#kynanne

[jeannereames]

Who is your favorite diadochos? Or at least the one you find more interesting. Both for History and when writing or reading fiction

Kleopatra and Kynanne. Hands-down. The maneuvering of both, either trying to stay alive or trying to marry off a daughter to the new king, was EPIC. And yes, I consider them as much Diadochi as any of the men. Out of that, I think Kynanne won, even if Hadea Eurydike was eventually killed by Olympias. Poor Kleopatra wound up a prisoner of Antigonos.

Women aside, it'd be Seleukos and Lysimachos. Ptolemy was full of himself and sucks up all the air in the room because Arrian used him as a source for Alexander. But apparently, his history/memoir wasn't that well-known in the ancient world. Kassandros is just ...ick. Perdikkas apparently wasn't that good as a regent, although how much is later smearing by Ptolemaic and Seleucid sources is unclear.

I'd say Krateros too, but he died so quickly, along with Leonnatos. Both outlived Alexander by only a year or two.

(And this is probably my last "ask" answer for the night. I have a real back-up in my inbox, so trying to clear out some.)

[jeannereames]

How do you think Phillip felt about Kynanne?

Hard to say. He took her to combat in Illyria, so he was certainly willing to use her where it was advantageous. He also married her to his nephew, although that nephew wasn’t going anywhere, so it was more of an honor for him than her. I think Macedonian men mostly didn’t know how to recognize women in a society like the Illyrians (or Epirote) where they had greater power.