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Trouble on the Home Front

Like men do all the time, Philip’s escapades at home put foreign policy on the backburner.

By now, Cleopatra gave birth to a child, a girl. Obviously, her daughter could never prove to be a challenge to me. But when Cleopatra gave birth to a boy as soon as she could, I knew that my position as heir was being challenged.

Philip named his newborn Caranus. Caranus, you must know, was the mythical founder of the Argead dynasty. This was symbolism with a capital S and a royal slap to my face. Philip himself was in his forties and in good health. For all intents and purposes, Caranus posed a great risk to my eventual power down the road.

Something had to give. But I was powerless from abroad in Illyria. My mother was in Epirus but was anything but powerless. She could scheme from abroad, though in the end, she would not need to.

Demaratus of Corinth, Philip’s good friend, asked how come Philip cared more for his army abroad than his family at home.

Philip’s infidelities invariably caught up with him. He threw a lavish festival to honor the Gods but refused to have bodyguards accompany him closely at the ceremonies to show how loved he was by the people. On the second day of the festivities, one of Philip’s old companions killed him.

Pausanias betrayed my father and killed him. Unfortunately, three noblemen – Perdiccas, Leonnatus and Attalus son of Andromenes – killed Pausanias as he tried to escape. Coincidentally, of course, the three happened to be three of my close friends.

Unsurprisingly, some claim that I played a part in my father’s death, most discredit this and say that my mother was the one who played one role or another in the assassination.

I would have loved to interrogate Pausanias on the matter but unfortunately, he was dealt with quickly after the murder of my father.

There was no time to grieve, for there was a throne to claim.

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