Proteas ( el, Πρωτέας), son of

Andronicus of Olynthus Andronicus ( el, Ἀνδρόνικος) of Olynthus was a Macedonian nobleman and general in the 4th century BCE. This Andronicus is probably the same as the son of Agerrhus mentioned by Arrian and Diodorus Siculus:Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca ...

and

Lanike Lanike or Lanice pronounced (Lan iss) (Ancient Greek, Greek: ), also called Hellanike or Alacrinis, daughter of Dropidas, who was son of Critias, was the sister of Cleitus the Black, and the nurse of Alexander the Great. She was born, most likely, ...

, was a '' syntrophos'' and '' hetairos'' 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 ...

. Antipater sent him with fifteen ships to protect the Greek islands and mainland against

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

attack. Putting in at Chalcis on

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

, he advanced to

Cythnus Kythnos ( el, Κύθνος), commonly called Thermia ( el, Θερμιά), is a Greek island and municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythnos is in area and has a ...

, and then caught the Persian admiral

Datames Datames (Old Persian: ''Dātama'' or ''Dātāma'', Aramaic: ''Tadanmu'', grc, Δατάμης, Datámēs; 407 BC – 362 BC), also known as Tarkamuwa, was an Iranian military leader, who served as the governor (satrap) of the Achaemenid satrapy of ...

at Siphnos at dawn, capturing eight of his ten ships. Proteas came with a

penteconter The penteconter (alt. spelling pentekonter, pentaconter, pentecontor or pentekontor; el, πεντηκόντερος, ''pentēkónteros'', "fifty-oared"), plural penteconters, was an ancient Greek galley in use since the archaic period. In an ...

from Macedon to join Alexander at

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

. Like Hegelochus, who served with the fleet, Proteas soon joined Alexander's expedition, and accompanied him by land from at least Egypt. He was a notorious drinking companion of Alexander.

References

*Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great Edited by: Waldemar Heckel Hetairoi Admirals of Alexander the Great Generals of Alexander the Great Ancient Macedonian admirals Ancient Macedonian generals 4th-century BC Greek people {{AncientGreece-bio-stub