Cassander (in Greek, Κάσσανδρος — Kassandros, ca. 350—297 BC), King of Macedon (305—297 BC), was the eldest son of Antipater,
and founder of the short-lived Antipatrid dynasty.
He first appears at the court of Alexander the Great at Babylon, where he defended his father Antipater, regent of Macedon, against the accusations of his enemies
(principally the Queen Mother, Olympias). Having been passed over by his father in favour of
Polyperchon as his successor in the regency of Macedonia, Cassander allied himself with
Ptolemy Soter and Antigonus and
declared war against the regent. Most of the Greek states went over to him, including Athens. He
further effected an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King Philip
Arrhidaeus of Macedon.
Both Eurydice and Phillip III, however, together with Cassander's brother Nicanor, were soon
slain by Olympias. Cassander at once marched against Olympias and, having forced her to surrender in Pydna, put her to death (316 BC). In 310
BC/309 BC, he also poisoned Roxana and the nominal King
Alexander IV of Macedon, respectively the wife and son of Alexander the Great in
323 BC. He also bribed Polyperchon to poison Alexander's illegitimate son Heracles.
He had already connected himself with the royal family by marriage with Thessalonica, half-sister of Alexander the Great, and, having formed an alliance with
Seleucus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus against
Antigonus, he became, on the defeat and death of Antigonus around 301 BC, undisputed sovereign of
Macedonia. He died of dropsy in 297 BC. According to
Pausanias: "He was filled with dropsy, and from it came worms while he was still
alive. Philip, his eldest son, soon after coming to the throne took a wasting
disease and died. Antipatros, the next son, murdered his mother Thessalonica,
daughter of Philip and Nikasepolis, accusing her of being too fond of Alexandros,
the youngest son." Alexandros avenged his mother by killing his brother Antipatros, but was killed in turn by Demetrios the Besieger of Cities, son of Antigonus. Thus the entire family of Cassander
expired.
Cassander was a man of literary taste but violent and ambitious. He restored Thebes
after its destruction by Alexander the Great, transformed Therma into Thessalonica, and built the new city of Cassandreia upon the ruins of
Potidaea.
References
- Franca Landucci Gattinoni: L'arte del potere. Vita e opere di Cassandro di Macedonia. Stuttgart 2003. ISBN 3-515-08381-2
Cassander as fictional character
Mary Renault refers to Cassander by his Greek name, Kassandros, and depicts him as a
monster of evil, in particular in Funeral Games, in which novel he is the
villain.
External links
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