The Rule of the Eurydice’s Sons

Abstract

This chapter discusses the rule of all three of Eurydice’s sons (Alexander II, Perdiccas III, and Philip II), but pays less attention to Philip II because his reign has been discussed in so many places at great length. The brief reign of Alexander II was shaped by his initially successful but ultimately disastrous invasion of Thessaly. His failure there led to Theban intervention in Macedonian affairs and then his assassination. It examines claims that Eurydice married his assassin and had a hand in his death. It also considers the possibility that her supposed lover/husband, Ptolemy, briefly reigned. Theban intervention forced Ptolemy to become regent for Alexander II. Alexander, in turn, murdered Ptolemy and ruled on his own until he, along with a much of a Macedonian army, died in a massacre. Philip II then took the throne, dealt with assorted foreign and domestic invasions and threats, rapidly stabilized Macedonia, and initiated its expansion to become the dominant power of the Greek peninsula. The chapter concludes with analysis of the factors that enabled the sons of Eurydice to defeat other Argead claimants.