Alexander I of Epirus ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος Α'; c. 371 BC – 331 BC), also known as Alexander Molossus (), was a king of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

(343/2–331 BC) of the

Aeacid dynasty Aeacidae ( grc-gre, Αἰακίδαι, Aiakídai) refers to the Greek descendants of Aeacus, including Peleus, son of Aeacus, and Achilles, grandson of Aeacus—several times in the ''Iliad'' Homer refers to Achilles as Αἰακίδης (Aiakid ...

.Ellis, J. R., ''Philip II and Macedonian Imperialism'', Thames and Hudson, 1976, pp. 90–1, 156–7 As the son of Neoptolemus I and brother of Olympias, Alexander I was an uncle, and a brother-in-law, of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. He was also an uncle of

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

, (

Aeacides of Epirus :''Aeacides may also refer to Peleus, son of Aeacus, or Achilles, grandson of Aeacus.'' Aeacides ( el, Aἰακίδης; died 313 BC), king of Epirus (331–316, 313), was a son of king Arybbas and grandson of king Alcetas I. Family Aeaci ...

was a cousin of Alexander I and the father of Pyrrhus).

Life

Neoptolemus I ruled jointly with his brother

Arybbas Arybbas ( grc, Ἀρύββας or Ἀρύβας; 373–343/2 BC) was a king of the Molossians. Family Arybbas was a son of Alcetas I, brother of Neoptolemus I and grandfather of Pyrrhus. He married his niece Troas (sister of Olympias). ...

. When Neoptolemus died in c. 357 BC, his son Alexander was only a child and Arrybas became the sole king. In c. 350 BC, Alexander was brought to the court of

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

in order to protect him. In 343/2 in his late 20s, Philip made him king of Epirus, after dethroning his uncle Arybbas. When Olympias was repudiated by her husband in 337 BC, she went to her brother, and endeavoured to induce him to make war on Philip. Alexander, however, declined the contest, and formed a second alliance with Philip by agreeing to marry the daughter of Philip (Alexander's niece) Cleopatra. During the wedding in 336 BC, Philip was assassinated by

Pausanias of Orestis Pausanias of Orestis ( grc, Παυσανίας ἐκ τῆς Ὀρεστίδος) was a member of Philip II of Macedon's personal bodyguard (''somatophylakes''). He assassinated Philip in 336 BC, possibly at the behest of Philip's wife Olym ...

. In 334 BC, Alexander I, at the request of the Greek colony of Taras (in Magna Graecia), crossed over into

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, to aid them in battle against several

Italic tribes The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at leas ...

, including the Lucanians and Bruttii. After a victory over the Samnites and Lucanians near

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, whi ...

in 332 BC, he made a treaty with the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. He then took Heraclea from the Lucanians, and Terina and

Sipontum Siponto ( la, Sipontum, grc-gre, Σιπιούς) was an ancient port town and bishopric in Apulia, southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' ...

from the Bruttii. Through the treachery of some Lucanian exiles, he was compelled to engage under unfavourable circumstances in the Battle of Pandosia and was killed by a Lucanian. He left a son,

Neoptolemus In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), also called Pyrrhus (; ), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Ep ...

, and a daughter, Cadmea. In a famous passage,Livy 9.19
/ref>

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

speculates on what would have been the outcome of a military showdown between

and the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. He reports that as Alexander of Epirus lay mortally wounded on the battlefield at Pandosia he compared his fortunes to those of his famous nephew and said that the latter "waged war against women".

References

External links

Lendering, Jona. "Alexander of Molossis". ''Livius.org'', 2004.
Birth and kingship dates are incorrect) {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 01 Of Epirus Rulers of Ancient Epirus 4th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek generals Family of Alexander the Great Monarchs killed in action Ancient Greeks killed in battle 4th-century BC rulers Courtiers of Philip II of Macedon Ancient Epirotes 370s BC births 331 BC deaths