Philip II of Macedon had several wives. It was not them who went down in history, but his lover, Pausanias of Orestis. Why? Because he made an attempt in which the father of Alexander the Great was killed ...
Pausanias was a soldier in Philip's personal protection. He attracted the ruler's attention with his extraordinary beauty. The amorous king, however, quickly got bored with the young man and found himself a new favorite. Ironically, with the same name (perhaps Philip had a soft spot for the Pausanias). But the Orestis soldier had no intention of simply withdrawing. He harassed a competitor to such an extent that he began to feel suicidal.
Although he had several wives, he was killed by ... his lover. Pictured is Pausanias of Orestis sticking his sword into Philip II during the Aegai Games. Do we know why this crime happened?
The new favorite did not complain to the king (or at least nothing is known about it), but confided his problems to his friend Attalos - an important Macedonian commander and uncle of one of Philip's wives. The friend did not react. But he remembered the unfortunate man's words when the latter died in battle shortly thereafter. It then occurred to Attalus that the young man himself was looking for a dignified death himself, and that the guilty party was Pausanias of Orestis.
Raped by muleteers
If you thought this story only resembles the script of one of Quentin Tarantino's movies, you are wrong - this is just the beginning of the action like him! Here's Attalus turned into a merciless avenger. One evening in 344 B.C.E. he invited Pausanias of Orestis to a feast. There he made him drunk and then publicly raped him. Attalus then handed the young man over to the mule drivers who dealt with him just as brutally .
Philip II was from the Argead dynasty. He not only reformed the Macedonian army, but also significantly enlarged the territory of the country thanks to his military successes. His legacy was taken over by his son, Alexander the Great.
Raped and beaten, the unfortunate man complained to Philip. He wanted him to punish people who forced him into sexual intercourse and disgraced him. The ruler did nothing, however, because Attalos - the initiator of the rape - was a very influential man. The king did not want to alienate him, especially since he had far-reaching military and political plans in mind. And Pausanias of Orestis himself was not a saint either:he had previously led his competitor to suicide. So Philip swept the matter under the carpet. He decided that being his favorite requires some sacrifice and a thick skin…
Revenge after years
Pausanias, however, is not in the habit of giving up. He devised revenge. And not on Attalos, but on the Macedonian king himself . Several people reportedly supported him in the preparation of the murder plan. As Diodorus Sicily reported over the centuries, Pausanias was inspired by the learned sophist Hermocrates, who proclaimed that in order to gain fame it is enough to "liquidate" someone great, and history will remember both the victim and, of course, his killer. According to Plutarch of Cheronea, Philip's ex-spouse Olympias also added her three cents - furious with her "ex". And apparently Alexander of Macedon himself, who was to suggest vengeance to Pausanias, quoting the appropriate passage from Euripides' Medea.
The revenge took place a few years after the rape. In 336 B.C.E. during the Aegai Games, where Philip tried to dazzle everyone with his wealth and plans to attack Persia. Pausanias - still the royal guardsman, and therefore with direct access to him - suddenly leapt to the king, stabbed him with his sword, and then ran away . Several Macedonians chased the bomber and stabbed him with spears, without even thinking that they could catch him alive and make him confess whether he was acting alone or had accomplices ...
Was Alexander the Great involved in a conspiracy over his father's life? The murder of Pausanias, shortly after the attack on Philip II, made it impossible to know the answer to this question. We can only guess who made the royal favorite take this step.
Philip passed away. Alexander took over. The investigation reportedly proved what Pausanias had been doing. It also made it possible to identify several of his accomplices who had been convicted. However, these were completely secondary personalities. There were also suggestions that the Persians were behind Pausanias, afraid of an attack on their empire by Philip. However, no one looked for the principals of the assassination among the king's closest relatives, with whom his death opened the way to power.
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The text was created during the author's work on his latest book. " Ages of shame. Sex and erotica in antiquity ” .