Women of power and influence Macedonian royalty a Homeric Legacy During the Argead dynastic period of Macedonia the power and influence of barbarian women cannot be denied, while no woman could hope to rule in what was seen as a traditional Greek monarchy, they were more than willing to risk everything to ensure their families legacy. 2012 Amos Greig Belfast History Society 7/31/2012
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Women of Power and Influence in Macedon a Homeric Legacy
A brief look at the legacy of women in Macedonia during the Argead period and through to the rise of the Antigonid period
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Women of power and influence Macedonian royalty a Homeric Legacy During the Argead dynastic period of Macedonia the power and influence of barbarian women cannot be denied, while no woman could hope to rule in what was seen as a traditional Greek monarchy, they were more than willing to risk everything to ensure their families legacy.
2012
Amos Greig Belfast History Society
7/31/2012
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Table of contents
Introduction
Chapter one: marriage a double edged sword
Chapter Two; Illyrian connections in the Argead Dynasty
Chapter three: Eurydice I
Chapter four: Cynnane Illyrian blooded
Chapter five; Royal tombs and other memorials
Chapter six; royal women and courtly intrigue
Chapter seven: Cleopatra II and Olympias
Chapter Eight: Into the Antigonid period and beyond
Conclusion
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Introduction
During the Argead dynastic period women in the court of Macedonia appeared
to have greater influence than their classical Greek counterparts. While there is no
evidence which suggests that royal women ruled in the place of men there is evidence
that sees royal women leading armies (Cynnane, Adea Eurydice) and being interested in
the political arena Eurydice I, Olympias and Adea Eurydice). The Macedonian
monarchy during the Argead period used marriage as a political tool, where Philip used
several marriages to create ties with his neighbours he was following what appears to
have been the rule rather than the exception. These marriage alliances played a key role
in keeping Macedonia from being consumed by her aggressive and expansionistic
neighbours. Perhaps these two factors combined represent why so much has been
written about Macedonian women. With Olympias being the obvious example, the
Athenian writers appeared to have a great antipathy towards women and this was
especially true of their poems and plays three of Aristophanes plays show women in
successful opposition of their men folk, Hippolytus wrote an incredibly long tirade
against women;
“O Zeus, why, as a fraudulent evil for men, have you brought women into the
sun? For if you wished to engender the mortal race, there was no need for
women as source of supply. But in your shrines mortal men could have offered
up either gold or iron or heavy weight bronze to purchase their breed of
offspring, each paid in sons according to his own gifts worth, and in their homes
they could live without women entirely free.”1
. What little evidence we have comes to us through a sometimes polarized and
often hostile lens. In Athens women had no voice so to speak they were not allowed to
participate in politics. The Macedonian’s had been either uninterested in commentating
on their origins or more likely were concerned with trying to stay alive. Elizabeth
Carney claims that;
“Those who attempt to understand the role of women in monarchy must
1 Pomeroy pg 119
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determine the significance of silence. What, for instance, should we make of the
fact that royal women in the Antigonid period are virtually invisible in the
literary sources.”2
Macedonia was an unstable region surrounded by warlike tribes and often unable to
maintain stability within their own region. Thucydides gives us an example of a
Thracian invasion of Macedonia as well as the occupation of various mines and
locations which technically were Macedonian. Their first contact with the Athenians
was related to Pydna and Amphipolis Athenian colonies. Pydna was taken by
Timotheus thus creating an Athenian pocket in what was technically Macedonian
territory. Philip’s recovery of this territory would earn him the ire of Demosthenes.
Many of the sources that we can rely on come in different formats, ranging from grain
shipment lists, through to the naming of towns or islands and also the development of
monuments.
The Athenian orators of the time also operate as a distinct source however there
is an obvious bias in their writings. Macedonia seemed to share more in common with
the Homeric world tradition than the Polis and City states of her southern neighbours
due in no small part to being surrounded by openly hostile enemies without and a
fragmented nation within. Whilst the southern Greek City States of Athens, Corinth,
Sparta and Thebes all adopted the Polis Macedonia remained a kingship one based
around personal power and physical strength. The women of Macedonia and the
neighbouring regions appear as more active counterparts to their Athenian and Spartan
sisters especially in the case of Olympias and Arsine whose actions were at odds with
perceived Hellenic expectations of women’s behaviour. These differences may well
have been due to contact with the more warlike Illyrian’s, Mollosian’s and other tribes
with whom the Macedonian’s had many conflicts. Women from these tribes may well
have been interested in and more active in politics and thus led to Macedonian women
becoming interested in politics, securing their families legacies and proved more than
2 Women and Monarchy in Macedonia p 10
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willing to fight and when necessary die for their principles. The possible power and
influence of the women of this region mirrors the roles of the Queen’s of the Homeric
period. In Homer’s epic the Odyssey women play an important role, whilst not the equal
of their men folk they are interested in maintaining their husband’s interests. Penelope
wife of Odysseus would often enter into the great hall and engaged in debate with the
men there3. She also summoned people to her chambers for discussions. Her
engagements with men saw her with handmaids,4 other royal women acted in a similar
way and Nausicaa would also appear in her father’s halls.
Comparisons’ can be made between the Bronze Age Royal women such as
Penelope, Clytemnestra, Andromache and the Macedonian royal women. In the Bronze
Age as well as with Macedonia familial ties were split between Matrilineal and
Paterlineal bloodlines. Pomeroy suggests that in the Homeric age marriage was used in
one of two ways patrilocal and matrilocal. These were “In the Patrilocal pattern the
suitor brought a bride back to his own house and the bride was used as a bridge in a new
alliance”5 and “ In the Matrilocal it was a roving warrior who married a princess and
settled down in her kingdom”6. Macedonia appeared to have incorporated both
Matrilocal and Patrilocal traditions tied to a patriarchal monarchy and this can be
witnessed in the power struggles surrounding Philip’s children especially after
Alexander died.
Chapter one; Marriage a double edged sword
The power of these dynasties lasted until the time that Roman expansion saw the
monarchies of Macedonia expunged in 169BCE. Two dynasties in particular will be
looked at namely the Argead and Antigonid dynastic periods of the fourth and third
3 (Odyssey 1:329-35; 4.675-714)
4 (Odyssey. 1.331-35;4.791; 16.409-33)
5 Pomeroy pg 32
6 Pomeroy pg 32
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centuries BC. The Argead dynasty appeared to have used marriage to expand outwards
establishing alliances and strengthening Macedonia’s position whilst there are signs that
during the Antigonid period the marriages became closed and more internalized,
concerned with maintaining the bloodlines.
One of the first examples of a political marriage with outsiders can be traced
back to Gygaea 1 according to Herodotus
“Gygaea, daughter of Amnytas I and sister of Alexander I, married Bubares son
of Megabazus”7
Gygaea’s marriage helped develop ties with Persia and would not be the last
marriage alliance between Persia and Macedonia. A Persian Satrap and his family lived
in Macedonia during Philip’s reign and were treated as allies. During Alexander’s
campaign not only would he take a Persian wife but he encouraged several of his
generals to do so as well. Philip of Macedon used marriage as a political tool his
marriages enabled him to ease foreign pressure on Macedon and gave him the time he
needed to build Macedon into a military powerhouse. However by using marriage as a
political lever Philip appears to have been continuing a long established tradition within
Macedonia. Archelaus also made use of political marriages, one to a ruler from Elimeia
and one to a fellow Argead. Modern scholars have studied the differences between
Argead and classical Greeks one of the main features appears to be males marrying in
their late twenties and women in their teens. There are several exceptions most notably
Alexander married close to his thirties and Adea Eurydice married in her late teens.
Carney suggests that these two marriages were for political reasons hence the
difference. Both Greenwalt and Carney argue that Argead marriages were concerned
with the stability linked to producing heirs
“In the Argead period, the emphasis seems to have been on producing numerous
heirs, probably because (apart from the high infant and childhood mortality) so
many kings died fairly young and royal successions were generally
7 (Herod. 5.21)
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problematic.”8
Trying to piece together Macedonian royal marriages during the Argead and
Antigonid periods outside of Philip II and Alexander is difficult at best. Carney
suggests;
“that in Argead times the tendency was to broaden the dynasty, not only through
royal polygamy but also through other marriages involving the reigning dynasty,
but that this pattern changed by the beginning of the Antigonid period.”9
What this theory suggests then is that the Macedonian ruling family used
marriage to develop connections to the ruling elite both within Macedonia and without
in the neighbouring states. Women could therefore be used to prevent annihilation and
assimilation Thucydides gives us an example of such a reprieve;
“he took the advice of his nephew Seuthes, the son of Sparadocus, who was the
most important of his commanders, and retreated as quickly as he could. Seuthes
had been secretly won over by Perdiccas, who had promised him his daughter in
marriage and a large sum of money as well.”10
Thucydides also goes on to indicates that the Macedonian king Perdiccas kept
his word and gave his daughter in marriage”11
This is a clear example of a marriage alliance being used by Macedonian royalty
to turn a position of weakness into one of strength by establishing closer ties to Thrace
through marriage. Thucydides clearly suggested that the Thracian rampage had
decimated the countryside of Macedonia and that a harsh winter was setting in the
marriage gave the country the time it needed to recover and maintain its independence.
During the Antigonid period marriage contracts are developed and the position and
power of women gradually changes. One example dating from the reign of Alexander
son of Alexander in 311B.C. highlights a wedding between a Greek man and an
Egyptian woman it is interesting to note that the licence shows that both a free and that
8 Carney Women and monarchy in Macedonia pg 19
9 Women and Monarchy in Macedonia pg 21
10 Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 6.101
11 Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 6.101 “Later Perdiccas gave his
daughter Stratonice to Seuthes, as he had promised” a clear example of a marriage
alliance.
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only the husband and the father may decide where the new couple will live and what
each can or cannot do. It is also interesting to note that the contract specifies two codes
of marital behaviour
“Heraclides takes as his lawful wife Demetria of Cos from her father Leptines of
Cos and her mother Philotis. He is free; she is free. She brings with her to the
marriage clothing and ornaments valued at a 1000 Drachmas. Heraclides shall
supply Demetria all that is suitable for a freeborn wife. We shall live together in
whatever place seems best to Leptines and Heraclides, deciding together If
Demetria is caught in fraudulent machinations to the disgrace of her husband
heraclides; she shall forfeit all that she has brought with her. But Heraclides
shall prove whatever he charges against Demetria before three men whom they
both approve it shall not be lawful for Heraclides to bring home another woman
for himself in such a way as to inflict contumely on Demetria, nor to have
children by another woman, nor to indulge in fraudulent machinations against
Demetria on any pretext.” 12
Chapter Two Illyrian connections in the Argead Dynasty
Athenaeus’ famous list of the wives and children of Philip II showed that he
took many wives. In 355bce he had five wives and by this time his policies appear to
have switched from the defensive bolstering on Macedonia, towards a military
expansionistic policy. Several of these wives were not native to Macedonia and their
marriages had been used to secure Macedonia these included Olympias, Meda and
Audata. Athenaeus describes Philip’s marriages as follows;
“Philip always married in connection to a war. Anyway, in the twenty two years
in which he reigned, as Satyrus says in his Life of him, Philip, having married
Audata an Illyrian woman, had by her a daughter Cynnane”13
Audata was one of Philip’s first wives and it can be assumed that his marriage
to her was designed to help deal with one of the main threats facing Macedonia locally,
namely the Illyrian’s. What is interesting in Athenaeus’ description of Audata is the
failure to positively identify her as being royalty or nobility. Neither his text nor the
fragments of Satyrus’ writings establish her lineage issue with the writings of
Athenaeus concerning Audata is related to her lineage. Most scholars assume that she 12
Pomeroy pg 140-141 13
Deipnosophistai (13.557b-e)
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must be related to Bardylis the same warrior who had defeated Perdiccas III in 359bce.
This event had led to Philip II attaining the throne of Macedonia and Philip would
eventually defeat Bardylis as covered by Diodorus 14
Dr Carney questions the
chronological order of Athenaeus’ list suggesting that because so little is known about
the marriages of Philip’s siblings that there may be errors in the ordering of Philip’s
wives;
“The obscurity of Argead rulers before Philip should make one question whether
he did. We know nothing for instance about the marriages of his older brothers;
the existence of his son Amyntas indicates that Perdiccas III married, but when
or to whom is unknown”15
A number of ancient sources claim that the daughter of Audata and Philip
engaged in combat and trained her own daughter Adea Eurydice to fight in battle.16
Macedonian women generally did not appear to actively fight in battles, Illyrian women
however it seems did so. It is interesting to note that Athenaeus calls Cynnane daughter
of Philip II ‘the Illyrian’ this would seem to suggest that in his eyes at least matrilineal
descent is important for deciding a person’s lineage.
Chapter 3: Eurydice I
Eurydice I was also an Illyrian princess suggesting that marriage was a powerful
tool for maintaining peace between the two nations. Eurydice I appear to have been a
very active political figure her activities according to Strabo she was the daughter of
Sirras and a granddaughter of Arraebus of Lyncestis17
if everything that has been
written and preserved surrounding Eurydice I is to be believed then she was an
important figure in the Macedonian court apparently even dedicating statues to the cult
14
Diodorus (16.4.3-7) 15
Women and Monarchy pg 54 16
(Athenaeus 560f; Polyaen 8.60) 17
(Strabo. 326c)
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of Eucleia at Vergina18
. Amyntas III needed help his reign started badly with the
Illyrian’s seeking to replace him. The only way he could save his throne was through a
political marriage. Plutarch called Eurydice an Illyrian which raises a significant
question. If Eurydice I is of Illyrian descent as the mother of Philip II then by
Athenaeus’ description Philip could be seen as Illyrian or at best half Macedonian if so
then it would lend credence to the struggle he had in obtaining the throne. The historian
Justin paints a rather lurid picture of Eurydice I suggesting that she had planned to
assassinate Amyntas and have him replaced with her supposed lover Ptolemy Alorites19
(Justin). It is also suggested that she appealed to an Athenian general Iphicrates to help
remove a hindrance to her legacy in the shape of Pausanias a popular figure within the
Macedonian court. Aeschines discusses the role of Eurydice I in his speeches;
“When Iphicrates had come into this region--with a few ships at first, for the
purpose of examining into the situation rather than of laying siege to the city--
"Then," said I, "your mother Eurydice sent for him, and according to the
testimony of all who were present, she put your brother Perdiccas into the arms
of Iphicrates, and set you upon his knees--for you were a little boy--and said,
`Amyntas, the father of these little children, when he was alive, made you his
son, and enjoyed the friendship of the city of Athens; we have a right therefore
to consider you in your private capacity a brother of these boys, and in your
public capacity a friend to us.' After this she at once began to make earnest
entreaty in your behalf and in her own, and for the maintenance of the throne--in
a word for full protection. When Iphicrates had heard all this, he drove
Pausanias out of Macedonia and preserved the dynasty for you.”20
Aeschines appears to be determined to highlight that Eurydice I was an ardent
defender of her sons and their legacy, he is also very careful not to mention facts such as
Philip’s absence (as a hostage in Thebes). Even the cult she was involved with did not
appear to be a traditional Macedonian practice. Even Plutarch paints her in a good
picture stating that she was a good instructor of children, learning to read and develop
an education so that she could educate her sons. It is possible the Eurydice I represents a
transitional shift in female politics in the Argead dynasty introducing a blend of Illyrian
beliefs and power.
18
Abbreviations in Greek: Inscriptions, Papyri, Manuscripts pp 62-64 19