10 – He Was Murdered by a Spurned Lover
Although Philip had made many enemies during the course of his life, his power seemed absolute and an assassination attempt was unthinkable. Only Amyntas IV could be classified as a rival in the early 330s BC and since the king had allowed the former ruler to live untroubled as a private citizen, there was little chance of a revolt coming from that direction. Ultimately, Philip’s death came from a mess of his own making when he married Cleopatra in 337 or 336 BC.
The aforementioned chaos at the wedding did not prevent Philip from celebrating the marriage further and he brought his court to Aegae, the kingdom of Macedon’s ancient capital. It was here where Philip met his end, and it was probably because of his love affair with one of his bodyguards, a man called Pausanias. It seems as if Philip had fallen for a younger man, also called Pausanias, and the elder version taunted and insulted the younger man mercilessly. Eventually, the younger Pausanias told Attalus of his troubles and within a few days, he had effectively committed suicide by throwing himself in front of King Pleurias of the Illyrians in battle as the king was trying to kill Philip.
The irate Attalus invited the older Pausanias to dinner under false pretenses. Once the old bodyguard arrived, he was plied with wine and raped by a group of men. In front of Philip, Pausanias accused Attalus of instigating the sexual assault and while the king was angered, he couldn’t punish Attalus because he needed the man’s services. Instead, he tried to appease Pausanias by giving him valuable gifts and promotion. However, Pausanias became even angrier and decided that Philip must die.
One night, Philip was walking toward the theatre in Aegae without protection. Pausanias seized the opportunity and stabbed the king multiple times before fleeing to his horse to escape. Unfortunately for the assassin, his sandal became entangled in a vine and caused him to fall. His pursuers caught up and stabbed him to death. In the end, one of the greatest ancient kings died because he carelessly tossed aside one of his lovers. It was a history-changing moment because his son, Alexander the Great, become the King of the Macedonians and embarked on one of the greatest series of conquests of all time.
Where Do We Get This Stuff? Here is a list of our sources
“Philip II of Macedonia: Greater Than Alexander.” Richard A. Gabriel. Potomac Books Inc., 2010.
“The History of Homosexuality: Ancient Greece.” Kate Aaron.
“Alexander of Macedon – Alexander the Great.” Historyofmacedonia.org.
“The Death of Philip.” By Diodorus of Sicily in Livius.org.