Pausanias of Orestis

Long ago, a man named Pausanias lived in Macedon.

After that, Pausanias tried to run away. He tripped on a plant root. The king's guards caught him. Pausanias died there.

Other men helped him plan the hurt. Those men were punished by the law. This was a very sad time for the land.

Pausanias was a man from Orestis. He worked as a bodyguard for King Philip II. This king ruled a place called Macedon. In 336 BC, Pausanias killed the king. This happened during a wedding for Philip's daughter, Cleopatra.

History tells us why he did it. One writer said Pausanias was angry with the king. He felt the king was unfair to him. He also felt the king did not punish a man named Attalus. Attalus had treated Pausanias very badly. Some say this happened many years before the murder.

After the king died, Pausanias tried to run away. He ran toward the city gate. He tripped on a vine root. The king's guards caught him and killed him.

Other men helped plan the attack. Their names were Heromenes and Arrhabaeus. A court found them guilty. The law then put them to death. This event changed the history of Macedon.

Pausanias of Orestis was a man who lived a long time ago. He was a member of the personal bodyguard for King Philip II. This king ruled a strong land called Macedon. A bodyguard is a person who protects a leader from harm. Pausanias was part of a group called the somatophylakes. This was a special rank for royal guards. His life changed forever during a big wedding in 336 BC.

Historians have different ideas about why Pausanias killed the king. The writer Aristotle wrote about it first. He did not give many details about the motive. Later, a writer named Diodorus Siculus shared a different story. He said Pausanias was once a lover of King Philip. He became angry when the king focused on a younger man. This younger man was also named Pausanias. The older Pausanias felt very hurt and insulted by this change.

There is also a story about a man named Attalus. Attalus was a friend of the first Pausanias. Some stories say Attalus treated Pausanias very badly after a disagreement. King Philip did not punish Attalus for this bad behavior. Instead, the king gave Pausanias a higher rank as a bodyguard. This may have been a way to make things better. Diodorus Siculus suggests this unfairness caused the murder. However, some dates in the story do not match up perfectly.

The murder happened at a wedding for Cleopatra. She was the daughter of King Philip. The event was for her marriage to Alexander I of Epirus. Pausanias killed the king during this ceremony at Aegae. After the attack, Pausanias tried to run away quickly. He ran toward the city gate to escape. While he was running, he tripped on a vine root.

Several bodyguards caught Pausanias while he was on the ground. These men included Attalus, Leonnatus, and Perdiccas. They killed him with spears as he tried to flee. A trial was held after the king died. Two other men named Heromenes and Arrhabaeus helped plan the crime. They were found guilty and were executed. This event was a very big moment in the history of Macedon.

Pausanias of Orestis was a member of the personal bodyguard for King Philip II of Macedon. This elite group of guards was known as the somatophylakes. In 336 BC, Pausanias assassinated the king at Aegae. This event changed the course of Macedonian history. Pausanias was the son of Cerastes and came from the family of Orestae. He was a high-ranking official within the royal court before the assassination occurred.

Historians have struggled to agree on the exact reasons for this murder. The first record comes from the philosopher Aristotle. He lived during Philip's time but provided very few details. He did not explain the specific motive behind the act. Later, the writer Cleitarchus expanded on the story. Centuries after that, Diodorus Siculus recorded a much more detailed account in his work, the Bibliotheca Historica. These different accounts provide a complex view of the event.

Diodorus Siculus suggests the motive was deeply personal. He claimed Pausanias was a former lover of King Philip. The king eventually turned his attention to a younger man, who was also named Pausanias. Feeling spurned, the elder Pausanias publicly insulted his romantic rival. This rival then died while trying to protect the king in battle. This loss created a chain of events involving a general named Attalus. Attalus was a friend of the original Pausanias.

According to Diodorus, Attalus sought revenge for his friend's death. He allegedly invited Pausanias to a dinner and got him drunk. While Pausanias was nearly unconscious, Attalus had servants assault him. King Philip did not punish Attalus for this behavior. Some historians believe the king did this for political reasons. Instead, Philip promoted Pausanias to the rank of somatophylax. This promotion might have been intended as compensation for the harm. Diodorus claims this refusal to punish Attalus prompted the murder.

There are significant problems with the timing of this revenge story. Diodorus links the assault to the Illyrian Pleurias campaign. However, Philip's last known campaign against the Illyrians was in 344 BC. This creates a gap of eight years before the murder in 336 BC. It is difficult to explain why such a hot-blooded act would wait eight years. This discrepancy makes the personal motive difficult for some historians to verify. The timeline remains a point of debate in ancient studies.

The assassination took place during a wedding ceremony. The event celebrated the marriage of Philip's daughter, Cleopatra, to Alexander I of Epirus. Pausanias killed the king and then attempted to flee toward the city gate. He was not acting on impulse, as horses were found near his escape route. This suggests the murder was premeditated. While running, Pausanias tripped on a vine root. This accident allowed the king's bodyguards to catch him.

Several bodyguards killed Pausanias with spears as he lay on the ground. These men included Attalus, Leonnatus, and Perdiccas. They were all friends of Alexander, the king's son. Following the murder, a trial was held for those involved. Two men, Heromenes and Arrhabaeus, were found guilty of conspiring with Pausanias. They were both executed for their roles. Leonnatus was demoted, possibly because officials suspected he tried to prevent the interrogation of the assassin.