Nicaea of Macedon

Nicaea (Greek: Nίκαια, c. 335 BC[1] – c. 302 BC) was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and was a daughter of the powerful regent Antipater.[2] Her mother's name is unknown. She was born and raised in Macedonia while her father was governor of Macedonia during the reign of Greek King Alexander the Great.[3]

Nicaea was sent by her father to Asia accompanied by her brother Iollas and a certain Archias[4] in 323 BC to be married to the Macedonian military commander, Perdiccas, at a time when Perdiccas still hoped to maintain friendly relations with the regent. Perdiccas, despite already entertaining hostile designs, married Nicaea. Not so long afterwards, on the advice of Eumenes, Perdiccas decided to divorce Nicaea, so he could marry Cleopatra of Macedon, the full sister of Alexander the Great. Perdiccas took this step before setting out on his expedition to Egypt. His decision to divorce Nicaea led to an immediate rupture in the relations between Perdiccas and Antipater.[5]

Around 321 BC,[6] as part of an alliance agreement, Antipater married Nicaea to Lysimachus who governed Thrace.[7] In 306 BC Lysimachus became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Nicaea bore Lysimachus three children: one son Agathocles;[8][9] and two daughters: Eurydice[10][11] and Arsinoe I.[12][13]

Nicaea died from unknown causes sometime between 302 BC and 300 BC.[14] Shortly after her death, Lysimachus renamed a city in Bithynia, Asia Minor, calling the city Nicaea (modern İznik, Turkey) in honour of his late wife.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
  2. ↑ Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, p.175
  3. ↑ Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
  4. ↑ Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, p.175
  5. ↑ Photius, Bibliotheca, cod. 92; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca, xviii. 23
  6. ↑ Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
  7. ↑ Lightman, A to Z of ancient Greek and Roman women, p.233
  8. ↑ Bengtson, Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit, p.569
  9. ↑ Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, p.175
  10. ↑ Bengtson, Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit, p.569
  11. ↑ Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, p.175
  12. ↑ Bengtson, Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit, p.569
  13. ↑ Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, p.175
  14. ↑ Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
  15. ↑ Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
  16. ↑ Lightman, A to Z of ancient Greek and Roman women, p.233

Sources

  • Strabo, Geography, xii, 4;
  • Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, s.v. "Nikaia"
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
  • H. Bengtson, Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit, C.H.Beck, 1977
  • Nicaea’s article at Livius.org
  • W. Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006
  • M. Lightman & B. Lightman, A to Z of ancient Greek and Roman women (Google eBook), Infobase Publishing, 2007
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.