under torture, in which he also accused his father of complicity. The credibility of this admission has been questioned by ancient historians, given its circumstances.

Philotas was ultimately sentenced to death and executed. He was executed either by throwing a spear or by stoning . His position as leader of the hetaires was taken over by Hephaistion and Kleitus. His father Parmenion was also murdered shortly afterwards, probably to prevent a possible reprisal. Another reason for his execution was probably that he was the head of his family and therefore responsible for all actions of the family members.

Some researchers, however, describe the reasons for Philotas' execution as only fictitious. Ernst Badian , for example, is of the opinion that Philotas simply fell victim to an intrigue.

literature

For further references cf. the information in the Alexander article .

  • Ernst Badian: Conspiracies. In: AB Bosworth, EJ Baynham: Alexander the Great in Fact and Fiction. Oxford 2000, pp. 50-95, especially p. 64 ff.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Plutarch , Alexander 26.
  2. ↑ Arrian Anabasis 3.26.1; Plutarch, Alexander 48-49.
  3. ↑ Curtius Rufus 4,8,9.
  4. ↑ Arrian Anabasis 3, 11, 8; Diodorus 17,57,1.
  5. ↑ Curtius Rufus 6: 6,19.
  6. ↑ Curtius Rufus 6,7,17-23; Diodorus 17, 79, 3-4; Plutarch, Alexander 49.5-6.
  7. ↑ Curtius Rufus 6,7,15.
  8. ↑ Curtius Rufus 6, 7, 33-34.
  9. ↑ Curtius Rufus 6,9,7 and 6,11,10-23. The accusation of complicity against Parmenion by his own son is only brought forward in the sources that have survived in Curtius Rufus.

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personal data
SURNAME Philotas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION General under Alexander the Great
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century BC BC or 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 330 BC Chr.