Heracles of Macedon ( grc, Ἡρακλῆς; c. 327 – 309 BC) was a reputed illegitimate son 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 ...

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

Barsine Barsine ( el, Βαρσίνη; c. 363–309 BC) was the daughter of a Persian father, Artabazus, satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, and a Greek Rhodian mother, the sister of mercenaries Mentor of Rhodes and Memnon of Rhodes. Barsine became t ...

, daughter of Satrap

Artabazus of Phrygia Artabazos II (in Greek Ἀρτάβαζος) ( fl. 389 – 328 BC) was a Persian general and satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of the Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Pharnabazus II, and younger kinsman (most probabl ...

. Heracles was named after the Greek mythological hero of the same name, from whom the Argeads claimed descent.

History

It cannot be established definitively whether Heracles was Alexander’s son or not. Of the ancient sources, both

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

and

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

mention Barsine and Heracles but Arrian in the Alexander's Anabasis 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 Parmenion (also Parmenio; grc-gre, Παρμενίων; c. 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief milita ...

(despite the many disagreements between him and Alexander, and Alexander's apparent contempt for his judgement). Of Barsine,

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...

states that: If Heracles ''were'' Alexander’s illegitimate child, 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, and why he was passed over in favour of

Philip Arrhidaeus Philip III Arrhidaeus ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος Ἀρριδαῖος ; c. 359 BC – 25 December 317 BC) reigned as king of Macedonia an Ancient Greek Kingdom in northern Greece from after 11 June 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King P ...

- himself illegitimate - who was only a son of Alexander’s father Philip, and thus a more distant claimant than Heracles. Renault concludes that the romance with Barsine was invented retrospectively to validate Heracles' parentage. On Alexander's death Nearchus, who was then son-in-law of Barsine, advocated for Heracles' inheritance, but was unsuccessful. Either way, Heracles lived in obscurity until Alexander IV's murder by

Cassander Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a conte ...

in 310 BC or 309 BC. At that point

Polyperchon Polyperchon (sometimes written Polysperchon; el, Πολυπέρχων; b. between 390–380 BCafter 382 BC according to Billows, R., 'Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State' (1990), p. 172, n. 20 – d. after 304 BC,Heckel ...

, a regent of Macedon who had been replaced by Cassander and had all but disappeared for the previous six years, began championing Heracles as Alexander's true heir, and Polyperchon began forming an army. 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.Green, Peter. ''Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age''. p44, 2007 Ed.

Family tree

References

External links

A detailed biography of Heracles' mother BarsineChildren of Alexander III the Great
on Web Archive (Pothos.org 2011)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heracles 4th-century BC Macedonians Family of Alexander the Great Ancient Macedonians People who died under the regency of Cassander Murdered royalty of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) 320s BC births 309 BC deaths Greek people of Iranian descent