Queen Adea-Eurydice – Alexander the Great’s niece and sister-in-law who tried to take over the Macedonian Empire

Queen Adea-Eurydice (also known as Eurydice II) was the wife of her uncle, King Philip III of Macedonia. She was the granddaughter of both King Philip II of Macedonia and King Perdiccas III of Macedonia.^[1] She was the niece and sister-in-law of King Alexander the Great.^[2] Because her husband had an intellectual disability, Queen Adea-Eurydice tried to take control of the Macedonian Empire.^[3] However, her greatest rival was Queen Olympias, the mother of King Alexander the Great.^[4] Both women fought to take control of the Macedonian Empire. However, one of them would become the victor.^[5]

In circa 338 B.C.E., Queen Adea-Eurydice was born.^[6] Her given name was Adea^[7]. She was the granddaughter of King Philip II of Macedonia (r. 359-336 B.C.E.) and Perdiccas III of Macedonia (r. 365-360 B.C.E.).^[8] Her mother was Princess Cynane (the daughter of King Philip II of Macedonia and Queen Audata).^[9] Her father was the former King Amyntas IV of Macedonia.^[10] He reigned briefly in 359 B.C.E.^[11] However, his uncle, King Philip II, had declared him too young to rule and ascended his throne.^[12] Adea was also the niece of Alexander the Great and Philip III.^[13] In 336 B.C.E., Alexander the Great killed her father because he was a rival to the Macedonian throne.^[14] It was said that Princess Cynane trained Adea in military arts.^[15]

In 323 B.C.E., King Alexander the Great of Macedonia died. He did not designate a successor.^[16] His Macedonian Empire was split between his intellectually disabled brother, King Philip III of Macedonia and King Alexander the Great’s infant son, King Alexander IV.^[17] Princess Cynane wanted to marry her daughter, Adea, to King Philip III of Macedonia.^[18] 

Princess Cynane raised an army and went with her daughter, Adea, into Asia to meet the Macedonian army.^[19] She pledged to die if she did not succeed in marrying Adea to King Philip III.^[20] General Alcetas told her to stand down, but she refused.^[21] They fought, and Cynane died in battle.^[22] When General Alcetas’s troops realised that Princess Cynane had been killed, they were devastated and rioted.^[23] In order to calm his troops, General Alcetas had no choice but to marry Adea to King Philip III of Macedonia.^[24] During her marriage, Adea changed her name to Eurydice, in honour of her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Eurydice I of Macedonia.^[25] Adea-Eurydice was now queen of Macedonia.^[26]

After her marriage, Queen Adea-Eurydice took steps to try to woo the Macedonian army over King Alexander the Great’s former generals.^[27] Queen Adea-Eurydice constantly tried to assert her power and control over King Philip III’s temporary guardians.^[28] In Triparadeisus, she demanded that the Macedonian regents, Peithon and Arrihidaeus, allow her to participate in the regency.^[29] When General Antigonus and General Antipater arrived in Triparadeisus, the authority over the Macedonian Empire was given to General Antipater.^[30] When the Macedonian army asked General Antipater for back pay, General Antipater told them that he could not do so immediately.^[31] Queen Adea-Eurydice used this opportunity against him.^[32] She spoke out against General Antipater in the assembly, which stirred rioting in the streets.^[33] General Antipater nearly escaped the city with his life.^[34] He went to his own camp, summoned his soldiers and put down the riots.^[35] This event showed that Queen Adea-Eurydice’s goal was to control the Macedonian military, and she almost succeeded.^[36] She was even willing to kill King Alexander the Great’s generals to gain power.^[37] Queen Adea-Eurydice was still a teenager when she almost killed General Antipater.^[38]

Queen Adea-Eurydice had been acting as a regent instead of just a royal queen consort.^[39] Her husband, King Philip III, had an intellectual disability and would always be considered a “minor.”^[40] Therefore, Queen Adea-Eurydice initiated policies and took decisive actions regarding the state all on her own.^[41] However, Queen Adea-Eurydice was extremely vulnerable because she could not produce a son, which was a requirement for a Macedonian queen.^[42] Therefore, her position as queen was very unstable.^[43]

In 319 B.C.E., Queen Adea-Eurydice and King Philip III of Macedonia left Triparadeisus and went back to Macedonia.^[44] General Polyperchon succeeded General Antipater as Regent.^[45] However, Queen Adea-Eurydice did not approve of General Polyperchon.^[46] In 317 B.C.E., Queen Adea-Eurydice deposed General Polyperchon as regent.^[47] She installed General Cassander as regent instead.^[48] The relationship between Cassander and Queen Adea-Eurydice was not close. He was slow in returning to Macedonia.^[49] This left Queen Adea-Eurydice on her own to face Queen Olympias’s army.^[50] Polyperchon quickly joined forces with Queen Olympias, who wanted to take power through her grandson, King Alexander IV.^[51] Queen Roxane and King Alexander IV had joined Macedonia and sought protection under Queen Olympias.^[52] Therefore, Queen Olympias was the main rival to Queen Adea-Eurydice.^[53]

Queen Olympias’s forces and Queen Adea-Eurydice’s forces met at the Macedonian borders for battle.^[54] It was said that Queen Adea-Eurydice was dressed as a Macedonian soldier.^[55] This showed that Queen Adea-Eurydice intended to fight in battle, just like her mother, Princess Cynane.^[56] However, Queen Adea-Eurydice’s Macedonian army deserted her for Queen Olympias.^[57] No matter how much she could bribe her soldiers to fight for her, she was no match for Queen Olympias.^[58] Her soldiers chose Queen Olympias instead of Queen Adea-Eurydice because Queen Olympias was the mother of King Alexander the Great.^[59]

Queen Olympias captured Queen Adea-Eurydice and King Philip III of Macedonia.^[60] King Philip III of Macedonia was stabbed to death.^[61] Queen Adea-Eurydice was given the choice of the sword, noose, or hemlock.^[62] She chose the noose.^[63] She was around twenty-one years old.^[64] According to the Greek historian Diodorus, Queen Adea-Eurydice died a noble death and called for vengeance on Queen Olympias.^[65] In 316 B.C.E., General Cassander defeated and executed Queen Olympias.^[66] He then buried Queen Adea-Eurydice, King Philip III, and Princess Cynane and gave them a lavish funeral befitting their royal status.^[67]

Queen Adea-Eurydice attempted to seize control of the Macedonian Empire.^[68] She almost succeeded.^[69] However, she lost to Queen Olympias, who had more prestige as the mother of King Alexander the Great.^[70]  However, Queen Adea-Eurydice was very powerful.^[71] She made many state decisions on her own.^[72] Queen Adea-Eurydice took a major gamble and lost.^[73] However, Queen Adea-Eurydice showed that she was one of Macedonia’s most talented queens.^[74]

Sources:

Carney, E. D. (2000). Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Dunn, D. (2024). The Missing Thread: A Women’s History of the Ancient World. London, United Kingdom: Penguin Publishing Group.