Achaeus (; flourished 3rd century BC) was a
Seleucid
The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...
nobleman and was the second son born to King and founder of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, ''Séleukos Nikátōr'', "Seleucus the Victorious"; ) was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to fo ...
and
Sogdian noblewoman
Apama I.
Background
Achaeus was of Greek and
Sogdian descent. He had three siblings: one brother the Seleucid King
Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter (, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus Soter, the Savior"; 2 June 261 BC) was a Ancient Greece, Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instabi ...
and two sisters: Apama and Laodice. Achaeus is sometimes called ''Achaeus the Elder'', to distinguish him from his grandson
the Seleucid General, Achaeus. He was a wealthy man and owned estates in
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. Achaeus was a benefactor for those who assisted during the war against the
Galatia
Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...
ns. The Seleucid military campaign against the Galatians took place between 269-267 BC, during the reign of Antiochus I. Those who had assisted Antiochus I and Achaeus were taken prisoner and Achaeus paid for their ransom to be released. Antiochus I won this military campaign. Those who had Achaeus as their benefactor inscribed their benefaction on a stone stele and placed it in the sanctuary of
Zeus
Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Zeus is the child ...
at Babakome and that of
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
at Kiddioukome. The descendants of those who were saved by Achaeus for all time were granted a
seat of honor at the public festivals and sacrificed an ox to Achaeus every year in the sanctuary of Zeus.
Achaeus married an unnamed Greek woman. From his wife, she had born him five children who were:
*
Antiochis, who married Attalus and became the mother of
Attalus I
Attalus I ( ), surnamed ''Soter'' (, ; 269–197 BC), was the ruler of the Greek polis of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey) and the larger Pergamene Kingdom from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the adopted son of King Eumenes I ...
, King of
Pergamon
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...
.
*
Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
, who held high positions under his paternal uncle Antiochus I Soter.
*
Laodice I, who was the first wife of the Seleucid King
Antiochus II Theos.
*
Andromachus, he was held captive by the Egyptian Pharaoh
Ptolemy III Euergetes
Ptolemy III Euergetes (, "Ptolemy the Euergetes, Benefactor"; c. 280 – November/December 222 BC) was the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt from 246 to 222 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom reached the height of its military and economic ...
.
[Grainger 1997, p. 47]
*
Laodice II, who married
Seleucus II Callinicus
Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon (; ''Callinicus'' meaning "beautifully triumphant", ''Pogon'' meaning "the Beard"; July/August 265 BC – December 225 BC), was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 BC to 225 BC. Faced with ...
(according to
Polybius
Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
).
References
Sources
* Austin, M. M. 2006. ''The Hellenistic World from Alexander to the Roman Conquest: A Selection of Ancient Sources in Translation''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Grainger, J. D. 1997. ''A Seleukid Prosopography and Gazetteer''. Leiden, New York and Köln: E. J. Brill.
External links
Biographical information of Apama at Livius.org
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Achaeus (Son Of Seleucus I Nicator)
3rd-century BC Greek people
Seleucid dynasty
Ancient Orestians
Greek people of Iranian descent