The Almost Empress: Eurydice II of Macedon

Adea Eurydice a.k.a Eurydice II of Macedon

Born: c. 337 BCE

Died: 317 BCE

Country: Greece

Culture: Macedonian

Adea (who would late take the name Eurydice) was born into a world of chaos. Her father, Amyntas, and her mother, Cynane, were cousins of Alexander the Great. When her grandpa died, her dad probably would have been the next king but twenty-year-old Alexander the Great, with the help of his power-hungry mom Olympias, assassinated her dad and seized the throne for themselves.

Kassandra from Assassins Creed, inspired by historic figures like Eurydice II and her mother

Adea was just a baby then, so she was raised by her mother, Cynane. Cynane was a fierce warrior and had trained with Alexander the Great as a teen, fighting alongside him in battle. After Alexander assassinated her husband, Cynane felt deeply betrayed, and moved to the countryside where she raised Adea as her own mother had raised her—in the art of war. 

Adea was trained in hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, strategy, subterfuge, public speaking, and everything else a young Macedonian girl needed to become a fearsome warrior. She also loathed Alexander the Great, the man who had killed her father, and was taught to bide her time until the moment for vengeance was right.  

But when Adea was fourteen, her plans hit a dead end: Alexander the Great was suddenly killed in battle in Babylon. This threw the empire into chaos, since Alexander’s only heir, his son, was an infant. Alexander’s army didn’t want to be ruled by a baby, and they threw their support behind Alexander’s half-brother, Philip. A compromise was reached, naming Philip and the infant boy as co-rulers. Two generals named Perdiccas and Antipater were declared guardians of the kings. 

This was the moment Adea and Cynane had been waiting for. As members of the royal family, they knew what the public did not: new king Philip had a mind that had not developed past childhood. They saw this situation for what it really was: Perdiccas and Antipater had installed two incapable rulers so that they could rule from the shadows. The mother and daughter began to hatch a plan.

Cynane sent word to Philip proposing that Adea become his wife. After all, that would make Adea queen and give her a serious shot at power. They also knew that if Adea married Philip, they could take down Perdiccas and Antipater, the two generals pulling the strings behind the scenes. Philip agreed, and the two set off for the wedding. 

Perdiccas, of course, freaked out. He knew Cynane from his youth and understood exactly what she was capable of. He ordered a bunch of Macedonian soldiers to stop Cynane and Adea before they could reach Philip. They found the mother and daughter, and ordered them to turn around. Adea and her mom refused. Disagreements broke out among the soldiers, many of whom respected Cynane and had fought with her in battle. In the end, Perdiccas threatened one last time for Cynane to retreat. Cynane had spent her life fighting on the front lines, and responded in the Macedonian equivalent of “bring it on”. Left with no other option, the soldiers attacked. Cynane fought bravely with everything she had, but in the chaos of battle, she was slain. Adea survived, now with no mother, no father, and a serious thirst for vengeance. 

When the rest of the Macedonian army found out what happened they were livid, not only that such a great warrior had been slain without honor but that Perdicas had tried to interfere with royal matters beyond his station. Fearing an all-out revolt, Perdicas backed down and Adea followed through on her plan. Adea married Philip and just like that, she was one of the most powerful women in the empire. Her husband and the infant boy on the throne were no match for the teenage girl who had been training for this moment her entire life. 

Double portrait of Adea (Eurydice II) and her husband, Philip

Adea had learned well from her mother, and from the time of her marriage she started hatching plans. Her wedding was already one victory, and she set her sights on another. She took on a new name, Eurydice, after a previous queen who had saved the throne of Macedonia against a pretender. This symbolically placed Adea (now Adea-Eurydice) as a savior come to rescue her people. She started to put her long-awaited plan in place. 

Trained in public speaking, she gave rousing speeches to the army of soldiers, swaying them against their generals and calling on them to support her. She also upped their pay, and promised more if they would throw their weight behind her. She held meetings with nobility and promised them power in exchange for their loyalty. And the tide started turning. 

She was splitting Macedonia into two factions, those who supported her and her husband versus those who supported the generals and the infant king. Antipater and Perdiccas began to see her as a real threat. They declared that no one should listen to Adea Eurydice, and that she was just a young girl who did not know what she was talking about. They managed to assuage their troops temporarily, but Adea Eurydice was not done—not even close. 

Adea Eurydice had a stroke of luck when Perdiccas was assassinated and Antipater died soon after. With those two gone, Adea was close to total domination. Now eighteen, Adea Eurydice had just one more obstacle between her and absolute power: Olympias, Alexander the Great’s mother and the grandmother of the infant king. While Adea Eurydice had been gaining power, Olympias had been doing the same. As a scheming woman herself, Olympias had seen right through Adea, and had secretly raised an army. In the year 317 BCE, Olympias set out with her army. Adea Eurydice quickly raised her troops in defense, and did not wait for backup to arrive. Adea Eurydice wore the full garb of a Macedonian battle gear, armed to the teeth and ready to fight. Olympias, on the other hand, had been playing the game of public opinion before Adea Eurydice was even born. Instead of a warrior, Olympias donned the religious robes of a devout worshipper, making a statement that she was favored by the gods. 

Olympias, the seasoned schemer, knew exactly what she was up against. But rather than matching Adea’s military bravado, Olympias decided on a different route. She donned the religious robes of a devout worshipper, making a statement that she was favored by the gods. When the two armies met, it was chaos. Adea Eurydice tried to rally her troops to battle, but they were being swayed by Olympias. This woman who was the mother of their beloved general Alexander, and grandmother of his infant son. Could they really betray their greatest leader, even after his death? 

Relief sculpture of Olympias by Desiderio da Settignano (c. 1428/30–1464)

The soldiers couldn’t bring themselves to fight against Alexander’s own mother and child, so they pulled the ultimate betrayal and defected. En masse, Adea Eurydice’s soldiers deserted her, and though a fierce warrior in her own right, she could not fend off an entire army on her own. So she did the smart thing-- she fled. Adea headed for Amphipolis as quickly as she could, but Olympias’ forces were faster. She was captured, taken to Olympias, and imprisoned. They threw her into a tiny dungeon, gave her barely any food or water, and left her to rot. 

But in prison, Adea Eurydice wasn’t powerless. She was still a queen and her old soldiers, despite defecting, still had some serious respect for her. They started demanding her release. Obviously, this became a huge problem for Olympias, who realized that a potential uprising could make her own grip on power pretty shaky. So, Olympias decided it was time to put an end to things once and for all. 

Legend has it that Olympias sent three objects to the young queen’s cell: a sword, a rope, and hemlock (a poisonous plant). Olympias ordered Adea Eurydice to choose how she would die. Adea Eurydice, defiant to the end, chose none of these options. Realizing this was it, Adea untied her belt and fashioned her own noose. She was twenty years old when she died.

Engraving of Adea Eurydice in jail, submitted with three objects

With that, Olympias had removed all obstacles and her infant grandson was now the undisputed ruler, with Olympias acting as queen regent. But her victory was short-lived. Incensed by the death of the young queen, the army rose up against Olympias and killed her. So Adea Eurydice got her revenge one last time, even from beyond the grave.