Philip III of Macedon

Philip III Arrhidaeus
Philip III Arrhidaeus
King of Macedonia
	Tetradrachm of Philip III Arrhidaeus
Reign	traditional: 323–317 BC
Predecessor	Alexander III
Successor	Alexander IV
Spouse	Eurydice
Dynasty	Argead dynasty
Father	Philip II
Mother	Philinna of Larissa
Religion	Ancient Greek religion

Philip III Arrhidaeus (Template:Lang-grc; c. 359 BC – 25 December, 317 BC) reigned as king of Macedonia from after 11 June 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King Philip II of Macedonia by Philinna of Larissa, and thus an elder half-brother of Alexander the Great. Named Arrhidaeus at birth, he assumed the name Philip when he ascended to the throne.

As Arrhidaeus grew older it became apparent that he had mild learning difficulties. Plutarch was of the view that he became disabled by means of an attempt on his life by Philip II's wife, Queen Olympias, who wanted to eliminate a possible rival to her son, Alexander, through the employment of pharmaka (drugs/spells); however, most modern authorities doubt the truth of this claim.^[1]

Alexander was fond of Arrhidaeus and took him on his campaigns^{[citation needed]}, both to protect his life and to prevent his use as a pawn in any prospective challenge for the throne. After Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 BC, the Macedonian army in Asia proclaimed Arrhidaeus as king; however, he served merely as a figurehead and as the pawn of a series of powerful generals.

Biography

nomen or birth name

Philippos
in hieroglyphs

Era: Ptolemaic dynasty
(305–30 BC)

Even though Arrhidaeus and Alexander were about the same age, Arrhidaeus appears never to have been a danger as an alternative choice for Alexander's succession to Philip II; nevertheless, when the Persian satrap of Caria, Pixodarus, proposed his daughter in marriage to Philip, the king declined, offering his son Arrhidaeus as husband instead, and Alexander thought it prudent to block the dynastic union (which might have produced a possible future heir to Philip's domain before Alexander himself did), resulting in considerable irritation on the part of his father (337 BC)^{[citation needed]}. Arrhidaeus' whereabouts during the reign of his brother Alexander are unclear from the extant sources; what is certain is that no civil or military command was given to him in those thirteen years (336–323 BC).

He was in Babylon at the time of Alexander's death on 10 June 323 BC. A succession crisis ensued. Arrhidaeus was the most obvious candidate, but he was mentally unfit to rule. A conflict then arose between Perdiccas, leader of the cavalry, and Meleager, who commanded the phalanx: the first wanted to wait to see if Roxana, Alexander's pregnant wife, would deliver a male baby, while the second objected that Arrhidaeus was the closest living relative and so should be chosen king. Meleager was killed, and a compromise was engineered: Arrhidaeus would become king, with the name of Philip, and he would be joined by Roxana's yet-unborn child as co-sovereign should that child prove a male. This eventuality did indeed arise and resulted in Roxana's son, Alexander, becoming with his uncle Phillip III co-sovereign on the throne of Macedon. It was immediately decided that Philip Arrhidaeus would reign, but not rule: this was to be the prerogative of the new regent, Perdiccas.

When news arrived in Macedonia that Arrhidaeus had been chosen as king, Cynane, a daughter of Philip II, developed a plan to travel to Asia and offer the new king her daughter Eurydice for wife. This move was an obvious affront to the regent, whom Cynane had completely bypassed, and to prevent the marriage, Perdiccas sent his brother, Alcetas, to kill Cynane. The reaction among the troops generated by this murder was such that the regent had to give up his opposition to the proposed match and accept the marriage. From that moment on, Philip Arrhidaeus was to be under the sway of his bride, a proud and determined woman bent on substantiating her husband's power.

Eurydice's chance to increase her husband's power came when the first war of the Diadochi sealed the fate of Perdiccas, making a new settlement necessary. An agreement was made at Triparadisus in Syria in 320 BC. Eurydice moved deftly enough to achieve the removal of the first two designated regents, Peithon and Arrhidaeus, but was powerless to block the aspirations of Antipater, whose position proved too powerful, and the latter was made the new regent; Philip Arrhidaeus and Eurydice were forced to follow Antipater back to Macedonia.

The regent died of natural causes the following year, nominating as his successor not his son Cassander, but his friend and lieutenant, Polyperchon. Cassander's refusal to accept his father's decision sparked the Second War of the Diadochi, in which Eurydice saw once again a chance to free Philip from the control of the regent.

An opportunity presented itself in 317 BC when Cassander expelled Polyperchon from Macedonia. Eurydice immediately allied herself with Cassander and persuaded her husband to nominate him as the new regent. Cassander reciprocated by leaving her in full control of the country when he left to campaign in Greece.

But individual circumstances and events at this time were subject to rapid change. That same year, Polyperchon and Olympias allied with her cousin, Aeacides, king of Epirus, and invaded Macedonia. The Macedonian troops refused to fight Olympias, the mother of Alexander. Philip and Eurydice had no choice but to escape, only to be captured at Amphipolis and thrown into prison. It soon became clear that Philip was too dangerous to be left alive, as Olympias' many enemies saw him as a useful tool against her, and so on 25 December 317 BC, she had him executed, while his wife was forced to commit suicide.

Tomb

In 1977, important excavations were made near Vergina leading to the discovery of a two-chambered royal tomb, with an almost perfectly preserved male skeleton. Manolis Andronikos, the chief archaeologist at the site, along with a number of other archaeologists, decided it was the skeleton of Philip II, but others have disputed this attribution and instead proposed it to be the remains of Philip Arrhidaeus.

Arrhidaeus in fiction

He appears as one of the main characters in the novel Funeral Games by Mary Renault. In Renault's version, the villainous Cassander slows down his advance on Macedonia to give Olympias enough time to kill Arrhidaeus and Eurydice.

Arrhidaeus is also a main character in Annabel Lyon's novel The Golden Mean. In it, the young Arrhidaeus is tutored by Aristotle while he also mentors his younger half-brother, the future Alexander the Great. Alexander, who is initially disgusted with his brother's inferior intellect, learns to love him before he sets out to conquer the world.

In the Japanese fiction manga Historie, he was shown as an intellectually disabled young child that became happy when Eumenes made him a toy chariot and became sad when Alexander the Great destroyed his toy. Eumenes later replaced it with a new one, telling him to bury the chariot.

References

Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, "Arrhidaeus (1)", "Eurydice (3)", Boston, (1867)

^ Elizabeth Donnelly Carney (2006). Olympias: mother of Alexander the Great. Taylor & Francis. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-415-33316-0. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
^ Stella Drougou, Chrysoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli. Verghina, Hellenic Minister of Culture, Athens, 2005 (p. 45, p. 59) ISBN 960-214-385-1

External links

Regnal titles
Philip III of Macedon Argead dynasty Born: 359 BC Died: 317 BC
Preceded by Alexander the Great	King of Macedon 323 BC – 317 BC	Succeeded by Alexander IV
	King of Asia 323 BC – 317 BC
	Pharaoh of Egypt 323 BC – 317 BC

[Carney2006-1] Elizabeth Donnelly Carney (2006). Olympias: mother of Alexander the Great. Taylor & Francis. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-415-33316-0. Retrieved 14 June 2011.

[GuideBook-2] Stella Drougou, Chrysoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli. Verghina, Hellenic Minister of Culture, Athens, 2005 (p. 45, p. 59) ISBN 960-214-385-1

[1]

[2]

v t e Kings of Macedon
Legendary	Caranus Coenus Tyrimmas	Vergina Sun
Argead dynasty	Perdiccas I Argaeus I Philip I Aeropus I Alcetas Amyntas I Alexander I Perdiccas II Archelaus Orestes Aeropus II Amyntas II Pausanias Amyntas III Argaeus II Alexander II Ptolemy of Aloros Perdiccas III Amyntas IV Philip II Alexander III (the Great) Philip III Alexander IV
Antipatrid dynasty	Cassander Philip IV Antipater I Alexander V
Dynastic conflict	Demetrius I Pyrrhus Lysimachus Ptolemy Ceraunus Meleager Antipater II Sosthenes Antigonus II Pyrrhus
Antigonid dynasty	Antigonus II Demetrius II Antigonus III Philip V Perseus
Post-Conquest Rebel Kings	Andriscus Pseudo-Alexander Pseudo-Philip/Pseudo-Perseus Euephenes
Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

v t e Hellenistic rulers
Argeads	Philip II Alexander III the Great Philip III Arrhidaeus Alexander IV
Antipatrids	Cassander Philip IV Alexander V Antipater II Antipater Etesias Sosthenes
Antigonids	Antigonus I Monophthalmus Demetrius I Poliorcetes Antigonus II Gonatas Demetrius II Aetolicus Antigonus III Doson Philip V Perseus Philip VI (pretender)
Ptolemies	Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cleopatra I Syra (regent) Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Cleopatra II Philometor Soter Ptolemy VIII Physcon Cleopatra III Ptolemy IX Lathyros Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Berenice IV Epiphanea Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion
Monarchs of Cyrene	Magas Berenice II Demetrius the Fair Ptolemy VIII Physcon Ptolemy Apion Cleopatra Selene II
Seleucids	Seleucus I Nicator Antiochus I Soter Antiochus II Theos Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus III Ceraunus Antiochus III the Great Seleucus IV Philopator Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus V Eupator Demetrius I Soter Alexander I Balas Demetrius II Nicator Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes Alexander II Zabinas Cleopatra Thea Seleucus V Philometor Antiochus VIII Grypus Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Seleucus VI Epiphanes Antiochus X Eusebes Antiochus XI Epiphanes Demetrius III Eucaerus Philip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionysus Cleopatra Selene I Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Philip II Philoromaeus
Lysimachids	Lysimachus Ptolemy Epigonos
Attalids	Philetaerus Eumenes I Attalus I Eumenes II Attalus II Attalus III Eumenes III
Greco-Bactrians	Diodotus I Diodotus II Euthydemus I Demetrius I Euthydemus II Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Demetrius II Eucratides I Plato Eucratides II Heliocles I
Indo-Greeks	Demetrius I Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Apollodotus I Demetrius II Antimachus II Menander I Zoilos I Agathokleia Lysias Strato I Antialcidas Heliokles II Polyxenos Demetrius III Philoxenus Diomedes Amyntas Epander Theophilos Peukolaos Thraso Nicias Menander II Artemidoros Hermaeus Archebius Telephos Apollodotus II Hippostratos Dionysios Zoilos II Apollophanes Strato II Strato III
Monarchs of Bithynia	Boteiras Bas Zipoetes I Nicomedes I Zipoetes II Etazeta (regent) Ziaelas Prusias I Prusias II Nicomedes II Nicomedes III Nicomedes IV Socrates Chrestus
Monarchs of Pontus	Mithridates I Ctistes Ariobarzanes Mithridates II Mithridates III Pharnaces I Mithridates IV Philopator Philadephos with Laodice Mithridates V Euergetes Mithridates VI Eupator Pharnaces II Darius Arsaces Polemon I Pythodorida Polemon II
Monarchs of Commagene	Ptolemaeus Sames II Mithridates I Antiochus I Mithridates II Antiochus II Mithridates III Antiochus III Antiochus IV
Monarchs of Cappadocia	Ariarathes I Ariarathes II Ariamnes II Ariarathes III Ariarathes IV Ariarathes V Orophernes Ariarathes VI Ariarathes VII Ariarathes VIII Ariarathes IX Ariobarzanes I Ariobarzanes II Ariobarzanes III Ariarathes X Archelaus
Monarchs of the Cimmerian Bosporus	Paerisades I Satyros II Prytanis Eumelos Spartokos III Hygiainon (regent) Paerisades II Spartokos IV Leukon II Spartokos V [ru] Kamasarye Paerisades III Paerisades IV Paerisades V Mithridates I Pharnaces Asander with Dynamis Mithridates II Asander with Dynamis Scribonius's attempted rule with Dynamis Dynamis with Polemon Polemon Aspurgus Gepaepyris Mithridates III Cotys I
Monarchs of Epirus	Admetus Tharrhypas Alcetas I Neoptolemus I Arybbas Alexander I Aeacides Neoptolemus II Alcetas II Pyrrhus I Alexander II Olympias II (regent) Pyrrhus II Ptolemy Pyrrhus III Deidamia
Hellenistic rulers were preceded by Hellenistic satraps in most of their territories.

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