Natural born killers? Archelaus and the struggle(s) for succession in 5th century Macedonia

Abstract

The philosopher Plato claims that the Macedonian king Archelaus was the illegitimate son of Perdiccas II and a slave, and that he allegedly killed all the legitimate heirs to the throne and seized royal power in Macedonia by force. Although this story was well known in ancient times, modern scholars question it, either in whole or in part; nevertheless, all attempts to prove that it is unfounded are based on assumptions and inferences from circumstantial arguments. The reassessment of our sources, as well as a comparison with appropriate examples concerning the succession of royal power in Macedon, shows that even if the details of Polus’ speech are extremely doubtful, its essence – the killing of Alcetas, Alexander and little Aero-pus – may be accepted as a historical fact. At the same time, the context of the killings is probably not an invention of Plato, but comes from the propaganda mythoi that were a feature of the dynastic struggles between the Argeadae. What remains unclear is whether this propaganda dates from the time when Archelaus was still fighting for the throne, or whether it emerged later, in the troubled decade after his death and the murder of his son, which ended his lineage.