Cynane (, ''Kynane'' or , ''Cyna'' or , ''Cynna''; 357 – 323 BC) was half-sister to

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 ...

, and daughter of Philip II by

Audata Audata (Ancient Greek Αὐδάτη; ruled 359 – 336 BC) was an Illyrian princess and the first attested wife of Philip II of Macedon. Biography She was the daughter or granddaughter of the Illyrian king Bardyllis. In order to concen ...

, an Illyrian princess. She is estimated to have been born in 357 BC.

Biography

According to Polyaenus, Audata trained her daughter in "the arts of war" in the Illyrian tradition. Cynane's father gave her in marriage to her cousin

Amyntas 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 ...

, by whom she had a daughter and by whose death she was left a widow in 336 BC. In the following year Alexander promised her hand, as a reward for his services, to

Langarus Langarus (; died 335 BC), king of the Agrianians, was a contemporary of Alexander the Great (336–323 BC), with whom he ingratiated himself even before the death of Philip II, previous king of Macedon. Langarus rendered Alexander important se ...

, king of the

Agrianians The Agrianes (Ancient Greek: Ἀγριᾶνες, ''Agrianes'' or Ἀγρίαι, ''Agriai'') or Agrianians, were a tribe whose country was centered at Upper Strymon, in present-day central Western Bulgaria as well as southeasternmost Serbia, at t ...

, but the intended bridegroom became ill and died. Cynane continued unmarried and employed herself in the education of her daughter, Adea or

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

, whom she is said to have trained, after the manner of her own education, in martial exercises. It was Eurydice who took command of Cynane's troops after her death. When her half-brother

Philip Arrhidaeus Philip III Arrhidaeus (; BC – 317 BC) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 323 until his execution in 317 BC. He was a son of King Philip II of Macedon by Philinna of Larissa, and thus an elder half-brother of Alexander th ...

was chosen king in 323 BC, Cynane determined to marry Eurydice to him, and crossed over to

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

accordingly. Out of all royal Macedonian women in the Hellenistic Period, Cynane was one of only three to fight on the front lines. Macurdy claims that Cynane killed an Illyrian queen in battle and is, in fact, one of the only women recorded to have killed an enemy in battle. She also defeated an army of the now dead Alexander the Great when facing

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 ...

, brother of

Perdiccas Perdiccas (, ''Perdikkas''; 355BC – 320BC) was a Macedonian general, successor of Alexander the Great, and the regent of Alexander's empire after his death. When Alexander was dying, he entrusted his signet ring to Perdiccas. Initially ...

(the regent). Her influence was probably great, and her project to marry off Eurydice alarmed

and

Antipater Antipater (; ; 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general, regent and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander ...

, the former of whom sent his brother

to meet her on her way and put her to death. Alcetas did so in defiance of the feelings of his troops, and Cynane met her doom with an undaunted spirit. Upon her death, Alcetas' troops rioted and virtually ensured Eurydice's wedding took place, which was Cynane's ultimate goal. Unfortunately, both daughter and son-in-law were eventually killed by

Olympias Olympias (; c. 375–316 BC) was a Ancient Greeks, Greek princess of the Molossians, the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip of Macedon, Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...

. In 317 BC,

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 ...

, after defeating

, buried Cynane with Eurydice and Arrhidaeus at Aegae, the royal burying-place.See .

Polyaenus Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; , "much-praised") was a 2nd-century Roman Macedonian author and rhetorician, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' (), which has been preserved. He was born in Bithynia, Asia Minor. The ''Suda'' c ...

, half a millennium later, in the second century C.E., wrote:

References

Bibliography

Modern sources

* *

Ancient sources

Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to: * Aelianus Tacticus, 2nd-century Greek military writer in Rome * Casperius Aelianus (13–98 AD), Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan * Claudius Aelianus Claudius Aelianus (; ), commonly Aelian (), born at Pr ...

, ''Varia Historia''
xiii. 36
*

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 ...

, ''

Anabasis Alexandri The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The '' Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a history of ...

''
i. 5
*

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

, ''

Deipnosophistae The ''Deipnosophistae'' (, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. , where ''sophists'' may be translated more loosely as ) is a work written in Ancient Greek by Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of Greek literature, literary, Ancient history, h ...

''
xiii. 5
*

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, ''Bibliotheca'', xix. 52 *

Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

, ''Bibliotheca''
cod. 92
*

, ''Stratagemata''
viii. 60
{{Illyrians 4th-century BC births 323 BC deaths Ancient Macedonian queens consort Family of Alexander the Great Women in Hellenistic warfare People who died under the regency of Perdiccas Murdered royalty of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Illyrian women 4th-century BC women Daughters of kings