Heracles of Macedon (; c. 327 – 309 BC) was a reputed illegitimate son of

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

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 ...

by Barsine, daughter of

Satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...

Artabazus of Phrygia. Heracles was named after the Greek mythological hero of the same name, from whom the Argeads claimed descent.

Life

It cannot be established definitively whether Heracles was Alexander's son or not. Of the ancient sources, both

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

and

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

mention Barsine and Heracles but

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

in the Alexander's Anabasis mentions neither. Plutarch recounts that Alexander took Barsine as his mistress, but on the arguably spurious grounds that she was recommended to him by

Parmenion Parmenion (also Parmenio; ; 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief military lieutenant and Alexander's ...

(despite the many disagreements between him and Alexander, and Alexander's apparent contempt for his judgement). Of Barsine, Mary Renault states that: If Heracles ''was'' Alexander's illegitimate child, then it also raises the pointed question as to why he, as Alexander's only living son at the time of his death, was not immediately drawn into the succession disputes, and why he was passed over in favour of Philip Arrhidaeus –– who was only a son of Alexander's father

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

, and thus a more distant claimant than Heracles. Renault concludes that the romance with Barsine was invented retrospectively to validate Heracles' parentage. On Alexander's death

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, 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 ending at t ...

, who was then son-in-law of Barsine, advocated for Heracles' inheritance, but was unsuccessful. Either way, Heracles lived in obscurity until Alexander IV's murder by

Cassander Cassander (; ; 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and '' de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the ...

in 310 BC or 309 BC. At that point Polyperchon, a regent of Macedon who had been replaced by Cassander and had all but disappeared for the previous six years, began championing Heracles as Alexander's true heir, and Polyperchon began forming an army. Instead of fighting, Cassander negotiated with Polyperchon. By offering Polyperchon various bribes such as a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

and a large number of talents, Cassander persuaded him to murder Heracles, and Polyperchon retired to obscurity once more.Green, Peter. ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age''. p44, 2007 Ed.

Family tree

References

External links

A detailed biography of Heracles' mother Barsine

Children of Alexander III the Great
on Web Archive (Pothos.org 2011)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heracles 4th-century BC Macedonians Family of Alexander the Great Ancient Macedonians People who died under the regency of Cassander Murdered royalty of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) 320s BC births 309 BC deaths Greek people of Iranian descent