Craterus biography for kids

Long before George R.R. Martin penned his tale of war, intrigue and treachery the ancient world was scene to its own version of Game of Thrones.

(This is the eighth  in a series concerning the Wars of the Diadochi. Part 1 can be read here, and includes comprehensive biographies of the players in this drama. It is strongly advised that you start there before reading on here. The previous installment, Part 7, can be found here  . Stay tuned to this blog for future installments! Special thanks to Michael Park for his indispensable help in filling in the gaps in the sources and putting-up with my incessant questions!)

It was now early summer, , three years after the death of Alexander the Great.  Perdiccas, to whom Alexander had passed his signet ring on his death-bed; and who had ruled the empire ever since was now dead as well, murdered by his mutinous officers. He had played the “game of thrones” to win, gambling all and coming up short.

The day after his death there was an assembly of the Macedonian Royal Army in their camp in Egypt. Ptolemy son of Lagos, yesterday&#;s enemy, was invited to speak . This invitation so close on the heels of Perdiccas&#; murder may suggest his collusion with the officers responsible.

Ptolemy was well received, and  the soldiers offered him the regency for the two kings. But the politically canny son of Lagos refused to step into Perdiccas sandals, a move guaranteed to make him the focus of every ambitious leader&#;s envy. Instead, he nominated to be custodians of the  kings two other officers:  Peithon, Alexander&#;s former Bodyguard, satrap of Media and Perdiccas’ former senior sub-commander (as well as one of his three killers); and Arrhidaeus, the officer who’d aided Ptolemy in the bringing of Alexander’s corpse to Egypt. They were given the mission to take the Royal Army out of Egypt and back to Syria, to where Antipater was enroute from Asia Minor.

It is likely that all understood that with Perd

Antipater (; Ancient Greek: Ἀντίπατρος, romanized: Antipatros, lit.'like the father'; c.  BC – BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander would eventually come to rule Macedonia as a king in his own right.

In  BC, Antipater was elected regent of all of Alexander the Great's Empire but died the following year. In a perplexing turn of events, he chose an infantry officer named Polyperchon as his successor instead of his son Cassander, and a two-year-long power struggle (the Second War of the Diadochi) ensued.

Career under Philip and Alexander

Nothing is known of his early career until  BC, when he was appointed by Philip to govern Macedon as his regent while the former left for three years of hard and successful campaigning against Thracian and Scythian tribes, which extended Macedonian rule as far as the Hellespont. In  BC, when the Athenians tried to assume control of the Euboean towns and expel the pro-Macedonian rulers, he sent Macedonian troops to stop them. In the autumn of the same year, Antipater went to Delphi, as Philip's representative in the Amphictyonic League, a religious organization to which Macedon had been admitted in  BC.

After the triumphal Macedonian victory at the Battle of Chaeronea in  BC, Antipater was sent as ambassador to Athens (– BC) to negotiate a peace treaty and return the bones of the Athenians who had fallen in the battle.

He started as a great friend to both the young Alexander and the boy

For other uses, see Craterus (disambiguation).

"Krateros" redirects here. For other uses, see Krateros (disambiguation).

Craterus or Krateros (Greek: Κρατερός; c. BC – BC) was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. Throughout his life, he was a loyal royalist and supporter of Alexander the Great.

Craterus was the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Alexander from Orestis and brother of admiral Amphoterus. Craterus commanded the phalanx and all infantry on the left wing in Battle of Issus in BC. In Hyrcania, he was sent on a mission against the Tapurians, his first independent command with the Macedonian army. At the Battle of the Hydaspes in BC, near modern Jhelum, he commanded the rearguard, which stayed on the western bank; his men crossed the river only during the final stages of the battle.

At the festivities in Susa, Craterus married princess Amastris, daughter of Oxyathres, the brother of Darius III. Craterus left Alexander's troops in Opis in BC. Craterus and Polyperchon were appointed to lead 11, veteran soldiers back to Macedonia and replace Antipater who was ordered to lead a fresh contingent of soldiers to join Alexander's army in the east. But Craterus' arrival to Macedonia was delayed by a lack of vessels for the transport over the sea. Craterus stayed in Cilicia, where he was building the fleet, when Alexander unexpectedly died in Babylo

Macedonian statesman and regent (4th century BC)

For other persons named Antipater, see Antipater (disambiguation).

Antipater (; Ancient Greek: Ἀντίπατρος, romanized:&#;Antipatros, lit.&#;'like the father'; c.&#; BC&#;&#; BC) was a Macedonian general, regent and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip&#;II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander eventually ruled Macedonia as a king in his own right.

Probably active during the reign of Perdiccas III of Macedon, most of Antipater's political career was as one of Philip II's foremost Hetairoi. After Philip II's death, he helped Alexander secure the throne. When Alexander began his wars against the Persian Empire in &#;BC, Antipater remained behind to hold Macedon and Greece as regent. While Alexander was campaigning, Antipater crushed revolts, like that of King Agis III of Sparta, and managed Greek affairs. After the Death of Alexander the Great in &#;BC, Antipater was reconfirmed in his position as viceroy of Europe in the Partition of Babylon.

Antipater then became engaged in the Lamian War, where he was defeated in &#;BC and besieged at Lamia. He eventually escaped with the help of Leonnatus, and later, with the help of Craterus, finally defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Crannon. When he was informed of the regent Perdiccas' royal ambitions, Antipater joined a coalition with Ptolemy and Antigonus to overthrow Perdiccas