Audata (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

Αὐδάτη; ruled 359 – 336 BC) was an Illyrian princess and the first attested wife of

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

Biography

She was the daughter or granddaughter of the Illyrian king Bardyllis. In order to concentrate on the internal struggle necessary to secure his crown, Philip II reaffirmed the treaty the Illyrians had imposed on Macedonia by force of arms and sealed the alliance with Bardyllis by his marriage of Audata. This action undoubtedly deterred a full-scale Illyrian invasion of Macedonia at a time when the country was most vulnerable. Philip II immediately consolidated his power as a result, so much that he defeated Bardylis in a decisive battle in 358 BC. Audata was the first attested wife of Philip II. Their marriage has been estimated to have taken place during the events between 360 and 359 BCE. She took the name

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

, the name of Philip's mother, after the wedding. This name change was probably due to dynastic reasons, because she was briefly the official queen of Philip II. Calling her Eurydice could easily be a mistake of either Arrian or

Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

, but it could also signify that Philip chose to change Audata's Illyrian name to something more

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, or it could speak to his filial piety or simply to indicate that her status had changed. Soon after,

Olympias Olympias (; c. 375–316 BC) was a Ancient Greeks, Greek princess of the Molossians, the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip of Macedon, Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...

became the main wife of Philip II. Her granddaughter was also named Eurydice. Audata probably lived into her daughter's teens and may still have been alive at the time of her daughter's marriage to Philip's nephew Amyntas IV. The assignment of the name Eurydice to

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, the niece of

Attalus Attalus or Attalos may refer to: People *Several members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon **Attalus I, ruled 241 BC–197 BC **Attalus II Philadelphus, ruled 160 BC–138 BC **Attalus III, ruled 138 BC–133 BC *Attalus, father of Ph ...

in 337/336 BC may suggest that Audata was no longer alive or at the court at that time, but

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

would certainly have encountered her in

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

as a child.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Audata Illyrian royalty Wives of Philip II of Macedon Illyrian women Ancient princesses