Amyntas (), son of

Antiochus Antiochus (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος) is a Greek male personal name, likely meaning "resolute in contention", or "unwavering". It is derived from the two words αντί ("against") and ὄχη ("support"). It was a dynastic name for rulers of ...

, was a

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ian general, fugitive and traitor. As officer of Philip II, he and

Amyntas (son of Perdiccas) Amyntas () is a male given name, a variation of (''amyntes''), derived from the (''amyntor'') and ultimately from the verb . It was particularly widespread in ancient Macedon, and was given to several prominent ancient Macedonian and Hellenist ...

were awarded proxenies by the

Oropians Oropos () is a small town and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in East Attica, Greece. The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famou ...

in Boeotia before 338 BC. After the death of Philip II, Amyntas fled from Macedonia. Arrian (p. 17, f.) ascribes his flight from Macedonia to his hatred and fear of Alexander the Great; the ground of these feelings is not stated, but Mitford (ch. 44. sect. 1) connects him with the plot of

Pausanias of Orestis Pausanias of Orestis () was a member of Philip II of Macedon's personal bodyguard (''somatophylakes''). He assassinated Philip in 336 BC. Pausanias was killed while fleeing the assassination. Family background "About this time it was that ...

and the murder of Philip. He took refuge in

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

under Persian protection; whence, however, after the

battle of the Granicus The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydos (Hellespont ...

, fearing the approach of Alexander, he escaped with the Greek mercenaries who garrisoned the place, and fled to the court of Darius. In the winter of the same year, 333 BC, while Alexander was at

Phaselis Phaselis () or Faselis () was a Greek and Roman city on the coast of ancient Lycia. Its ruins are located north of the modern town Tekirova in the Kemer district of Antalya Province in Turkey. It lies between the Bey Mountains and the forests ...

in Lycia, discovery was made of a plot against his life, in which Amyntas was implicated. He appears to have acted as the channel through whom Darius had been negotiating with

Alexander of Lyncestis Alexander () (d. 330 BC), son of Aeropus of Lyncestis, was a native of the upper Macedonian district called Lyncestis, whence he is usually called Alexander of Lynkestis or Alexander Lyncestes. Justin makes the singular mistake of calling him Ale ...

, and had promised to aid him in mounting the Macedonian throne on condition of assassinating Alexander. The design was discovered through the confession of Asisines, a Persian, whom Darius had despatched on a secret mission to the Lyncestian, and who was apprehended by Parmenion in Phrygia. At the

battle of Issus The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on 5 November 333 BC between the League of Corinth, Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III of Persia, Darius III. It was the second g ...

we hear again of Amyntas as a commander of Greek mercenaries in the Persian service and Plutarch and Arrian mention his advice vainly given to Darius shortly before, to await Alexander's approach in the large open plains to the westward of Cilicia. On the defeat of the Persians at the battle of Issus, Amyntas fled with a large body of Greeks to

Tripolis (region of Phoenicia) Tripolis (; meaning "three cities") was a maritime district in ancient Phoenicia. The center of the confederation of the three Phoenician cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus. Through the ages, it evolved to become the present Lebanese city of Trip ...

along with Aristomedes of Pherae and others. There he seized some ships, with which he passed over to Cyprus, and thence to Egypt, of the sovereignty of which—a double traitor—he designed to possess himself. The gates of

Pelusium Pelusium (Ancient Egyptian: ; /, romanized: , or , romanized: ; ; ; ; ) was an important city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, to the southeast of the modern Port Said. It became a Roman provincial capital and Metropolitan arc ...

were opened to him on his pretending that he came with authority from Darius : thence he pressed on to Memphis, and being-joined by a large number of Egyptians, defeated in a battle the Persian garrison under

Mazaces Mazaces, also Mazakes (Old Iranian: ''Mazdāka'', Aramaic: 𐡌𐡆𐡃𐡊 MZDK), was the last Achaemenid satrap of ancient Egypt during the late reign of Darius III of the 31st Dynasty of Egypt. Mazaces succeeded Sabaces after the latter's ...

. But this victory made his troops overconfident and incautious, and, while they were dispersed for plunder, Mazaces sallied forth upon them, and Amyntas himself was killed with the greater part of his men.

References

* ''Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great'' "Amyntas {{SmithDGRBM Generals of Philip II of Macedon Conspirators against Alexander the Great Ancient Greek generals Ancient Macedonian generals 4th-century BC Macedonians Medism Ancient Orestians Ancient Greek mercenaries in Achaemenid service Ancient Greek emigrants to the Achaemenid Empire