Nicaea ( el, Nίκαια, Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
/ref> – ) was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and was a daughter of the powerful

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...

. Her mother's name is unknown. She was born and raised in Macedonia while her father was governor of Macedonia during the reign of Greek King

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

. Nicaea was sent by her father to Asia accompanied by her brother

Iollas Iollas (in Greek Ioλλας or Ioλας; lived 4th century BC) was the son of Antipater and the brother of Cassander, king of Macedon. He was one of the royal youths who, according to the Macedonian custom, held offices about the king's person and ...

and a certain Archias in 323 BC to be married to the Macedonian military commander,

Perdiccas Perdiccas ( el, Περδίκκας, ''Perdikkas''; 355 BC – 321/320 BC) was a general of Alexander the Great. He took part in the Macedonian campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, and, following Alexander's death in 323 BC, rose to becom ...

, at a time when Perdiccas still hoped to maintain friendly relations with the regent. Perdiccas, despite already entertaining hostile designs, married Nicaea. Not so long afterwards, on the advice of

Eumenes Eumenes (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης; c. 362316 BC) was a Greek general and satrap. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as both Alexander's personal secretary and as a battlefield commander. He later was a participant in th ...

, Perdiccas decided to divorce Nicaea, so he could marry

Cleopatra of Macedon Cleopatra of Macedonia (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα της Μακεδονίας; c. 355/354 BC – 308 BC), or Cleopatra of Epirus (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα της Ηπείρου) was an ancient Macedonian princess and later queen regent of Epiru ...

, the full sister of

. Perdiccas took this step before setting out on his expedition to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. His decision to divorce Nicaea led to an immediate rupture in the relations between Perdiccas and Antipater.

Photius Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...

, ''Bibliotheca'',
cod. 92

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which s ...

, ''Bibliotheca'', xviii. 23 Around 321 BC, as part of an alliance agreement, Antipater married Nicaea to

Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus was ...

, who governed

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to th ...

. In 306 BC Lysimachus became King of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and Macedon. Nicaea bore Lysimachus three children: one son Agathocles; and two daughters:

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...

and

Arsinoe I Arsinoe I ( el, Αρσινόη Α’, 305 BC – after c. 248 BC), Footnote 10 was queen of Egypt by marriage to Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Life Arsinoe was the second daughter and youngest child born to King Lysimachus and Nicaea of Macedon. He ...

. Nicaea died from unknown causes sometime between 302 BC and 300 BC. Shortly after her death, Lysimachus renamed a city in

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, ...

, Asia Minor, calling the city

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

(modern

İznik İznik is a town and an administrative district in the Province of Bursa, Turkey. It was historically known as Nicaea ( el, Νίκαια, ''Níkaia''), from which its modern name also derives. The town lies in a fertile basin at the eastern end ...

, Turkey) in honour of his late wife.

References

Sources

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

''Geography'', xii, 4
*

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

, ''Ethnica'', s.v. "Nikaia" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicaea of Macedon 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Greek women Hellenistic Thrace Hellenistic Macedonia 4th-century BC Macedonians Ancient Macedonian queens consort Antipatrid dynasty Nicaea