Thessalonike of Macedonia

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Thessalonike of Macedonia , Greek  Θεσσαλονίκη , (* approx. 352 to 340 BC; † 295 BC ) was the daughter of King Philip II, a Macedonian princess who, in the struggle for the successor of her half-brother Alexander the Great , the so-called Diadoch Wars , played a not insignificant role.

One can only deduce the year of her birth by taking her name as a basis: it is made up of “Thessalia” and “Nike” ( Greek  νίκη - victory), so that one can assume that she was given it because of a victory of the Macedonians that day of her birth in Thessaly . The years 352/1 or after 345 come into consideration. The fact that she did not get married before 316 speaks for a later year, which of course may also be due to the unfortunate circumstances of her life. Because when her mother Nikesipolis , born in Pherai , a concubine of Philip, died soon after her birth, the child was probably brought up at court by his stepmother Olympias , who after the early death of the father did not necessarily care about good family relations of the strange child got to. Nothing is known about her relationship with the half-brother Alexander.

As a result, Thessalonike probably shared the fate of her stepmother. Olympias returned in 317 BC. BC returned from Epirus to Macedonia to take control there, but met the resistance of Kassander , who besieged the royal family in Pydna and later had the old queen executed. Thessalonike also came under his control, and in order to strengthen his own legitimacy, he married in 316 BC. With her. In 315 BC Chr. Was Cassander at the Thermaic Gulf by synoecism build a city, which he named after his wife. Today's Thessaloniki soon developed into the most important city in the entire region next to Kassandria , the capital of Chalkidiki .

The marriage with Kassander had three sons, the later Macedonian kings Philip IV , Alexander V and Antipater I. After the king's death in 297 BC. As regent, Thessalonike apparently gained some influence over her sons until Antipater had her killed in 295/4 because she preferred the younger son, Alexander.

Individual proof

  1. ↑ Badian stands up for the older date, and Berve for the younger one

literature

See also

personal data
SURNAME Thessalonike of Macedonia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Macedonian princess
DATE OF BIRTH around 342 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 295 BC Chr.