Archelaus I of Macedon

Archelaus I (Greek: Ἀρχέλαος Α΄) 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 than all of his predecessors together.

Biography

Family

Archelaus was a son of Perdiccas II by a slave woman. Archelaus obtained the throne by murdering his uncle Alcetas II, his cousin Alexander, and his half-brother, a child of seven years, the legitimate heir.^[1]

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.^[2]

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

The bust of Euripides, who was hosted by Archelaus

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.^[3]

Death

According to Aelian, Archelaus was killed in 399 BC during a hunt, by one of the royal pages, Crateuas.^[4]. According to the History of Greek Nation of Paparrigopoulos, there were three accomplices: two Thessalians (Crateuas and Ellanokratis) and one Macedonian, Decamnichos. The latter used to be Archelaus' protege. However Decamnichos once insulted, in front of Archelaus, the tragic poet Euripides for his alleged bad breath smell. Archelaus got outraged and allowed Euripides to punish Decamnichos through flogging. Decamnichos was allowed to remain in the court of Archelaus, however he did not forget about this treatment thus participated in the killing of his king a few years later.

Children

Archelaus had several daughters and sons, including Orestes of Macedon and Archelaus II of Macedon.

References

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

• Coinage of Archelaus
• Ancestry of Archelaus

v t e Kings of Macedon Argeads Karanus Koenus Tyrimmas Perdiccas I Argaeus I Philip I Aeropus I Alcetas I Amyntas I Alexander I Alcetas II Perdiccas II Archelaus I Craterus Orestes and Aeropus II Archelaus II Amyntas II Pausanias Argaeus II Amyntas III Alexander II Perdiccas III Amyntas IV Philip II Alexander the Great Philip III Alexander IV Regents Ptolemy of Aloros Antipater Polyperchon Cassander Antipatrids Cassander Philip IV Alexander V Antipater II Antipater Etesias Sosthenes Antigonids Demetrius I Antigonus II Demetrius II Antigonus III Philip V Perseus Philip VI (pretender) Non-dynastic Lysimachus Pyrrhus Ptolemy Keraunos Meleager