Alcetas I of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλκέτας; 576–547 BC) was a son of
Aeropus I of Macedon
Aeropus I of Macedon (Greek: Ἀέροπος Αʹ ὁ Μακεδών) was the son of Philip I, the great-grandson of Perdiccas I, the first king of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia according to Herodotus, and the father of Alcetas.
Reign
At the ...
and the 8th king of the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
kingdom of Macedonia, counting from
Karanus
Caranus or Karanos ( gr, Κάρανος, Káranos) was the first king of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia according to later traditions. According to Herodotus, however, the first king was Perdiccas I. Caranus is first reported by Theopompus and ...
, and the 5th, counting from
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 becom ...
, reigning, according to
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
, 29 years. He was the father of
Amyntas I
Amyntas I (Greek: Ἀμύντας Aʹ; 498 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (c. 547 – 512 / 511 BC) and then a vassal of Darius I from 512/511 to his death 498 BC, at the time of Achaemenid Macedonia. He was a son of Alce ...
, who reigned in the latter part of the 6th century BC.
By all accounts, Alcetas was a calm and stable ruler, who sought to preserve his kingdom through peaceful means. Unlike his predecessors, he apparently did not engage in unnecessary warfare in order to extend the boundaries of his kingdom. His wife is unknown.
References
* Farr, Edward, ''History of the Macedonians'' (Robert Carter & Brothers, New York, 1850), p. 38
*
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, (viii. 139.)
*
547 BC deaths
6th-century BC Macedonian monarchs
Argead kings of Macedonia
Year of birth unknown
{{AncientGreece-bio-stub