Amyntas III (Greek: Αμύντας Γ΄ της Μακεδονίας) (420 – 370 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 393 BC and again from 392 to 370 BC. He was the son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas, one of the sons of Alexander I.[1] His most famous son is Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.
He came to the throne after the ten years of confusion which followed the death of Archelaus I. But he had many enemies at home; in 393 he was driven out by the Illyrians, but in the following year, with the aid of the Thessalians, he recovered his kingdom.[2] Medius, head of the house of the Aleuadae of Larissa, is believed to have provided aid to Amyntas in recovering his throne. The mutual relationship between the Argeadae and the Aleuadae dates to the time of Archelaus.
To shore up his country against the threat of the Illyrians, Amyntas established an alliance with the Chalcidian League led by Olynthus. In exchange for this support, Amyntas granted them rights to Macedonian timber, which was sent back to Athens to help fortify their fleet.[3] With money flowing into Olynthus from these exports, their power grew. In response, Amyntas sought additional allies. He established connections with Kotys, chief of the Odrysians. Kotys had already married his daughter to the Athenian general Iphicrates. Prevented from marrying into Kotys' family, Amyntas soon adopted Iphicrates as his son.
After the King's Peace of 387 BC, Sparta was anxious to re-establish its presence in northern Greece. In 385 BC, Bardylis and his Illyrians attacked Epirus instigated and aided by Dionysius I of Syracuse,[4] in an attempt to restore the Molossian king Alcetas I of Epirus to the throne. When Amyntas sought Spartan aid against the growing threat of Olynthus, the Spartans eagerly responded. That Olynthus was backed by Athens and Thebes, rivals to Sparta for the control of Greece, provided them with an additional incentive to break up this growing power in the north. Amyntas thus concluded a treaty with the Spartans, who assisted him in a war against Olynthus. First Spartan-Macedonian forces suffered two defeats but in 379 they managed to destroy Olynthus.[3] He also entered into a league with Jason of Pherae, and assiduously cultivated the friendship of Athens.[2] In 371 BC at a Panhellenic congress of the Lacedaemonian allies, he voted in support of the Athenians' claim and joined other Greeks in voting to help Athens to recover possession of Amphipolis.[5][6]
With Olynthus defeated, Amyntas was now able to conclude a treaty with Athens and keep the timber revenues for himself. Amyntas shipped the timber to the house of the Athenian Timotheus, in Piraeus.
Family
Amyntas married first Eurydice, daughter of Sirras of Lynkestis, in 390 BC.[7] By her, Amyntas had three sons, all of whom became kings of Macedonia one after the other, and a daughter:
Eurynoe: According to Roman historian Justin, Eurynoe prevented Amyntas' assassination by her mother and her husband (thought to be Ptolemy of Aloros), who was also her mother's lover, by revealing the plan to her father. She is not referred again by any other source.[7] Amyntas divorced her in 379 BC.
Justin also mentions that Amyntas had three sons by his second wife, Gygaea. She was the daughter of Archelaus I and thus Amyntas's second cousin. To make peace with Argaeus II, Amyntas's second cousin-once-removed, Amyntas chose to marry Gygaea because she was the aunt of Argaeus but to do so he had to divorce Eurydice. Eurydice and her children considered the divorce to be against the permission of the gods because they considered the reason illegitimate. As a result, they considered Amyntas to have committed adultery. Justin also mentions that Amyntas had three sons by another wife, Gygaea (probably an Argead): Archelaus, Arrhidaeus and Menelaus. The fact that they did not try to take the throne before the 350s suggests that they were younger than Amyntas' children by Eurydice. They were ultimately eliminated by their half-brother Philip II because they had a claim to the throne.[7]
Amyntas died aged 50, leaving his throne to his eldest son, Alexander II.
^Roisman, Joseph (2010), "Classical Macedonia to Perdiccas III", in Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (eds.), A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 145–165, ISBN978-1-4051-7936-2
^ abOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Amyntas II". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 900–901.
^A History of Greece to 322 B.C. by N. G. L. Hammond. ISBN0-19-873095-0, 1986, page 479, "Molossi, Alcetas, who was a refugee at his court, Dionysius sent a supply of arms and 2,000 troops to the Illyrians, who burst into Epirus and slaughtered 15,000 Molossians. Sparta intervened as soon as they had learned of the events and expelled the Illyrians, but Alcetas had regained his..."
^ abcCarney, Elizabeth (2000). Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN0-8061-3212-4.
General references
Duane A. March (Third quarter 1995), "The Kings of Makedon: 399–369 BC", Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte (Franz Steiner Verlag) vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 257–282. JSTOR 4436380.
amyntas, macedon, amyntas, greek, Αμύντας, της, Μακεδονίας, king, ancient, greek, kingdom, macedonia, again, from, arrhidaeus, grandson, amyntas, sons, alexander, most, famous, philip, father, alexander, great, silverstater, amyntas, iiiking, macedoniapredeces. Amyntas III Greek Amyntas G ths Makedonias 420 370 BC was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 393 BC and again from 392 to 370 BC He was the son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas one of the sons of Alexander I 1 His most famous son is Philip II father of Alexander the Great Amyntas III of Macedonsilverstater of Amyntas IIIKing of MacedoniaPredecessorPausaniasSuccessorArgaeus IIKing of MacedonPredecessorArgaeus IISuccessorAlexander IIDied370 BCSpouseEurydice IGygaeaIssueAlexander IIPerdiccas IIIPhilip IIEurynoe wife of Ptolemy MenelausFatherArrhidaeus son of AmyntasMotherCleopatra Contents 1 Reign 2 Family 3 See also 4 Citations 5 General references 6 External linksReign EditHe came to the throne after the ten years of confusion which followed the death of Archelaus I But he had many enemies at home in 393 he was driven out by the Illyrians but in the following year with the aid of the Thessalians he recovered his kingdom 2 Medius head of the house of the Aleuadae of Larissa is believed to have provided aid to Amyntas in recovering his throne The mutual relationship between the Argeadae and the Aleuadae dates to the time of Archelaus To shore up his country against the threat of the Illyrians Amyntas established an alliance with the Chalcidian League led by Olynthus In exchange for this support Amyntas granted them rights to Macedonian timber which was sent back to Athens to help fortify their fleet 3 With money flowing into Olynthus from these exports their power grew In response Amyntas sought additional allies He established connections with Kotys chief of the Odrysians Kotys had already married his daughter to the Athenian general Iphicrates Prevented from marrying into Kotys family Amyntas soon adopted Iphicrates as his son After the King s Peace of 387 BC Sparta was anxious to re establish its presence in northern Greece In 385 BC Bardylis and his Illyrians attacked Epirus instigated and aided by Dionysius I of Syracuse 4 in an attempt to restore the Molossian king Alcetas I of Epirus to the throne When Amyntas sought Spartan aid against the growing threat of Olynthus the Spartans eagerly responded That Olynthus was backed by Athens and Thebes rivals to Sparta for the control of Greece provided them with an additional incentive to break up this growing power in the north Amyntas thus concluded a treaty with the Spartans who assisted him in a war against Olynthus First Spartan Macedonian forces suffered two defeats but in 379 they managed to destroy Olynthus 3 He also entered into a league with Jason of Pherae and assiduously cultivated the friendship of Athens 2 In 371 BC at a Panhellenic congress of the Lacedaemonian allies he voted in support of the Athenians claim and joined other Greeks in voting to help Athens to recover possession of Amphipolis 5 6 With Olynthus defeated Amyntas was now able to conclude a treaty with Athens and keep the timber revenues for himself Amyntas shipped the timber to the house of the Athenian Timotheus in Piraeus Family EditAmyntas married first Eurydice daughter of Sirras of Lynkestis in 390 BC 7 By her Amyntas had three sons all of whom became kings of Macedonia one after the other and a daughter Alexander II 384 367 BC succeeded his father Perdiccas III 383 360 BC succeeded his brother Philip II 382 21 October 336 BC father of Alexander the Great deposed his nephew Amyntas IV Eurynoe According to Roman historian Justin Eurynoe prevented Amyntas assassination by her mother and her husband thought to be Ptolemy of Aloros who was also her mother s lover by revealing the plan to her father She is not referred again by any other source 7 Amyntas divorced her in 379 BC Justin also mentions that Amyntas had three sons by his second wife Gygaea She was the daughter of Archelaus I and thus Amyntas s second cousin To make peace with Argaeus II Amyntas s second cousin once removed Amyntas chose to marry Gygaea because she was the aunt of Argaeus but to do so he had to divorce Eurydice Eurydice and her children considered the divorce to be against the permission of the gods because they considered the reason illegitimate As a result they considered Amyntas to have committed adultery Justin also mentions that Amyntas had three sons by another wife Gygaea probably an Argead Archelaus Arrhidaeus and Menelaus The fact that they did not try to take the throne before the 350s suggests that they were younger than Amyntas children by Eurydice They were ultimately eliminated by their half brother Philip II because they had a claim to the throne 7 Amyntas died aged 50 leaving his throne to his eldest son Alexander II See also EditTreaties between Amyntas III and the Chalcidians AmyntaioCitations Edit Roisman Joseph 2010 Classical Macedonia to Perdiccas III in Roisman Joseph Worthington Ian eds A Companion to Ancient Macedonia Blackwell Publishing pp 145 165 ISBN 978 1 4051 7936 2 a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Amyntas II Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 1 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 900 901 a b Champion Jeff Antigonus the One Eyed Barnsley pp Chapter I ISBN 978 1 4738 4036 2 OCLC 894227661 A History of Greece to 322 B C by N G L Hammond ISBN 0 19 873095 0 1986 page 479 Molossi Alcetas who was a refugee at his court Dionysius sent a supply of arms and 2 000 troops to the Illyrians who burst into Epirus and slaughtered 15 000 Molossians Sparta intervened as soon as they had learned of the events and expelled the Illyrians but Alcetas had regained his Aeschines On the Embassy 2 32 A history of Greece by George Grote a b c Carney Elizabeth 2000 Women and Monarchy in Macedonia University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 0 8061 3212 4 General references EditDuane A March Third quarter 1995 The Kings of Makedon 399 369 BC Historia Zeitschrift fur Alte Geschichte Franz Steiner Verlag vol 44 No 3 pp 257 282 JSTOR 4436380 External links EditCoins of Amyntas III Atheno Macedonian Alliance Translation of EpigraphyAmyntas III of MacedonArgead dynastyBorn Unknown Died 370 BCPreceded byPausanias King of Macedon393 BC Succeeded byArgaeus IIPreceded byArgaeus II King of Macedon392 370 BC Succeeded byAlexander II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amyntas III of Macedon amp oldid 1137876956, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
