Argeads

Q538849

Argeads: name of the royal dynasty of Macedonia.

The Argeads, which are known from the late sixth century, were the royal house of ancient Macedonia, a country that was usually divided and ruled by kings without much power. The dynasty claimed to be protected by the sun and had a sun as heraldic symbol; the kings also claimed that Heracles was their ancestor.

The last four kings of the Argead house were:

Philip II 360-336
Alexander III the Great 336-323
Philip III Arrhidaeus 323-317
Alexander IV 323-310

After the death of the two last kings, Cassander became king of Macedonia. He was succeeded by the Antigonid dynasty.

This page was created in 2014; last modified on 23 September 2020.