Sirras or Sirrhas (; d. 390 BC) was the son-in-law of the king of

Lynkestis Lynkestis, Lyncestis, Lyngistis, Lynkos or Lyncus ( or Λύγκος or ''Lyncus'') was a region and principality traditionally located in Upper Macedonia. It was the northernmost mountainous region of Upper Macedonia, located east of the Presp ...

, Arrhabaeus ( 423–393 BC), having married his daughter Irra. He participated in an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition's defeat of the attempted invasion of Lynkestis by the Macedonian king Archelaus. He may have been a Lynkestian prince-regent or an Illyrian chieftain, part of the Illyrian force in a previous and also successful Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition against

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and

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 ...

during the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

. Sirras' daughter

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 ...

married Amyntas III, king of Macedon; the youngest of their sons was

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

, father 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 ...

Name

The origin of the name ''Sirras'' or ''Sirrhas'' is somewhat obscure. It has been suggested that the characteristic doubling of the ''r'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: ''ρ'') and the ending in ''-as'' (-ας) are typical of Macedonian names. Historian Waldemar Heckel notes that the "name does not appear elsewhere in Upper Makedonia, nor does it repeat within the family", but others interpret the name as being Lynkestian and not attested in

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

Biography

Origin

Sirras' origin is disputed, scholars being mainly divided on whether he was Illyrian or Lynkestian. Some have theorized that his father was probably the Illyrian chieftain Grabos, while his mother was perhaps a native Macedonian. The only evidence for Sirras' ethnicity in ancient literature is the description of his daughter Eurydice's ethnicity, expressly described as "Illyrian", and through her maternal grand-father Arrhabaeus as "Lynkestian" from the

Doric Greek Doric or Dorian (), also known as West Greek, was a group of Ancient Greek dialects; its Variety (linguistics), varieties are divided into the Doric proper and Northwest Doric subgroups. Doric was spoken in a vast area, including northern Greec ...

Bacchiadae The Bacchiadae ( ''Bakkhiadai''), a tightly knit Doric clan, were the ruling family of ancient Corinth in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, a period of Corinthian cultural power. History Corinth had been a backwater in eighth-century Greece ...

family. Modern scholars are divided on whether they are historically accurate or not, or whether they are mutually exclusive or not.

Participation in the Peloponnesian War

Although not mentioned in ancient historiography, Sirras was possibly the Illyrian chieftain during the

taking the side of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, as an ally of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus against Perdiccas II of Macedon. The marriage between Sirras and the daughter of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus in c. 430–420 BC is regarded to have been a political marriage to strengthen the Illyrian-Lynkestian alliance, in order to counterbalance the power of the Macedonian king

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 ...

. At first

avoided involvement in Macedon's war with Arrhabaeus, but in 423 BC they joined an expedition which ended with a retreat by the Macedonians and a brilliantly contrived escape of the Spartans. After an initial success against Arrhabaeus, Perdiccas persuaded his allies to await the arrival of Illyrian mercenaries. Rather the Illyrians opted instead to join the army of Arrhabaeus as they were now allies. The Spartan general,

Brasidas Brasidas (, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning one of his most spectacular victories. Biography Brasidas was ...

who came to support the Macedonians in their advance into the remote regions of Lyncestis, was abandoned by the Macedonians but was able to extract his army of 4,000 from Illyrian encirclement.

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

stated that the fear inspired by their warlike character made both Greek armies think it best to retreat. The young Spartans were clearly shaken by the fearsome appearance of the Illyrian forces. Thucydides reports Brasidas saying that the Illyrians may terrify those with an active imagination, they are formidable in their outward bulk, their loud yelling is unbearable and the brandishing of their weapons in the air has a threatening appearance, but when it comes to real fighting with an opponent who stands his ground they are not what they seemed; they have no regular order that would make them ashamed of deserting their positions when hard pressed; with them flight and attack are equally honourable, and afford no test of courage; their independent mode of fighting never leaving anyone who wants to run away without a fair excuse of doing so. Besides Brasidas' forces, Perdiccas' faction was supported by Chalcidians, however the campaign against the Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition was a disaster because of Macedonian incompetence, resulting in the end of Brasidas' alliance with Perdiccas. A pacification between Arrhabaeus and Perdiccas was started by

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Perdiccas was interested in peace with Lynkestis due to his recent defeat in the Lynkestian campaign, the Illyrian-Lynkestian collaboration, and his new enmity with Brasidas. On the other hand, Arrhabaeus was interested in peace with the Argeads to avert future invasions of his realm by Macedon.

War against Archelaus I of Macedon

In 413 Perdiccas's son Archelaus obtained the throne of Macedon, and he evidently continued his father's conflict against the Lynkestians, probably involving Illyrians. The Macedonian king undertook a war against the Lynkestian Arrhabaeus and his ally Sirras. Seeking help from the king of Elimeia, the marriage of Archelaus' eldest daughter with the king of Elimeia ensured a solid Upper Macedonian ally for Archelaus' war against Arrhabaeus and Sirras. Additionally, Archelaus made general ameliorations to the military and reinforced the borders of his kingdom, which apparently held the Illyrians momentarily at bay.

Family

Sirras' daughter,

, married King Amyntas III of Macedon in around 390 BC, probably in a Macedonian effort to establish an alliance with both the

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

and Lynkestians, or to detach the Lynkestians from their historical alliance with the Illyrians, after Amyntas was defeated by Illyrians or an Illyrian-Lynkestian coalition in 393 BC.; ; ; ; ; . One of the sons from this marriage was the future

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend 5th-century BC regents 4th-century BC regents Ancient Macedonian generals Ancient Lyncestians Illyrian royalty People of the Peloponnesian War