Sunday, April 22, 2007

Philip II and Alexander III Wives

PHILIP II

Audata
Philip married her when they were both 20years old. She came from Illyria and gave him a daughter, Kynna.PhilaShe was sister of Lerdas and Machatas.

Nikisipolis
She came from Ferres and gave him a daughter, Thessalonica.

Philinna
She came from Larisa. Together with Philip they had a son, Arridaeus, called later Philip III Arridaeus and successor of Alexander for a short period of time. This succession was of no meaning, since Arridaeus was mentally retarded and couldn't rule. He was murdered by order of Olympias, Alexander's mother.

Olympias
Daughter of the king of Molossi in Epir. She met Philip in the Cavirian Mysteries in the Island of Samothraki. They had two children, Alexander III and Cleopatra.

Meda
Daughter of Cothylas, king of the Odryssi in Thrace.

Cleopatra
Daughter of Hippostratos. She was Philip's great love and the main reason for his quarrels with Olympias and Alexander. She gave birth to a daughter, Europe.



ALEXANDER III

Varsine
According to Plutarch she was Memnon's of Rhodes wife. Atter his death she had an affair with Alexander, but never married him or had children with him. Diodorus doesn't mention her origins, but says he married her and had a son with her, Heracles. Murdered later by Polysperchon with Cassandrus' agreement.

According to Arrianus, she was Darius' elder daughter, named Stateira by the other authors, and didn't have children with Alexander.

Parysatis
Mentioned only by Arrianus, she was the daughter of Ochus, the former king, and Alexander married her to strengthen his position to the throne, but had no children with her.

Stateira
Daughter of Darius, mentioned by Plutarch and Diodorus, having the same name with his mother (who died just before the battle in Gaugamela).Alexander married her. Arrian mentions her as Varsini.


Roxanne
Daughter of Oxyathros, king of Sogdiani, unanimously recognized as Alexander's greatest love. He loved her the moment he saw her and immediately asked her to marriage in order to avoid dishonouring her.

She gave him the only legal heir he had, Alexander IV. Unfortunately, the boy was born after his father's death and was involved in the Successors' conflict. He was transported along with his mother to Macedonia, where they were both murdered by a certain Glaukias following Antipatrus' orders. After this double murder, kept secret, Cassandrus was pronounced king of Macedonia. The so called 'tomb ot the Prince' in Vergina is thought to be long to Roxanne and her son.

Apart from the one to Roxane, all ot Alexander's marriages can be explained by political motives. Plutarch says he had only loved Varsini before.

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