People > Perdiccas III of Macedon

Perdiccas III of Macedon

Background

Perdiccas III (Greek: Περδίκκας Γ΄) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 368 BC to 359 BC, succeeding his brother Alexander II. Son of Amyntas III and Eurydice, he was a child when Alexander II was killed by Ptolemy of Aloros, who then ruled as regent. In 365 BC, Perdiccas killed Ptolemy and assumed government. There is very little information about the reign of Perdiccas III. He was at one time engaged in hostilities with Athens over Amphipolis, and he was distinguished for his patronage of men of letters. Among these we are told that Euphraeus of Oreus, a disciple of Plato, rose so high in Perdiccas's favour as to completely govern the young king and to exclude from his society all but philosophers and geometers.

He also served as Theorodokos in the Epidaurian Panhellenic games that took place around 365 BC. He tried to reconquer upper Macedonia from the Illyrian Bardylis, but the expedition ended in disaster, with Perdiccas being killed. Perdiccas was succeeded by his infant son, Amyntas IV. The throne was soon usurped by Perdiccas' younger brother Philip II.

ReferencesJump up ^ Theocritus, Dioscuri (Idyll 22) by Alexander SensJump up ^ Orrieux, Claude. A History Of Ancient Greece, 1999, p. 256, ISBN 0-631-20309-5.Tritle, Lawrence A. ed. The Greek World in the Fourth Century: From the Fall of the Athenian Empire to the Successors of Alexander. London: Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0415-10583-5.External linksPerdiccas III Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and MythologyPerdiccas III of MacedonArgead dynastyBorn: Unknown Died: 359 BCPreceded byAlexander IIKing of Macedon368–359 BCSucceeded byAmyntas IV

Sources

Primary Sources

Theocritus, Dioscuri (Idyll 22) by Alexander Sens

Secondary Sources

Orrieux, Claude. A History Of Ancient Greece, 1999, p. 256, ISBN 0-631-20309-5.

Tritle, Lawrence A. ed. The Greek World in the Fourth Century: From the Fall of the Athenian Empire to the Successors of Alexander. London: Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0415-10583-5.