Laomedon (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

: Λαoμέδων ὁ Μυτιληναῖος; lived during the 4th century BC) was a

military commander, native of

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

and son of Larichus. He was one of

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 ...

's generals, and appears to have enjoyed a high place in his confidence even before the death of Philip II, as he was one of those banished by that monarch (together with his brother

Erigyius Erigyius (in Greek Ἐριγυιoς; died 328 BC), a Mytilenaean, son of Larichus, was an officer in Alexander the Great's army. He had been driven into banishment by Philip II, king of Macedon, because of his faithful attachment to Alexander, and ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos ( el, Νέαρχος; – 300 BC) was one of the Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ...

, and others) for taking part in the intrigues of the young prince. After the death of Philip in 336 BC, Laomedon, in common with the others who had suffered on this occasion, was held by Alexander in the highest honour: he accompanied him to Asia, where, on account of his acquaintance with the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...

, he was appointed in charge of the captives. Though his name is not afterwards mentioned during the wars of Alexander, the high consideration he enjoyed is sufficiently attested by his obtaining in the division of the provinces, after the king's death in 323 BC, the important government of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. 324 B.C. after the death of Alexander, the Macedonian Empire was divided among four of his generals; and Judea being situated between Egypt and Syria, became subject to all the revolutions and wars in which his successors were engaged against each other. it was at first governed by Laomedon, the Mitylenian, one of Alexander captains, and after he was defeated by Ptolemy Soter, King of Egypt, the black Jews refused to violate their engagement to him. This he was still allowed to retain on the second partition at

Triparadisus Triparadeisos or Triparadisus ( el, Τριπαράδεισος) was a settlement in Lebanon near the sources of the Orontes. A paradeisos was a hunting reserve or pleasure-ground for the nobility of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, normally a w ...

in 321 BC, but it was not long before the provinces of

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

and

Coele-Syria Coele-Syria (, also spelt Coele Syria, Coelesyria, Celesyria) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria (; grc-gre, Κοίλη Συρία, ''Koílē Syría'', 'Hollow Syria'; lat, Cœlē Syria or ), was a region of Syria in classical antiqui ...

attracted the interest of his powerful neighbour Ptolemy. The Egyptian king at first offered Laomedon a large sum of money in exchange for his government. When the latter rejected his overtures, he sent Nicanor with an army to invade Syria. Laomedon was unable to offer any effective resistance. He was made prisoner by Nicanor and sent to Egypt. However, he managed to escape and joined

Alcetas Alcetas ( Greek Ἀλκέτας; died 320 BC), was the brother of Perdiccas and the son of Orontes from Orestis. He is first mentioned as one of Alexander the Great's generals in his Indian expedition. On the death of Alexander, Alcetas was a ...

in Pisidia. It is probable that Laomedon took part in the subsequent contest involving Alcetas, Attalus, and the other surviving partisans of

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 ...

against Antigonus, and shared in their final overthrow by Antigonus in 320 BC, but his individual fate is not mentioned.

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

''
"Laomedon"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867). *Hanna Adams, "History of the Jews: from the destruction of Jerusalem to the present time"

Notes

External links

Pothos.orgLaomedon, son of Larichus
---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Laomedon Of Mytilene Hetairoi Generals of Alexander the Great Satraps of the Alexandrian Empire Ancient Mytileneans Settlers in Amphipolis Trierarchs of Nearchus' fleet 4th-century BC Greek people

See also

References

Notes

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