Neoptolemus II (died 297 BC) was king of Epirus from 302 BC until his death. He was the son of king
Alexander I of Epirus and
Cleopatra of Macedonia, his maternal grandparents were
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 ...
and
Olympias. His maternal uncles included
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 Maced ...
and
Philip III of Macedon
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 ...
. His maternal aunts included
Thessalonike and
Cynane
Cynane ( el, Kυνάνη, ''Kynane'' or , ''Kyna''; killed 323 BC) was half-sister to Alexander the Great, and daughter of Philip II by Audata, an Illyrian princess. She is estimated to have been born in 357 BC.
Biography
According to Polyaenus ...
.
Neoptolemus came to the throne after the overthrow of his cousin
Pyrrhus in 302 BC. However Pyrrhus returned five years later in 297 BC with the financial and military support of the Egyptian king
Ptolemy I. After they initially agreed to rule together as co-kings, Neoptolemus was killed at the behest of Pyrrhus.
References
4th-century BC births
297 BC deaths
Ancient Epirotes
Rulers of Ancient Epirus
3rd-century BC rulers
4th-century BC rulers
{{AncientGreece-bio-stub