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44-464: Polygamy was used by Macedonian kings both before and after Amyntas to secure marriage alliances and produce enough heirs to offset losses from intra-dynastic conflict. Consequently, Amyntas took two wives: Eurydice and Gygaea. He first married Eurydice, daughter of Sirras and maternal granddaughter of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus , probably in a Macedonian effort to strengthen the alliance with both

88-407: A Lynkestian ancestry. In an inductive analysis of the historical information over Sirras, through an a posteriori argument, Elias Kapetanopoulos says that Sirras must have been a Lynkestian – and thus Eurydice as well – though he also hypothesizes a native Macedonian or Orestian origin. Ian Worthington also makes a case for her Lynkestian ancestry by stating the following argument concerning

132-399: A Theban statesman and general. Then Ptolemy was forced by Pelopidas to agree merely to be regent for Alexander's two younger brothers, Perdiccas III and Philip II . Later on Eurydice married Ptolemy. It is unlikely that Eurydice voluntarily married her eldest son's murderer, most probably she acted to ensure the succession of her remaining sons. A new pretender of the throne, Pausanias

176-465: A branch of the Doric Greek Bacchiadae clan, originally of Corinth , which historically established itself as the ruling dynasty of Lynkestis in the 5th century BC. The Bacchiad claim of her Lynkestian maternal grandfather Arrhabaeus , king of Lynkestis, is generally accepted by modern historians. Plutarch explicitly states that Eurydice was an Illyrian , so does Libanius and thus

220-567: A dedication polietisi (πολιετισι) to or for women citizens, and perhaps to the Muses , grateful for her acquired education. Eurydice's portrait-statue, together with those of her most celebrated son Philip II , Philip II's wife, Olympias , her grandson, Alexander the Great , and her husband, Amyntas III, were realized by the Athenian statuary and sculptor Leochares in ivory and gold. They were placed in

264-538: A festival in 368 BC, but the extent to which Eurydice knew of or participated in this plot is opaque. Perdiccas, on the other hand, assassinated Ptolemy in 365 BC only to be killed in battle by the Illyrians in 359 BC. Amyntas most likely married Gygaea soon after marrying Eurydice, because Gygaea's children made no attempt to claim the throne before the 350s BC, implying that they were younger than Eurydice's children. Additionally, both Diodorus and Justin call Alexander II

308-480: A royal woman. Eurydice took the unprecedented step of seeking international help when she believed the succession of her remaining sons was in jeopardy and her attempt was successful. In 365 BC Perdiccas III avenged his brother's murder by murdering Ptolemy and taking the throne. This caused a stir amongst the families of Macedon, which called in Pelopidas to re-establish peace. As part of the peace settlement, Philip II

352-454: A troubled time for Macedonia and the Argead dynasty. The unexpected death of his great-grandfather King Alexander I in 454 BC triggered a dynastic crisis between his five sons: Perdiccas II , Menelaus, Philip, Alcetas , and Amyntas' grandfather, Amyntas. Perdiccas would eventually emerge victorious, extinguishing the line of Philip. The elder Amyntas evidently retired to his lands at some point in

396-417: Is stated in the massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopaedia, Suda . Some modern historians see this characterization as "slander", arguing that it originated from Athens , which sought to discredit her son, Philip, by defaming him as having non-Greek ancestry. Other modern historians regard this characterization as historically accurate, arguing that the alliance between her grandfather Arrhabaeus and

440-715: The Chalcidians in Euboea , was a federal state that existed on the Chalcidice peninsula, on the shores of the northwest Aegean Sea , from around 430 BCE until it was destroyed by Philip II of Macedon in 348 BCE. There are two theories on the origins of the Chalcidians: Harrison's theory has been rejected by some historians such as Bradeen (1952) but has been adopted by other historians, such as U. Kahrsted (1953) and M. Zahrnt (1971). N. G. L. Hammond (1992) notes

484-796: The Illyrians and Lynkestians or to detach the Lynkestians from their historical alliance with the Illyrians, after the Macedonian defeat by Illyrians or an Illyrian-Lynkestian invasion in 393 BC. Through Eurydice, Amyntas had three sons, all of whom became kings of Macedonia one after the other, and a daughter: Alexander II , Perdiccas III , Philip II , and Eurynoe. The Roman historian Justin relates several, possibly apocryphal, stories about Eurydice and Eurynoe. He claims that Eurynoe prevented her mother and her lover (unnamed, but likely Ptolemy of Aloros ) from assassinating Amyntas late in his reign by revealing

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528-560: The King's Peace of 387 BC, Sparta was anxious to re-establish its presence in northern Greece. In 385 BC, Bardylis and his Illyrians attacked Epirus instigated and aided by Dionysius I of Syracuse , in an attempt to restore the Molossian king Alcetas I of Epirus to the throne. When Amyntas sought Spartan aid against the growing threat of Olynthus, the Spartans eagerly responded. That Olynthus

572-619: The Peloponnesian War , several cities of Chalcidice broke away from the Athenian -dominated Delian League . The inhabitants of these cities abandoned them and moved to Olynthos in an act of synoecism , forming a single state and adopting the demonym "Chalcidians". Exactly what form it took is a matter of academic dispute. By the terms of the Peace of Nicias of 421 BCE, Athens and Sparta agreed that it should be broken up, but it seems clear that Athens failed to enforce this. Luckily for

616-677: The Philippeion , a circular building in the Altis at Olympia , erected by Philip II of Macedon in celebration of his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC) . Eurydice's tomb was found and identified by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos in 1987 in Vergina (ancient Aigai ), a UNESCO World Heritage Site , along with other royal Macedonian tombs. In the summer of 2001, between August 13 and September 9

660-580: The Chalcidians, the attention of the two great powers was soon diverted away from them—indeed for this reason nothing is heard of Olynthos and the Chalcidians until 393/2 BCE — and the Spartan governors installed by Brasidas were soon withdrawn. In the aftermath of the Peace of Nicias, the city-states of Argilus , Akanthos , and Stageira , as well as other unnamed ones, joined. The League continued to expand in

704-502: The Illyrian hypothesis: "However, this is unlikely in light of a comment that Attalus made at the wedding of Philip in 337, intended as a slur on Alexander's legitimacy, for his mother (Olympias) was from Epirus. Attalus presumably would not have wanted to draw attention to Philip's illegitimacy if his mother were non-Macedonian", and also writes that, "Attalus' taunt, incidentally, goes some way to determining whether Philip's mother, Eurydice,

748-630: The Illyrians was well known, and given the propensity of the elite class to secure political alliances through royal intermarriages , it seems quite probable that the Lynkestian king's granddaughter was also partly Illyrian. Some, in particular, consider that Eurydice's father Sirras was Illyrian, though others argue that he was Lynkestian . As for Sirras, Eugene N. Borza , A. B. Bosworth and Kate Mortensen, among modern scholars and historians, support an Illyrian ancestry, while Robert Malcolm Errington , N. G. L. Hammond , and Charles F. Edson support

792-521: The League, joining the Second Athenian League . They soon fell out with Athens over control of Amphipolis , and in the subsequent war lost a number of cities, including Torone and Potidaea . As a result the Chalcidians allied themselves with Philip II of Macedon , and the League once again expanded to include 34 cities, but in 348 BCE Philip captured and destroyed Olynthos, putting an end to

836-421: The League. The actual form of the League is uncertain. It seems it was a genuinely federal state ( sympoliteia ), although Olynthos played the dominant role. The League had a federal citizenship, common laws, foreign policy, coinage, and military. There was a citizen assembly that also had judicial functions. The League was apparently headed by an eponymous official, possibly a strategos . Its constitution

880-478: The Macedonian capital. In 383 BCE, Amyntas appealed to Sparta and at the same time a similar appeal came from Akanthos and Apollonia , two League members who claimed that membership of the League was not voluntary but had been forced upon them at the point of the sword. Sparta was keen to respond to the request. Among Sparta's allies there was no animosity against the Chalcidian League. Nevertheless, when

924-434: The ages of her sons or a combination of these factors. Nevertheless, for the first time events in the life of a royal woman were also central to the political arena of Macedonia in that period and Eurydice was, however, the most important factor in the change. Eurydice was literate, although she learned to read rather late in life, probably due to being part of a culture that still was heavily oral in nature and where literacy

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968-503: The cities of the former League became "autonomous" and subject allies of Sparta. Freeman regards the Spartan dissolution of the League as one of the most "calamitous events" in Hellenic history for, in his view, the League uniting the northern Greek cities with the most Hellenised cities of Macedonia would have prevented the rise of Philip II of Macedon . Already in 375 BCE the Chalcidians threw off Spartan control and re-established

1012-469: The conflict and no part in the exercise of power. Archelaus , Perdiccas' son, ascended to the throne around 413 BC and allegedly murdered Alcetas and his son, thus eliminating that family branch as well. However, Archelaus would himself be killed, possibly murdered, in 400 or 399 BC by his lover Craterus . His death prompted another succession crisis, resulting in five kings ruling in less than seven years, with nearly all ending violently. As Diodorus tells us,

1056-435: The early 4th century BCE. In 393/2 BCE, Amyntas III of Macedon temporarily transferred some territory to Olynthos, during a period when he was driven out of Macedon by the Illyrians . It was restored when Amyntas regained power. Eight years later, Amyntas, who was again in trouble, handed over territory, this time to the entire League. The League were not so ready to return what they held, which now included Pella ,

1100-528: The eldest son of Amyntas. Through Gygaea, Amyntas had three more sons: Archelaus , Arrhidaeus, and Menelaus . Unlike Eurydice's children, none of Gygaea's sons ascended to the throne and were all killed by their half-brother Philip II. Amyntas also adopted the Athenian general Iphicrates around 386 BC in recognition of his military services and marital ties with the Thracian king, Cotys I . Amyntas became king at

1144-908: The friendship of Athens . In 371 BC at a Panhellenic congress of the Lacedaemonian allies, he voted in support of the Athenians ' claim and joined other Greeks in voting to help Athens to recover possession of Amphipolis . With Olynthus defeated, Amyntas was now able to conclude a treaty with Athens and keep the timber revenues for himself. Amyntas shipped the timber to the house of the Athenian Timotheus , in Piraeus . Amyntas died aged 50, leaving his throne to his eldest son, Alexander II. Eurydice I of Macedon Eurydice ( Greek : Εὐρυδίκη – from ευρύς eurys , "wide" and δίκη dike , "right, custom, usage, law; justice", literally "wide justice")

1188-647: The house of the Aleuadae of Larissa , is believed to have provided aid to Amyntas in recovering his throne. The mutual relationship between the Argeadae and the Aleuadae dates to the time of Archelaus. To shore up his country against the threat of the Illyrians, Amyntas established an alliance with the Chalcidian League led by Olynthus . In exchange for this support, Amyntas granted them rights to Macedonian timber, which

1232-522: The loyal defender of her sons, whereas a Plutarch 's passage describes Eurydice as a good model in the education of children. Chalcidian League The Chalcidian League ( Greek : Κοινόν τῶν Χαλκιδέων , Koinon tōn Chalkideōn , "League of the Chalcidians"), also referred to as the Olynthians or the Chalcidians in Thrace ( Χαλκιδεῖς ἐπί Θρᾴκης , Chalkideis epi Thrakēs ) to distinguish them from

1276-463: The most powerful of the Greek states at that time, intervened and restored Amyntas to his capital in 379 BC, but Macedonia had to accept subservience to Sparta. Amyntas had another wife, a fellow kinswoman named Gygaea, who had three children. At some point during her husband's reign, Eurydice became the dominant wife. Still it cannot be determined whether this development was immediate or gradual, linked with her family and relations, her higher status,

1320-403: The plan to her father. However, Eurynoe is not referred to by name in any other source and, moreover, is unlikely to have known the details of this supposedly secret plot. According to Justin, Amyntas spared Eurydice because they shared children, but that she would later help murder Alexander and Perdiccas in order to place Ptolemy on the throne. Alexander was in fact killed by friends of Ptolemy at

1364-452: The question was put, fear of annoying Sparta ensured that the proposal was carried, and a force of 10,000 was authorized to be sent. An advance force of 2,000 was sent under Eudamidas which succeeded in separating Potidaea from the League. The fighting was long and arduous. Teleutias , the half-brother of the Spartan king, Agesilaus II , was killed and King Agesipolis suffered heavy losses before dying of fever. However, in 379 BCE

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1408-746: The tomb of Eurydice was robbed and seven marble figurines had been taken. Eurydice's tomb had faced robbery and was partially plundered since antiquity , probably soon after queen's burial, but the looters had probably failed in their mission, as evidenced by two skeletons found there. An inscribed pot fragment, dating 344/3 BC was found inside the tomb, whereas two inscriptions, one of which dated in 340 BC, have been found in Vergina of Eurydika daughter of Sirras to goddess Eukleia . In order to defend Eurydices' son Philip II from ancient allegation that Macedonians were non-Greeks, Aeschines had publicly described Phillip as being "entirely Greek". Strabo claims that, through her mother, Eurydice descended from

1452-454: The uncertainty about the tribe's origins but concludes that, at least, "The discovery that there was Submycenaean , Protogeometric , and Geometric pottery in Chalcidice like that of southern Greece, and sometimes having connections with Lefkandi , makes it certain that Chalcidice and southern Greece were in contact with one another". In the spring of 432 BCE, during the first phase of

1496-613: The young princess Eurydice in about 390 BC, probably in a Macedonian effort to strengthen the alliance with both the Illyrians and Lynkestians, or to detach the Lynkestians from their historical alliance with the Illyrians, after he was defeated by Illyrians or an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition in 393 BC. Ten years later king Amyntas III was forced to entrust a portion of his kingdom to the Greek Chalcidians , who refused to relinquish it, and by 382 BC had extended their control westward, including Macedon ’s capital Pella . Sparta ,

1540-475: The younger Amyntas seized the throne at this point in 393/2 BC after assassinating the previous king Pausanias . Following his accession, Macedonia experienced no major internal political problems for the entirety of Amyntas' reign. Shortly after he became king in 393 or 392, he was driven out by the Illyrians , but in the following year, with the aid of the Thessalians , he recovered his kingdom. Medius, head of

1584-559: Was Lyncestian or Illyrian. If she had been the latter, then Attalus' remark would, by implication, make Philip also illegitimate. ... Hence Philip's mother was probably Lyncestian." Stories of Eurydice's plots against her husband and her sons are at odds with other historical evidence and may be fabricated. Recent scholars have noted the many implausibilities in Justin ’s narrative and have acknowledged Eurydice's near-contemporary evidences of Aeschines towards her. Aeschines described Eurydice I as

1628-420: Was an Ancient Macedonian queen and wife of king Amyntas III of Macedon . She was the daughter of Sirras and through her mother, Irra, she was the grand-daughter of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus , member of the Doric Greek Bacchiadae family. Eurydice had four children: Alexander II , Perdiccas III , Philip II , all of whom would be crowned kings, a daughter Eurynoe, and through her son Philip, she

1672-444: Was backed by Athens and Thebes, rivals to Sparta for the control of Greece, provided them with an additional incentive to break up this growing power in the north. Amyntas thus concluded a treaty with the Spartans, who assisted him in a war against Olynthus . First Spartan-Macedonian forces suffered two defeats but in 379 BC they managed to destroy Olynthus. He also entered into a league with Jason of Pherae , and assiduously cultivated

1716-465: Was born at approximately 410–407 BC. Her father was the noble Sirras , who was either an Illyrian chieftain or a prince-regent of Lynkestis under king Arrhabaeus . Sirras' origin is disputed, mainly between an Illyrian and a Lynkestian descent, not mutually exclusive. Her mother was the daughter of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus, who claimed membership to the Doric Greek Bacchiadae family. King Amyntas III of Macedon married

1760-775: Was not fundamental to knowledge, even more in the case of those who had the wealth and leisure to be read to. Her life career is full of controversy. According to the Roman historian Justin , Eurydice conspired with her son-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros to kill Amyntas, then marry Ptolemy, and then give the throne to her lover. But the queen's daughter, Eurynoe, foiled the plot by revealing it to her father, Amyntas, who, nevertheless, spared Eurydice from punishment because of their common children. Eventually in 370/369 BC, Amyntas III died, and his eldest son, Alexander II succeeded him. In 368 BC, Ptolemy of Aloros killed Alexander II , despite an earlier settlement between them, worked out by Pelopidas ,

1804-464: Was sent back to Athens to help fortify their fleet. With money flowing into Olynthus from these exports, their power grew. In response, Amyntas sought additional allies. He established connections with Kotys , chief of the Odrysians . Kotys had already married his daughter to the Athenian general Iphicrates . Prevented from marrying into Kotys' family, Amyntas soon adopted Iphicrates as his son. After

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1848-499: Was taken as a hostage to Thebes . Perdiccas reigned until 359 BC, and already weakened by struggles against Athens , he confronted the Illyrian ruler Bardylis and died along with 4000 of his men in a disastrous battle. Eventually his youngest brother Philip II took control of the kingdom. Eurydice was also very active in the cult activities. She may have funded the construction of the temple of Eucleia cult at Vergina . She had made

1892-485: Was the paternal grandmother of Alexander the Great . Literary, inscriptional and archaeological evidence indicates that she played an important public role in Macedonian life and acted aggressively in the political arena. Eurydice's political activities mark a turning point in Macedonian history. She is the first known royal woman who actively took political action and successfully exerted political influence. Eurydice

1936-590: Was very popular and was attracting support in Macedonia. Queen Eurydice asked the Athenian general Iphicrates (their father's adoptive son) to protect the throne for her two sons. Iphicrates drove out Pausanias. There is no evidence that Ptolemy had any role in this matter, or suggests that anyone other than Eurydice would have influenced Iphicrates. Even if she was prompted by Ptolemy, her successful intervention in political and military affairs remains remarkably bold and without any known precedent, an extraordinary act for

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