Adea Eurydice
Title: Eurydice II of Macedon or Adea Eurydice
Location: Macedonia
Born: 337 BCE
Died: 317 BCE
Occupation: Queen of Macedon and Warrior
Relationships:
- Mother: Cynnane
- Father: Amyntas IV
- Sibling(s): Unknown
- Spouse/Lover(s): Philip Arrhidaeus
- Children: None
Biography:
Adea, later named Adea Eurydice with her marriage to Philip Arrhidaeus, was born in 337 BCE and died in 317 BCE. She was the daughter of Cynnane, the half-sister of Alexander the Great, and granddaughter of Philip II and Audata (Carney 2006, 72). Cynnane trained Adea in the skills of a warrior, a traditional practice in Illyria, where Audata came from (Carney 2006, 72). Due to her royal blood and charming personality, Adea was able to climb to prominence among the Diadochi (“Successors”) within Alexander’s empire after his death (Carney 1987, 497).
After the death of Alexander the Great, Cynnane planned for Adea to marry one of the successors to his throne, settling on Philip Arrhidaeus, the half-brother of Alexander (Carney 2006, 72). When Perdiccas, another Diadochi of prominence, discovered Cynnane’s plans, he sent his brother, Alcetas, to prevent the marriage, but he ended up assassinating Cynnane in a panic (Carney 2006, 72). In order to save face, Perdiccas was forced to allow the marriage between Adea and Philip Arrhidaeus, landing her with the additional name “Eurydice” (Carney 2006, 72). Perdiccas soon died as a result of the wars of succession, leaving Adea Eurydice to woo his army away from their loyalty towards their male officers, though Antipater, the newly-appointed protector of the dual-kingship of Philip Arrhidaeus and Alexander IV, the son of Alexander the Great, was able to regain control (Carney 2006, 72).
Antipater then died in 319 BCE, leaving him to appoint Polyperchon as his successor, rather than his son Cassander, who went on to join with Philip Arrhidaeus and Adea Eurydice in an alliance (Carney 1987, 499). As Philip Arrhidaeus was not deemed fit to rule due to an unnamed disability, Adea Eurydice took the reins on their march against Polyperchon in support of Cassander, where she clashed with the forces of Olympias, Alexander the Great’s mother (Carney 1987, 499). At the Macedonian-Molossian boarder, Adea Eurydice, dressed as a soldier, faced off against Olympias’ forces though, without a fight, her forces defected to Olympias’ side out of respect for her reputation (Carney 2006, 71).
After this loss, Adea Eurydice and her husband were captured by Olympias and imprisoned as they tried to escape (Carney 1987, 500). Accounts suggest that Olympias brutally maltreated the pair, though this is mainly speculation, but the two did end up executed by the demand of Olympias – ending their claim to the throne with the support of Cassander (Carney 1987, 500).
Bibliography:
Carney, Elizabeth. Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great. Routledge, 2006.
Carney, Elizabeth. “The Career of Adea-Eurydike.” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 36 (1987): 496-502.