| Heracles of Macedon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Koine Greek: Ἡρακλῆς (Herakles) Latin: Hercules | |||
| Dynasty | Argead Dynasty | ||
| Pharaoh(s) | Alexander III – IV | ||
| Titles | King's Son (?) | ||
| Father | Alexander III of Macedon | ||
| Mother | Barsine | ||
| Born | ca. 327 BC, Asia? | ||
| Died | 309 BC, Peloponnese | ||
| Burial | Unknown | ||
Heracles (Koine Greek: Ἡρακλῆς, romanized: Herakles) was a reputed Perso-Macedonian illegitimate son of Alexander the Great of the Argead Dynasty during the Hellenistic Period. He is said to have been fathered extramaritally by Barsine, a daughter of Persian nobleman Artabazus II, who was satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia under Darius III, but later installed as satrap of Bactria and Sogdiana by Alexander. Heracles was named after the Greek mythological hero of the same name, from whom the Argeads claimed descent.
Biography[]
Heracles lived in obscurity, brought up in Pergamon, until Alexander IV's murder by Cassander in 310 BC or 309 BC. Upon the outbreak of the Fourth Diadochi War, Antigonus Monophthalmus sent Heracles, the now reputed seventeen-year-old illegitimate son of Alexander the Great, to Polyperchon as a bargaining chip to use against Cassander.
At that point Polyperchon, a regent of Macedon who had been replaced by Cassander and had all but disappeared for the previous six years, began forming an army in the Peloponnese and championing Heracles as Alexander's true heir. Nearchus advocated for Heracles' inheritance, probably to elevate his own position since he was the son-in-law of Barsine. Instead of fighting, Cassander negotiated with Polyperchon. By offering Polyperchon various bribes such as a sinecure and a large number of talents, Cassander persuaded him to murder Heracles, and Polyperchon retired to obscurity once more.[1]
Disputed dynastic claim[]
It cannot be established definitively whether Heracles was Alexander's illegitimate son or a pretender. Of the ancient sources, both Plutarch and Justin mention Barsine and Heracles but Arrian in his Anabasis of Alexander 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 (whose judgement Alexander often disregarded). A shortlived pawn in the succession wars, Heracles' parentage could have been invented retrospectively to validate him as a claimant. If Heracles was Alexander's illegitimate son, 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.[2]
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Green, P., 2007: Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age. London: Phoenix.
- Renault, M., 2001: The Nature of Alexander the Great. Penguin Books.
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