Who do you think was behind Philip's assassination???

[Ptolemy]

As we know the events surrounding Philip's assasination remain at least questionable. A lot of conspiracy theories exists as to who was the master-mind and his/er accomplices behind Philip's death. There are theories involving seperately Olympias, Alexander or both of them since they were those who had most to gain from the outcome.

So what do you think? Did Pausanias of Orestis acted alone or was he a part of a larger plot against King's life?? Do you believe Olympias or Alexander or maybe both had anything to do with the assasination??

[Tsontos]

I dont think Alexander had anything to do with it. For someone as religious as him, patricide would be unthinkable.

[terastios]

I believe that if Olympiada or Alexander wanted Phillip dead they wouldn't do it in public!
They would do it by poison or something else(we know Phillip was a heavy drinker).
I think the assacination as it happened (in public) it was suppose to send a message to others!

[Spartan]

I believe that if Olympiada or Alexander wanted Phillip dead they wouldn't do it in public!
They would do it by poison or something else(we know Phillip was a heavy drinker).
I think the assacination as it happened (in public) it was suppose to send a message to others!

I would disagree. I believe they would have done it in public just to cover their own hides. If they would have poisoned him in private and the other royal families found out then they could be removed from a position of authority and even executed. Public worked the best, this way all the people who attended the ceremonies could actually see the killer and make the connection from him to his clan. I don't believe Alexander was complacent in the murder. I believe that it was Olympias who planned it in fear that Alexander would not succeed his father due to Philips latest marriage and a new son from a 'Legitimate" Macedonian royal family.

Olympias just used Philips enemies in order to gain what she wanted, Alexander to become King!

[Truth Bearer]

Olympia had Philip assasinated without Alexander's knowledge.She seduced Pausania's and the minute Philip was hit she went the Philp's newest wife's quarters Attalu's goddaughter Cleopatra and strangled Philip's new born son.Thus preventing Attalu's famous comment "Now legitimate sons, not bastards will be born to kings," .........

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

When Pankration gets back from Greece he should be a huge part if this conversation. In his many hours of research writing his bool PATRIDA, he has gained a superior knowledge of that area, that rivals many with graduate degrees in the field.

[Truth Bearer]

It will be interesting also on what happened to Alexander the Great.Was he murdered,overdosed on alcohol or some rare virus killed him????

[effie]

Last year I visited Pella and the museum there. We had a Greek woman professor from the University in Thessaloniki as our guide. After viewing the beautiful objects on display - and incidentally all the writing on pieces of old tombstones that were used to build up Phillips tomb were in Greek NOT slav - we had a discussion about various books that had been written about Alexander the Great. She told me that the one person we should never believe is the author Mary Renault!!!!!! As my first contact with Alexander the Great had been through this woman's books I was a little nonplussed because I thought I had a fairly good knowledge of this great man.


Anyway, ignoring this professor's opinion....................... can I say that Renault contends that Pausanias was "persuaded" by Olympia to kill Phillip and that Alexander had no knowledge of it.

re Alexander's death, I have read that he had a fever and was given red wine to drink to quench his thirst. It was a mystery how the red wine got into his tent because the doctors had forbidden him drinking anything but water. It is suspected that Antipater paid someone to place the red wine there. This is not from Mary Renault!!! (smile).

Plutarch : " Contempt of divine power makes a man miserable, but, on the other hand, so does superstition. Like water, it seeps in to fill the depressed mind with fear and foolish notions. Alexander drank heavily, and he caught a fever. After suffering for twelve days, he died in Babylon [June 10, 323 B.C.]. 23"

After Hephaiston's death Alexander was depressed and started drinking, something that up to that time he hadn't done. He was famous for his healthy living habits, bathing, drinking and eating only a minimal amount, celibacy (he thought that making love was similar to a "small death"), etc.
He probably caught Typhus fever - this theory is based on his recorded symptoms and has been put forward by a group of present day doctors - and because of his lowered immune system due to the abuse he had subjected his body to, he nearly died. He was recovering though when he drank the forbidden red wine.

Another mystery is what eventually happened to his corpse. It was embalmed and sent to Alexandria. What happened to it afterwards?




We must be extremely careful when looking up references to Alexander the Great on the Internet. Even assumedly reliable sources print things that are not true.

Oh, and he is referred to everywhere as the Macedonian king. As most of the world is ignorant of Greek history, and as FYROM will soon acquire this name officially, the world will now believe that this slav country is Alexander's Macedonia. Why don't we round up all our stupid and incompetent politicians and send them to Iraq or somewhere they can experience at first hand the civilization of the Americans they bow to???????????????????????????

Greek history and civilization apparently is of no importance to them.

Effie

[effie]

Plutarch's history of Alexander the Great :

"Not long after this, Pausanias, having had an outrage done to him at the instance of Attalus and Cleopatra, when he found he could get no reparation for his disgrace at Philip's hands, watched his opportunity and murdered him. The guilt of which fact was laid for the most part upon Olympias, who was said to have encouraged and exasperated the enraged youth to revenge; and some sort of suspicion attached even to Alexander himself, who, it was said, when Pausanias came and complained to him of the injury he had received, repeated the verse out of Euripides's Medea-

"On husband, and on father, and on bride." However, he took care to find out and punish the accomplices of the conspiracy severely, and was very angry with Olympias for treating Cleopatra inhumanly in his absence. "

Full text at :

Plutarch's ALEXANDER (http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Renault/fire.plutarch.html)

[effie]

A good resource site is :

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Full Texts (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbookfull.html#Greece)

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

Thanks Effie.

[terastios]

I would disagree. I believe they would have done it in public just to cover their own hides. If they would have poisoned him in private and the other royal families found out then they could be removed from a position of authority and even executed. Public worked the best, this way all the people who attended the ceremonies could actually see the killer and make the connection from him to his clan. I don't believe Alexander was complacent in the murder. I believe that it was Olympias who planned it in fear that Alexander would not succeed his father due to Philips latest marriage and a new son from a 'Legitimate" Macedonian royal family.

Olympias just used Philips enemies in order to gain what she wanted, Alexander to become King!


I must admit it's a clever way of thinking.

[Ptolemy]

There are ancient sources mentioning involvement of Olympias.

Plutarch mentions "It was Olympias who was chiefly blamed for the assassination because she was believed to have encouraged the young man and incited him to take his revenge" (10.6) while Justin declares that "It is even believed that he [Pausanias] was instigated to the act by Olympias....Olympias it is cetain, had horses prepared for the escape of the assassin" (9.7.1-9)

If Olympias was the master-mind behind the assasination, Alexander wouldnt have been ignorant about it (Justin in 9.7.1 actually states Alexander was aware his father was going to die) but he didnt play an active role in the assasination.

There is an interesting alternative theory having to do with the sons of Aeropos. Both of them were executed as collaborators of Pausanias and they didnt lack motive. Philip had insulted highly their family by exiling their father Aeropos which for a noble Macedonian family could be taken as a very good reason for getting revenge.

[Ehetlaios]

I say Darius.

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

I doubt Darius. There are folk tales the Alexander had syphulus or something like that.

[Truth Bearer]

Darius no way.....

[Ehetlaios]

Why not Darius?

[Lyssius]

1), if you're talking about Alexander, Darius was -dead- at that time, and if
2) Phillip, Pausanias seems incredibly unlikely to want to betray macedonia, even if he hated phillip's guts.

Oh, and to effie, two things; Alexander drank incredibly heavily, as any macedonian would. Arrian and curtius both point out his drunkenness at a), Kleitus' death, B) his outburst at Attalus, There's even an entire book written on his drinking, "The Enemy Within".
And to what happened to the corpse, it was robbed and stolen when Alexandria was burned.
To Voulgaroktonos, his religiousness wouldn't detract him one whit from patricide in any form. Considering every god who killed their father wins the throne, (Chronos kills oneros, and Zeus kills Chronos), that would make him -more- likely to kill Phil'.

[Andrew]

....Lou Giaffo !!!!!

[pankration]

How did I miss this forum? For those interested in conspiracy theories on Philip's assassination YOU HAVE TO BUY MY BOOK because most of the book is based on the events leading up to and including the assassination. Keep in mind that it's a theory being used in a fictional story but I can assure you mine makes as much sense as any historian's (which I am by the way).
In a nutshell, here it is:
Pausanius was a pawn. He had a personal grievance against Philip which was fully exploited by Olympias. She manipulated him and led him to believe he was being a patriot. This would account for the plot that included the Lyncestians who were rivals for the throne. Pausanius himself did not commit the murder out of impulsive rage. He had an escape planned and believed he would be successful.
What of Olympias? It is well documented that Olympias hated Philip's last wife (and child). This was proven by her executing them after Philip's death. She is said to have formally mourned Pausanius (after Alexander left) and she purged the Macedonian court of Philip's supporters. Her ambition but especially her ambition for Alexander is almost unparalleled in history.
By deduction, she is the center of the plot. But read my book and find out for sure.

Links are below and thanks for the opportunity to push it again. It's been awhile.

[MAKEDON01]

I thought it was Pausanias, whom Phillip had a relationship with and had him raped at a gathering by some soldiers. It was a revenge attack. They believe it could have been Alexander because the soldiers that caught Pausanias were Alexanders close friends and it was said that they ran after him in an attempt to silence him by death so he does not tell any1 that he was paid to kill Phillip. Many various but simular theories. And as for olympia she worshipped Pausanias after the assasination of Phillip, she also made a shrine for him and Macedonians were ordered to give yearly sacrifices, This is why they might have thought she was behind it.

Just what i think anyway.

[zefs]

Alexander,in order to be the only legitimate heir to the kingdom. Alexander didn't like that Philip had fathered another, as the guest at the famous banquet said, purely Macedonian heir. He also didn't like the way Philip treated his mother and I'm sure she was behind it as well.

[Ariadni_Nefeli]

Probably some Greeks and Persians who didn't wanted the dream of Philip to unite Greece under his command against Persia to come true, and thought that -the young man then- Alexandrer, would probably be an easy puppet.

Of course they were wrong and Alexander not only united all the Greek Kingdoms under his leadership, but also gave to some traitors, and Persians, something to remember him, for anyone that might even consider to try and stop the unification of the Greeks. ;)

[pankration]

Probably some Greeks and Persians who didn't wanted the dream of Philip to unite Greece under his command against Persia to come true, and thought that -the young man then- Alexandrer, would probably be an easy puppet.

Of course they were wrong and Alexander not only united all the Greek Kingdoms under his leadership, but also gave to some traitors, and Persians, something to remember him, for anyone that might even consider to try and stop the unification of the Greeks. ;)

The Persians for centuries were known to bribe, hire and enlist Greeks to fight other Greeks. Your theory probably has a ring of truth to it.

[Ariadni_Nefeli]

Unfortunately yes brother...

Efialtes and Irostratoi die hard...

[Sikander]

Greetings,

My friend and I wrote a brief essay on a perspective of Philip's death on the Pothos site. I have not yet posted enough times to enable me to put the URL here but if you are interested in reading and discussing it, I would be happy to try to post more notes so as to be able to post it here for discussion or send it to anyone interested. I would welcome discussion and comment on our essay.

I am enjoying catching up on the many threads on this site.

Regards,
Sikander

[Ptolemy]

Hi Sikander and welcome to Motw,

I assume you wanted to provide this url.
http://www.pothos.org/content/index.php?page=death-of-philip-murder-or-assassination

Your approach is really good and examines the issue from all perspectives. However i would like to add just a comment. Philip wasnt exactly popular in the royal house of Lyncestis in Upper Macedonia. Although the literary evidence is scanty, this maybe could have been also the case for royal members of other Upper Macedonian royal houses for now we let it aside. We do know from a Athenean decree, Menelaus son of Arrhabeus, surnamed the 'Pelagonian' (at that time Pelagonia was believed to form a part of Lyncestis) was exiled or even on his own wish, prefered to fled from Lyncestis and find refuge in Athens at the time Lyncestis was annexed by Philip. His patronymic and his existence in the Athenean degree force a few modern historian to assume he could may be even the king of Lyncestis at the time of the annexation from Argeads. So we have another possible participant in the whole plot. In your essay, you mention the sons of the Lyncestian Aeropos. In Polyaenus str. 4.2.3 we learn there was a Macedonian commander named Aeropos at the time of the battle of Chaeronea in Philip's army. This Aeropos must have been someone very important to hold that position and his name is common among Lyncestians. In Polyaenus we got the info, this Aeropos together with Damassipos, were exiled from Macedonia due to the fact they brought in the camp a female harpist. If this Aeropos was the same person as Aeropos, father of Heromenes, Alexander and Arrhabeus, this should be a great hybris to their house. Hence members of this family would have a large motive to plot against Philip's life, the man who exiled their father and possibly other members of their royal house as we examined a little earlier. Remember another member of this royal family, Neoptolemos, grandson of Aeropos, fled Macedonia and found himself in Persian side fighting against Alexander and his own people, in Asia while in Hallicarnasos he lost his own life.