9 – He Was in a Drunken Punch-Up at a Wedding
In early 337 BC, Philip married Cleopatra who was the ward of an extremely powerful baron called Attalus. She was 22 years old and at first glance, it is easy to see the marriage as nothing more than the actions of a man in the midst of a midlife crisis. However, Philip had good reasons for marrying Cleopatra. Obviously, she was of childbearing age and Philip knew that if Alexander was killed in battle, he had no heir which would almost certainly lead to a bloody civil war upon the king’s death.
While the wedding ceremony passed without incident, the banquet did not. Attalus apparently said something about Philip finally fathering a legitimate heir; Alexander did not have ‘pure’ Macedonian blood. It was a badly timed remark because practically everyone was drunk and Alexander did not take it lying down. He threw his cup at Attalus and swore at him. According to the story, Philip stood up, drew his sword and began to charge at his son.
Alas, the king was worse for wear considering the enormous amount of alcohol he had consumed. He didn’t make it as far as his son before tripping and falling into a drunken stupor. Alexander reportedly mocked Philip by stating that he was a man getting ready to march into Asia yet was unable to move from one table to another without falling over. It was a dark time for the family as Alexander fled the country with his mother and remained in Epirus until he found out that Philip would allow him to return.
There had been a rivalry between father and son for several years but the incident at the wedding was the final straw. While Alexander did return to the Macedonian court, he remained isolated and enjoyed no real relationship with his father. Despite this, it is extremely unlikely that he was involved in the king’s death. A handful of sources suggest that Alexander coerced Pausanias into killing Philip but there is no evidence to substantiate these claims.