Pausanias of
Orestis ( grc, Παυσανίας ἐκ τῆς Ὀρεστίδος) was a member of
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the a ...
's personal bodyguard (''
somatophylakes
''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece.
The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon ...
''). He
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
Philip in 336 BC, possibly at the behest of Philip's wife
Olympias
Olympias ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 375–316 BC) was a Greek princess of the Molossians, and the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...
, or even his son
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 t ...
. Pausanias was killed while fleeing the assassination.
Motive as an assassin
The most popular explanation of the murder comes from
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 ...
, who expanded on its mention by
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
. According to Diodorus, the general
Attalus blamed Pausanias of Orestis for the death of his friend, who confusingly was also named Pausanias.
Pausanias of Orestis, feeling spurned, insulted his romantic rival Pausanias, Attalus's lover, in public. To secure his public honor, Pausanias, the beloved of Attalus, endangered himself in battle while protecting the king. Devastated by his lover's effective suicide, Attalus sought to punish Pausanias of Orestis by getting him drunk and raping him. For any number of reasons, Philip did not punish Attalus for the rape of Philip's former lover; probably as a consolation, Pausanias of Orestis was promoted to the rank of ''
somatophylax
''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece.
The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon ...
''.
It has been supposed then that Pausanias' motive for killing Philip was at least in part due to personal anger over Philip, who was the host of the party where Pausanias was raped, not having intervened in any way, nor even having reprimanded Attalus.
Problems with timing of the revenge
However, there is a problem with the delay between the rape and the revenge: Diodorus supports the attribution of a personal motive to Pausanias, but dates the events that led to the assault on Pausanias to the time of the Illyrian Pleurias, but the last known campaign Philip conducted against the Illyria took place in 344 BC. The correspondence between these dates would put eight years between Pausanias' rape and the murder of Philip – a long wait for an ostensibly hot-blooded act of personal revenge.
Killed while fleeing and trial of co-conspirators
Pausanias killed Philip at the wedding ceremony of Philip's daughter
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
to
Alexander I of Epirus
Alexander I of Epirus ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος Α'; c. 371 BC – 331 BC), also known as Alexander Molossus (), was a king of Epirus (343/2–331 BC) of the Aeacid dynasty.Ellis, J. R., ''Philip II and Macedonian Imperialis ...
; however, in the aftermath of the murder, whilst fleeing to the city gate in order to make his escape, Pausanias tripped on a vine root and was speared to death by several of Philip's bodyguards, including
Attalus, son of Andromenes the Stymphaean,
Leonnatus, and
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 ...
, who were also bodyguards and friends of Alexander.
The murder was certainly premeditated, as horses were found near where Pausanias had tried to flee.
Justin
Justin may refer to: People
* Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin
* Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire
* Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Ro ...
9.7.9-11 At the murder trial, two other men, Heromenes and
Arrhabaeus, were found guilty of conspiring with Pausanias, and executed.
Leonnatus, who threw the spear that killed Pausanias, was demoted, possibly under the suspicion that he was trying to prevent the assassin from being interrogated.
Memorial
Philip's son and successor, Alexander, had Pausanias's corpse crucified. However, as soon as the new king had left
Macedon, a memorial to Pausanias was erected by
Olympias
Olympias ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 375–316 BC) was a Greek princess of the Molossians, and the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...
, Philip's widow and Alexander's mother.
See also
*
Amyntas (son of Antiochus)
References
Sources
Ancient
Plutarch: ''Life'' of AlexanderDiodorus Siculus, 16.94
Modern
"Death of Philip: Murder or Assassination?"*''Alexander The Great'', J. R. Hamilton
*''Alexander Of Macedon 356-323 B.C.'', Peter Green
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pausanias of Orestis
4th-century BC births
336 BC deaths
Generals of Philip II of Macedon
Greek LGBT people
Ancient LGBT people
Somatophylakes
People associated with Alexander the Great
Ancient Macedonian generals
People executed for murder
Greek regicides
Ancient Orestians
People executed by Alexander the Great
Year of birth unknown
Ancient murderers