Reign 413–399 BC Father Perdiccas II Parents Perdiccas II of Macedon Spouse unknown Died 399 BC, Macedonia | Successor Crateuas (Craterus) Role King Predecessor Perdiccas II Name Archelaus of House Argead dynasty | |
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Issue Orestes
Archelaus II
several daughters Children Aeropus II of Macedon, Archelaus II of Macedon, Orestes of Macedon | ||
Grandchildren Pausanias of Macedon Great-grandparents Amyntas I of Macedon Grandparents Alexander I of Macedon | ||
Archelaus i of macedon
Archelaus I (; Greek: Ἀρχέλαος Α΄ Arkhelaos) was a king of Macedon from 413 to 399 BC. He was a capable and beneficent ruler, known for the sweeping changes he made in state administration, the military, and commerce. By the time that he died, Archelaus had succeeded in converting Macedon into a significantly stronger power. Thucydides credited Archelaus with doing more for his kingdom's military infrastructure than all of his predecessors together.
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Family
Archelaus was a son of Perdiccas II by a slave woman. He obtained the throne by murdering his own uncle Alcetas II and cousin Alexander, such that his father became king, and his half-brother, a child of seven years, the legitimate heir.
Reign
Almost immediately after he took power, Archelaus was faced with a situation which allowed him to completely reverse Macedon's relationship with Athens, which had been a major threat for the past half century. The Athenians experienced a crushing defeat at Syracuse in late 413 during which most of their ships were destroyed. This left the Athenians in desperate need of a huge amount of timber to build new ships and Archelaus in a position to set the price. Archelaus generously supplied the Athenians with the timber they needed. In recognition of this, the Athenians honored Archelaus and his children with the titles of proxenos and euergetes.
Archelaus went on to institute many internal reforms. He issued an abundance of good quality coinage. He built strongholds, cut straight roads (important for movement of the military), and improved the organization of the military, particularly the cavalry and hoplite infantry.
Culture
Archelaus was also known as a man of culture and extended cultural and artistic contacts with southern Greece. In his new palace at Pella (where he moved the capital from the old capital at Aigai), he hosted great poets, tragedians, including Agathon and Euripides (who wrote his tragedies Archelaus and The Bacchae while in Macedon), musicians, and painters, including Zeuxis (the most celebrated painter of his time). Archelaus reorganized the Olympia, a religious festival with musical and athletic competitions honoring Olympian Zeus and the Muses at Dion, the Olympia of Macedon. The greatest athletes and artists of Greece came to Macedon to participate in this event. In addition, Archelaus competed and won in Tethrippon in both Olympic and Pythian Games.
Death
According to Aelian, Archelaus was killed in 399 BC during a hunt, by one of the royal pages, Crateuas. According to Constantine Paparrigopoulos, there were three accomplices: two Thessalians (Crateuas and Ellanokratis) and one Macedonian, Decamnichos. The latter used to be Archelaus' protégé. However Decamnichos once insulted, in front of Archelaus, the tragic poet Euripides for the smell of the poet's alleged bad breath. This outraged Archelaus who allowed Euripides to flog Decamnichos (or have him flogged) in punishment. Decamnichos was permitted to remain in the court of Archelaus; however, he did not forget about this treatment and thus participated in the killing of his king a few years later. Other versions of the king's death are reported by differing sources.
Children
Archelaus had several daughters and sons, including Orestes of Macedon and Archelaus II of Macedon.