Perdiccas II of Macedon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Perdiccas II
A silver coin of Perdiccas II. The lion on the back reminds us of the Nemean lion killed by Herakles, a mythical hero related to the king.
King of Macedonia
Reign	454–413 BC
Predecessor	Alexander I
Successor	Archelaus I
Born	?
Died	413 BC
Wives	Simache Cleopatra
Issue	Archelaus I Aeropus II unknown son
Dynasty	Argead
Father	Alexander I
Mother	unknown
Religion	Ancient Greek religion

Perdiccas II (pronounced Per-DIK-kas) was an important king of Macedonia. He ruled for a long time, from 454 BC until he passed away in 413 BC. His time as king was during a major conflict called the Peloponnesian War. In this war, Perdiccas often changed his support between the two main powers, Sparta and Athens. This made him a tricky but powerful leader in ancient Greece.

Life of Perdiccas II

His Family

Perdiccas II was the oldest son of King Alexander I. He had four brothers: Alcetas, Amyntas, Menelaus, and Philip. Some of his family members, like his nephews, would later become kings of Macedonia too.

Perdiccas had at least two wives during his reign. Their names were Simache and Cleopatra. Simache was the mother of his sons, Archelaus and Aeropus II. Some ancient writers suggested Simache might have been a servant, but it is more likely she was from an important Macedonian family.

Cleopatra was another wife of Perdiccas. She also had a son with him, whose name is not known today.

Becoming King

When his father, Alexander I, died in 454 BC, it caused some problems in Macedonia. Perdiccas became king because he was the oldest son. However, two of his brothers, Philip and Alcetas, also tried to rule their own parts of the kingdom.

Perdiccas managed to take back Alcetas's land. But Philip controlled a very important area called the Axios Valley. This area was much harder for Perdiccas to get back.

Early Challenges

In 433 BC, Philip made an alliance with King Derdas I of Elimiotis and with Athens. They promised to help each other and not support Philip's enemies. Perdiccas reacted by encouraging cities that paid taxes to Athens to rebel. One of these cities was Potidaea.

Athens sent a strong army and navy to Macedonia. They captured the city of Therma. Then they started to attack Pydna. More Athenian soldiers arrived to help. However, Athens soon heard that the city of Corinth had sent soldiers to help Potidaea.

To deal with this new threat, Athens made a deal with Perdiccas. They agreed to work together and march towards Potidaea. But Perdiccas quickly broke this agreement and marched his own army to Potidaea. Even though Athens eventually won the battle, this event helped start the big Peloponnesian War.

Shifting Alliances

In 431 BC, Athens made a new alliance with King Sitalces of the Odyrisian kingdom. Sitalces's brother-in-law helped arrange a deal between Athens and Perdiccas. Macedonia got Therma back. In return, Perdiccas agreed to fight alongside Athens against the rebels in Chalcidice. At this time, Athens stopped supporting Philip, and he fled to Thrace.

However, things changed again. In 429 BC, Sitalces invaded Macedonia with a huge army. He was apparently upset with Perdiccas because of a broken promise. Sitalces's army was very large, possibly 150,000 men. Many cities in the region joined the Thracians. The Macedonians had to hide in their strongholds.

The invasion eventually failed for a few reasons. It was winter, so supplies ran low. Also, Athens did not send the ships they had promised. They might have been worried about Sitalces becoming too powerful. Plus, Perdiccas secretly promised a large payment and the marriage of his sister Stratonice to Seuthes, an important nephew of Sitalces. Seuthes then convinced Sitalces to go home. Sitalces left after about 30 days.

Later Years and Death

After this, Perdiccas became an ally of Sparta. In 424 BC, he helped a Spartan general named Brasidas take Amphipolis from Athens. This was a big loss for Athens because Amphipolis had important timber for their ships. This made Macedonia more powerful in negotiations.

In return, the Spartans helped Perdiccas protect his borders. They attacked King Arrhabaeus of Lyncestis. The Spartans expected help from the Illyrians, but the Illyrians switched sides and attacked Perdiccas and his Spartan allies. The Macedonian soldiers ran away, and the Spartans also retreated. This made relations between Macedonia and Sparta bad for a while. Because of this, Perdiccas moved closer to Athens and allied with them in 423 BC.

By 417 BC, Perdiccas had left Athens and joined the Spartan alliance again. Just four years later, he changed sides one more time. He broke with Sparta and helped Athens in their attack on Amphipolis.

Perdiccas II died in 413 BC. His son Archelaus became the next king of Macedonia.