Cassander

For his uncle, see Cassander (brother of Antipater).

Cassander (Greek: Κάσσανδρος Kassandros; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and de facto ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death.^[2]

Cassander
Stater of Cassander. The reverse depicts a lion and an inscription in Ancient Greek reading "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΚΑΣΣΑΝΔΡΟΥ", [of] King Cassander.
King of Macedonia
Reign	305 – 297 BC
Predecessor	Alexander IV
Successor	Philip IV
Born	355 BC^[1]
Died	297 BC (aged 58) Pella
Spouse	Thessalonike of Macedon
Issue	Philip IV Alexander V Antipater I
House	Antipatrid dynasty
Father	Antipater
Religion	Ancient Greek Religion

A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the Great, Cassander was one of the Diadochi who warred over Alexander's empire following the latter's death in 323 BC. Cassander later seized power by having Alexander's son and heir Alexander IV murdered.^[3] While governing Macedonia from 317 BC until 297 BC, Cassander focused on strengthening the northern borders and economic development, while founding or restoring several cities (including Thessalonica, Cassandreia, and Thebes); however, his ruthlessness in dealing with political enemies complicates assessments of his rule.^[4][5][6]

Early history

In his youth, Cassander was taught by the philosopher Aristotle at the Lyceum in Macedonia. He was educated alongside Alexander the Great in a group that included Hephaestion, Ptolemy and Lysimachus.^[7] His family were distant collateral relatives to the Argead dynasty.^[8]

Cassander is first recorded as arriving at Alexander the Great's court in Babylon in 323 BC, where he had been sent by his father, Antipater, most likely to help uphold Antipater's regency in Macedon, although a later contemporary who was hostile to the Antipatrids suggested that Cassander had journeyed to the court to poison the King.^[9] Cassander left Alexander's court either shortly before or after the king's death in June of 323 BC, playing no part in the immediate power struggles over the empire.^[10] Cassander returned to Macedonia and assisted his father's governance, he was later assigned by Antipater to Antigonus as his chiliarch from 321 to 320, probably to monitor the latter's activities.^[11][12][13]

Rule of Macedon

 

  Kingdom of Cassander

Other diadochi

  Kingdom of Seleucus

  Kingdom of Lysimachus

  Kingdom of Ptolemy

  Epirus

Other

  Carthage

  Roman Republic

  Greek colonies

As Antipater grew close to death in 319 BC, he transferred the regency of Macedon not to Cassander, but to Polyperchon, possibly so as not to alarm the other Diadochi through an apparent move towards dynastic ambition, but perhaps also because of Cassander's own ambitions.^[14] Cassander rejected his father's decision, and immediately went to seek the support of Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus as his allies. Waging war on Polyperchon, Cassander destroyed his fleet, put Athens under the control of Demetrius of Phaleron, and declared himself Regent in 317 BC. After Olympias’ successful move against Philip III later in the year, Cassander besieged her in Pydna. When the city fell in the spring of 316, Olympias was killed, and Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxana confined at Amphipolis.^[15]

That year, Cassander associated himself with the Argead dynasty by marrying Alexander's half-sister, Thessalonike, and overseeing the burial of Phillip III and Eurydice in the royal cemetery at Aegae; he further cemented his authority by founding Thessalonica, Cassandreia, and rebuilding Thebes.^[15] From 314-310, Cassander campaigned to the west and north, for a time extending Macedonian power as far as Apollonia and Epidamus, but was driven out by local rulers like Glaucius; his rule in Macedonia remained firm as he resettled defeated enemies in the tradition of Phillip II and fostered trade in the regions around his new cities.^[15][16] Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxana secretly poisoned in either 310 BC or the following year.^[17]

By 309 BC, Polyperchon had begun to claim that Heracles was the true heir to the Macedonian inheritance, at which point Cassander bribed Polyperchon to kill the boy, promising him an alliance and the return of his Macedonian estates.^[18][19] After this, Cassander's position in Greece and Macedonia was reasonably secure, and he proclaimed himself king in 305 BC.^[20] Diodorus Siculus relates that Cassander, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus declared their kingships in response to the assumption of royal title by Antigonus, following his victory over Ptolemy at Salamis in 306.

In 307–304 BC he fought the so-called Four–Years' War against Athens.^[21] In 304 BC, his rival Antigonus Monophthalmus sent his son Demetrius Poliorcetes to aid Athens against Cassander.^[22] Demetrius succeeded in driving Cassander from central Greece and created a Hellenic League, the League of Corinth, against him.^[23] In the winter of 303–302 BC, Cassander opened negotiations with Antigonus with a view to establish peace, but Antigonus refused.^[24] At this Cassander turned to Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus and convinced them to reform the coalition of 314–311 against Antigonus.^[24] In early 302 BC, Cassander sent one of his generals, Prepelaus, with an army from Macedon to join Lysimachus in an invasion of Antigonus's territory in Asia-Minor.^[24] Cassander himself marched with the main Macedonian field army into Thessaly to stop Demetrius from advancing into Macedon.^[24] Demetrius invaded Thessaly with a numerically superior force, Cassander stopped his advance by refusing to give battle and fortifying his positions.^[25] Lysimachus and Prepalaus had been very successful in Asia-Minor and Seleucus was marching with an army to join them.^[26] In the spring of 302 BC, Antigonus marched with an army from Syria into Asia-Minor to confront his enemies; he confronted Lysimachus and drove him from Phrygia.^[27] Antigonus realizing that the war would probably have to be decided in a major battle in Asia-Minor recalled Demetrius from Thessaly.^[28] With Demetrius gone Cassander sent part of his army with his brother, Pleistarchus, to join Prepalaus, Lysimachus and Seleucus in Asia-Minor.^[28] In 301 BC, the combined armies of Lysimachus, Seleucus, Prepalaus and Pleistarchus faced the combined armies of Antigonus and Demetrius at Ipsus. After the Battle of Ipsus in which Antigonus was killed, Cassander was undisputed in his control of Macedon; however, he had little time to savour the fact, dying of dropsy in 297 BC.^[29]

Cassander's dynasty did not live much beyond his death, with his son Philip dying of natural causes, and his other sons Alexander and Antipater becoming involved in a destructive dynastic struggle along with their mother. When Alexander was ousted as joint king by his brother, Demetrius I took up Alexander's appeal for aid and ousted Antipater, killed Alexander V and established the Antigonid dynasty. The remaining Antipatrids, such as Antipater II Etesias, were unable to re-establish the Antipatrids on the throne.

Legacy

 

Locations of Thessaloniki and Cassandreia in modern Greece.

Cassander stood out amongst the Diadochi in his hostility to Alexander's memory.^[9] Arrian later reported that he could not pass a statue of Alexander without feeling faint.^[30] Cassander has been perceived to be ambitious and unscrupulous, and even members of his own family were estranged from him.^[31] However, historians like John D. Grainger argue this characterization owes much to stories spread by his rivals.^[32]

Cassander was responsible for the deaths of more Argeads than other Diadochi, (Alexander IV, Roxana, and Alexander's supposed illegitimate son Heracles, as well as allowing Olympias to be killed by a Macedonian assembly), he was not the only one willing to kill Alexander's relatives: Polyperchon and Antigonus were just as willing to do the same when it benefitted them.^[33][34] From numismatic evidence, Evan Pitt argues that Cassander's actions until 311 BC were motivated more by self-preservation and maintenance of his own power rather than royal ambition and rivalry to Alexander the Great.^[35] Cassander's decision to restore Thebes, which had been destroyed by Alexander, was perceived at the time to be a snub to the deceased king, though it also had the realpolitik effect of providing a power base for Cassander in Boeotia.^[36][37]

 

Coin of Cassander minted after 310 BCE, displaying Alexander or Cassander wearing the lion pelt cloak and bearing the inscription "King Cassander" in Greek on the reverse.

Like the other Diodochoi, Cassander participated in the appropriation of regal iconography which linked him to Alexander the Great.^[35] Other Diadochi depicted themselves and Alexander on their coins in profile with varying attributes, such as elephant-hide headdresses or horns; Cassander followed Alexander's own precedent and had himself or the dead king wearing a lion-skin cloak stamped on one side of his coins.^[38][39] These royal iconographies established by Alexander and continued by his immediate successors set patterns for royal coinage which were influential and enduring across the Mediterranean and West Asia.^[40] Also of lasting significance was Cassander's refoundation of Therma into Thessalonica, naming the city after his wife. Cassander also founded Cassandreia upon the ruins of Potidaea, as well as the city of Antipatreia in the Aspros Valley.^[41]

Notes

1. The Age of Alexander: Nine Greek lives: "CASSANDER c. 355-297 B.C. The son of Antipater, he did not accompany the Macedonian army on its invasion of Asia, but remained in Macedonia ".
2. "Cassander". Encyclopedia Britannica. 2014.
3. "Cassander". Encyclopedia Britannica. 2014.
4. Beckett, Universal Biography, Vol. 1, p. 688
5. Smith, Mahlon H. "Cassander". Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus. American Theological Library Association. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
6. "Alexander's Successors to 221 BC". A companion to ancient Macedonia. Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. 2010. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-1-4443-2751-9. OCLC 676972389.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
7. Heckel, Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander's empire, p. 153
8. Ptolemaic Dynasty - Affiliated Lines: The Antipatrids July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
9. Fox, Robin Lane. Alexander the Great. p. 469, 2004 Ed.
10. Grainger, John D. (2019). Antipater's dynasty. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 70, 73. ISBN 978-1-5267-3089-3.
11. Grainger, John D. (2019). Antipater's dynasty. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 111–117, 123. ISBN 978-1-5267-3089-3.
12. Diodorus (2019). "18.39.7". In Waterfield, Robin (ed.). The library, books 16-20dPhilip II, Alexander the Great, and the successors. Oxford world's classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-875988-1.
13. Billows, Richard A. (1990-12-31). Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State. University of California Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0-520-91904-4.
14. Green, Peter. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. pp. 35-36, 2007 Ed.
15. "Alexander's Successors to 221 BC". A companion to ancient Macedonia. Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. 2010. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-1-4443-2751-9. OCLC 676972389.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
16. Diodorus, Siculus (2019). "20.53". The library. Books 16-20 : Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the successors. Robin Waterfield (Oxford world's classics paperback ed.). Oxford. ISBN 0-19-875988-6. OCLC 1082183474.
17. "Alexander's Successors to 221 BC". A companion to ancient Macedonia. Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. 2010. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-4443-2751-9. OCLC 676972389.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
18. Green, Peter. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. p. 44, 2007 Ed.
19. Diodorus, Siculus (2019). "20.28". The library. Books 16-20 : Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the successors. Robin Waterfield (Oxford world's classics paperback ed.). Oxford. ISBN 0-19-875988-6. OCLC 1082183474.
20. Green, Peter. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. p. 163, 2007 Ed.
21. Seibert, Diadochen, pp. 141–142; Habicht, Pausanias, pp. 78–80.
22. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, p. 169.
23. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, p. 169–173.
24. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, p. 174.
25. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, p. 175.
26. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, pp. 175–176.
27. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, pp. 176–178.
28. Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed, p. 179.
29. Pausanias (May 25, 2022). "Description of Greece".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
30. Arrian. (2019). "7.23.22". Anabasis of Alexander Or, the History of the Wars and Conquests of Alexander the Great. Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-0-243-71825-2. OCLC 1152271824.
31. Fox, Robin Lane. Alexander the Great, p. 475, 2004 Ed.
32. Grainger, John D. (2019). Antipater's dynasty : Alexander the Great's regent and his successors. Yorkshire. p. 138. ISBN 1-5267-3088-X. OCLC 1041510654.
33. Green, Peter. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. p. 38, 2007 Ed.
34. Grainger, John D. (2019). Antipater's dynasty : Alexander the Great's regent and his successors. Yorkshire. pp. 179–181. ISBN 1-5267-3088-X. OCLC 1041510654.
35. Pitt, Evan (2019). "An Ill-defined Rule: Cassander's Consolidation of Power". Karanos: Bulletin of Ancient Macedonian Studies. 2 (2): 33–42.
36. Green, Peter. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. pp. 40-41, 2007 Ed.
37. Grainger, John D. (2019). Antipater's dynasty : Alexander the Great's regent and his successors. Yorkshire. p. 156. ISBN 1-5267-3088-X. OCLC 1041510654.
38. Alonso Troncoso, Víctor (2013). "The Diodochi and the Zoology of Kingship: The Elephants". In Troncoso, Víctor Alonso, and Anson, Edward M. (ed.). After Alexander: the time of the Diadochi (323-281 bc). Oxford, UK ; Oakville, CT: Oxbow Books. pp. 357–363. ISBN 978-1-84217-512-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
39. Sheedy, Kenneth Alan (2007). "Magically back to life: some thoughts on ancient coins and the study of Hellenistic royal portraits". Alexander and the Hellenistic kingdoms: coins, image and the creation of identity the Westmoreland collection [exhibition, Museum of Ancient cultures, Macquarie university, opened on the 23rd of November 2007 at the start of the Second Biennal conference of the Numismatic association of Australia... to the 21 November 2008]. Ancient coins in Australian collections. Vol. 1. Australian centre for ancient numismatic studies. Numismatic association of Australia. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0-646-48150-0.
40. Lawton, Carol C. (1996). "Hellenistic Coin Portraits". www2.lawrence.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
41. Grainger, John D. (2019). Antipater's dynasty : Alexander the Great's regent and his successors. Yorkshire. pp. 156–157. ISBN 1-5267-3088-X. OCLC 1041510654.

References

• Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca chapters xviii, xix, xx
• Green, Peter, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2007. ISBN 9780297852940
• Richard A. Billows, Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, 1990. ISBN 0-520-20880-3
• Plutarch, Parallel Lives, "Demetrius", 18, 31; "Phocion", 31
• Franca Landucci Gattinoni: L'arte del potere. Vita e opere di Cassandro di Macedonia. Stuttgart 2003. ISBN 3-515-08381-2

External links

• A genealogical tree of Cassander

Cassander Antipatrid dynasty Born: c. 355 BC Died: 297 BC
Preceded by Polyperchon	Regent of Macedon 317–305 BC	Succeeded by Assumed Kingship
Preceded by Alexander IV	King of Macedon 305–297 BC	Succeeded by Philip IV