Cleopatra of Macedon
Daughter of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus; younger sister of Alexander the Great. Born c. 355 BCE at Pella. Married her maternal uncle Alexander I of Epirus in October 336 BCE at Aegae — the wedding-feast at which Philip II was assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis. Bore Neoptolemus II of Epirus (later king) and Cadmeia. Widowed 331 BCE when Alexander I was killed in southern Italy during his anti-Lucanian campaign; ruled as regent of Epirus during Neoptolemus II's minority. After Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE, became a politically central figure of the Wars of the Diadochi — her marriage was sought by Leonnatus, Perdiccas, Cassander, Lysimachus, and Antigonus as a route to Argead legitimacy. She was preparing to marry Ptolemy I in 308 BCE when Antigonus, threatened by the prospective Argead-Ptolemaic alliance, had her assassinated at Sardis. Her death effectively ended the Argead royal line in the female generation that survived Alexander.
Parentage
- parent: Philip II of MacedonPlut. Alex. 9; Diod. 16.91 (primary)
- parent: OlympiasPlut. Alex. 9; Diod. 16.91 (primary)
Relations
- parent: Philip II of MacedonPlut. Alex. 9; Diod. 16.91 (primary)
- parent: OlympiasPlut. Alex. 9; Diod. 16.91 (primary)
- sibling: Alexander III of MacedonPlut. Alex. 9 (primary)
- spouse: Alexander I of Epirus (Molossian king ~370-331 BCE, brother of Olympias and uncle of Alexander the Great, husband of Cleopatra of Macedon) · GreekAlexander I of Epirus (her maternal uncle, brother of Olympias) — entry pending if needed.Diod. 16.91 (primary)
Sources
- existence: Plutarch Alex. 9; Diodorus 16.91-94, 20.37; Justin 9.6, 12.2; Livy 8.24 (primary)