Aeropus II
Silver stater of Aeropos II
King of Macedonia
Reign398/7 – July/August 394/3 BC[1]
PredecessorOrestes
SuccessorAmyntas II
Born?
DiedJuly/August 394/3 BC
Spouseunknown
IssuePausanias
DynastyArgead
FatherPerdiccas II
Motherunknown
ReligionAncient Greek religion

Aeropus II (Ancient Greek: Ἀέροπος, romanized: Aéropos), son of Perdiccas II, was king of Macedonia from 398/7 until his death from illness in July or August of 394/3 BC.[2][3] He first governed as guardian (epitropos)[a] for his young nephew Orestes when Archelaus died in 400/399 BC. However, Diodorus reports that Aeropus murdered Orestes three years later, but it is also possible that he had simply won the support of the Macedonian nobility.[5][6] As king, he took the name Archelaus.[1] Aeropus had a son named Pausanias, but was succeeded instead by Amyntas II, son of his great-uncle Menelaus.[7]

Two traditions relate how Aeropus was overawed by either the insolence[8][9] or the stratagems[10] of the Lacedaemonian king Agesilaus, allowing his armies free passage through Macedonia after their campaign in Asia.

There is a minority view among scholars that Aeropus was a Lyncestian prince, rather than an Argead, who married into the dynasty, therefore enabling him later to become regent for Orestes.[11] However, the majority of historians believe Aeropus to have been Perdiccas' son and thus a member of the dynasty.[2][7][12][13]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Generally meaning a guardian or trustee in Ancient Greek, rather than regent. This word appears frequently in the works of Diodorous, Aristotle, and other Greek writers.[4]

Citations

  1. ^ a b March, Duane (1995). "The Kings of Makedon: 399-369 B.C". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte: 280.
  2. ^ a b Roisman, Joseph (2010). "Classical Macedonia to Perdiccas III". In Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 158.
  3. ^ Diodorus Siculus. "Library". Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes. Vol. 4–8. Translated by Oldfather, C.H. Harvard University Press, 14.84.
  4. ^ Anson, Edward (2009). "Philip II, Amyntas Perdicca, and Macedonian Royal Succession". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 58 (3): 276–286. doi:10.25162/historia-2009-0015. ISSN 0018-2311. JSTOR 25598471. S2CID 160414677.: 280 
  5. ^ "Diodorus Siculus, Library, Book XIV, Chapter 37". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  6. ^ Errington, R. Malcolm (1990). A History of Macedonia. University of California Press. p. 28.
  7. ^ a b Hammond, N.G.L. (1979). A History of Macedonia Volume II: 550-336 B.C. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 170.
  8. ^ Farr, Edward (1850), History of the Macedonians, pp. 43-44
  9. ^ Plutarch, "Life of Agesilaus", Parallel lives, 16.2. Repeated in Plutarch, "Apophthegmata laconica", Moralia, 43. Plutarch does not name Aeropus.
  10. ^ Polyaenus, Strategemata, 2.1.17
  11. ^ Fox, Robin Lane (2011). "399–369 BC". In Fox, Robin Lane (ed.). Brill’s Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC–300 AD. Boston: Brill. pp. 217–218.
  12. ^ Borza, Eugene (1990). In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-691-05549-1
  13. ^ Carney, Elizabeth (2000). Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. University of Oklahoma Press, p.250. ISBN 0-8061-3212-4
Aeropus IIArgead dynastyBorn:  ? Died: July/August 394/3 BC Royal titles Preceded byOrestes King of Macedon 398/7–July/August 394/3 BC Succeeded byAmyntas II
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