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Somatophylakes
''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. They consisted of seven men, drawn from the Macedonian nobility, who also acted as high-ranking military officers, holding command positions such as general or chiliarch. Alexander the Great appointed Peucestas as eighth ''somatophylax'' after the siege of Malli. Under Alexander the Great (Note that this list is speculative in several cases and would be disputed by scholars. For example, Hephaestion was probably not named as early as given below. The only ''complete'' list of Alexander's bodyguard in the original sources is found in Arrian (6.28.4), upon the extraordinary appointment of Peucestas in Carmania.) ;336–334 * Aristonous of Pella, Lysimachus, Peithon, Arybbas, Balacrus, Demetrius, Ptolemy. ;333 ...
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Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty, which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians, the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula,. and bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens, Sparta and Thebes, and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia. During the reign of the Argead king PhilipII (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the ''sarissa'' pike, PhilipII d ...
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Demetrius (somatophylax)
Demetrius ( grc, Δημήτριος) (died 330 BC) was one of Alexander's somatophylakes. He was suspected of being engaged in the conspiracy of Philotas Philotas ( el, Φιλώτας; 365 BC – October 330 BC) was the eldest son of Parmenion, one of Alexander the Great's most experienced and talented generals. He rose to command the Companion Cavalry, but was accused of conspiring against Alex ..., and was executed. Ptolemy (son of Lagus) replaced him as Somatophylax. References * Arrian, ''Anabasis'' 3.27.5 * Quintus Curtius Rufus 6.7.15 and 6.11.35-38 *Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great by Waldemar Heckel extract online 330 BC deaths Somatophylakes Ancient Macedonian generals Ancient Greek generals Executed ancient Macedonian people People executed by Alexander the Great Year of birth unknown {{AncientGreece-bio-stub ...
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Hephaestion
Hephaestion ( grc, Ἡφαιστίων ''Hephaistíon''; c. 356 BC  –  October 324 BC), son of Amyntor, was an ancient Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great. He was "by far the dearest of all the king's friends; he had been brought up with Alexander and shared all his secrets."Curtius 3.12.16 This relationship lasted throughout their lives, and was compared, by others as well as themselves, to that of Achilles and Patroclus. His military career was distinguished. A member of Alexander the Great's personal bodyguard, he went on to command the Companion cavalry and was entrusted with many other tasks throughout Alexander's ten-year campaign in Asia, including diplomatic missions, the bridging of major rivers, sieges and the foundation of new settlements. Besides being a soldier, engineer and diplomat, he corresponded with the philosophers Aristotle and Xenocrates and actively supported Alexander in his attempts to integrate th ...
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Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), 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 II of Macedon, Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20, and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and ancient Egypt, Egypt. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the List of largest empires, largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern Historical India, India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he Alexander's Balkan campaign, campaigned in the Balkans and reasserted control ...
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Somatophylakes
''Somatophylakes'' ( el, Σωματοφύλακες; singular: ''somatophylax'', σωματοφύλαξ) were the bodyguards of high-ranking people in ancient Greece. The most famous body of ''somatophylakes'' were those of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. They consisted of seven men, drawn from the Macedonian nobility, who also acted as high-ranking military officers, holding command positions such as general or chiliarch. Alexander the Great appointed Peucestas as eighth ''somatophylax'' after the siege of Malli. Under Alexander the Great (Note that this list is speculative in several cases and would be disputed by scholars. For example, Hephaestion was probably not named as early as given below. The only ''complete'' list of Alexander's bodyguard in the original sources is found in Arrian (6.28.4), upon the extraordinary appointment of Peucestas in Carmania.) ;336–334 * Aristonous of Pella, Lysimachus, Peithon, Arybbas, Balacrus, Demetrius, Ptolemy. ;333 ...
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Aristonous Of Pella
' Aristonous of Pella ( grc, Ἀριστόνους), son of Peisaeus (Πεισαῖος), who was one of the somatophylakes ''bodyguards'' of Alexander the Great, distinguished himself greatly on one occasion in India. On the death of Alexander, he was one of the first to propose that the supreme power should be entrusted to Perdiccas. He was subsequently Olympias' general in the war with Cassander; and when Olympias was taken prisoner in 316 BC, he was put to death by order of Cassander. Aristonous is described as of both Pellaean and Eordaean in origin,Arrian, ''Indica'' 18.5 which would mean that he was from Eordaea but raised at the court in Pella. According to Plutarch, a certain somatophylax, Aristophanes, took away Alexander's sword when he was quarrelling with Cleitus the Black Cleitus the Black ( grc-gre, Κλεῖτος ὁ μέλας; c. 375 BC – 328 BC), was an officer of the Macedonian army led by Alexander the Great. He saved Alexander's life at the Battle of the ...
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Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedon in northern Greece who became ruler of Egypt, part of Alexander's former empire. Ptolemy was pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 305/304 BC to his death. He was the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt until the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, turning the country into a Hellenistic kingdom and Alexandria into a center of Greek culture. Ptolemy I was the son of Arsinoe of Macedon by either her husband Lagus or Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander. However, the latter is unlikely and may be a myth fabricated to glorify the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Ptolemy was one of Alexander's most trusted companions and military officers. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Ptolemy retrieved his body as it was en route to be buried in ...
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Perdiccas
Perdiccas ( el, Περδίκκας, ''Perdikkas''; 355 BC – 321/320 BC) was a general of Alexander the Great. He took part in the Macedonian campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, and, following Alexander's death in 323 BC, rose to become supreme commander of the imperial army, as well as regent for Alexander's half brother and intellectually disabled successor, Philip Arridaeus (Philip III). He was the first of the Diadochi who fought for control over Alexander's empire. In his attempts to establish a power base and stay in control of the empire, he managed to make enemies of critical generals in the Macedonian army—including Antipater, Craterus and Antigonus—who decided to revolt against the regent. In response to this formidable coalition and a provocation from another general, Ptolemy, Perdiccas invaded Egypt, but his soldiers revolted and killed him when the invasion foundered. Family background According to Arrian, Perdiccas was the son of the Macedonian n ...
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Leonnatus
Leonnatus ( el, Λεοννάτος; 356 BC – 322 BC) was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the ''diadochi.'' He was a member of the royal house of Lyncestis, a small Greek kingdom that had been included in Macedonia by King Philip II of Macedon. Leonnatus was the same age as Alexander and was very close to him. Later, he was one of Alexander's seven bodyguards, or somatophylakes. After Alexander died in 323 BC, the regent, Perdiccas, made Leonnatus satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. Diodorus (Book XVII.37-38) tells us that during the Battle of Issus, the immediate family of Darius had been captured by the Macedonian Army. Darius' family was hysterical that they would suffer a dreadful fate. However, Leonnatus was able to explain to them, on behalf of Alexander, that this would not be the case. In fact, Alexander promised to respect them as royalty, increase their household servants and to raise Darius' 6-year-old boy as his own. He crashed the rebellion of ...
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Menes Of Pella
Menes of Pella ( grc, Μένης), son of Dionysius, was one of the Greek officers of Alexander the Great; and after the Battle of Issus (333 BC) was admitted by the king into the number of his somatophylakes, in the place of Balacrus, who was promoted to the satrapy of Cilicia. In 331 BC, after Alexander had occupied Susa, he sent Menes down to the Mediterranean to take the government of Syria, Phoenicia, and Cilicia, entrusting him at the same time with 3000 talents, a portion of which he was to transmit to Antipater for his war with the Lacedaemonians. He was a ''Hyparch'', and in this position, he may have been responsible for overseeing the existing administration as far as Cilicia. Apollodorus of Amphipolis Apollodorus ( el, Ἀπολλόδωρος) from Amphipolis was one of the cavalry generals of Alexander the Great, who commanded the force Alexander left behind with the Babylonian governor Mazaeus. He was entrusted in 331 BCE, together with Menes o ... was joined wit ...
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Ancient Greek Titles
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BCAD 500. The three-age system periodizes ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages varies between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others. During the time period of ancient history, the world population was already exponentially increasing due to the Neolithic Revolution, which was in full progress. While in 10,000 BC, the world population stood at ...
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Military Ranks Of Ancient Macedon
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's military may f ...
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