Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The death of Philip





The death of Philip of Macedon (383-336 BC) was described by one of the greatest actors of the era as the most dramatic event he'd ever witnessed on stage. Philip had been hosting a huge wedding for his daughter to the King of Epirus. Hundreds of guests  were sitting in the theatre at Aegae, the capital of Macedon. Twelve statues of gods were carried into the theatre in a procession, followed by a thirteenth statue: one of King Philip. Philip himself then walked onto the stage, dressed in white with no bodyguards. At that moment, an assassin, Pausanias, rushed out from the crowd and killed him.

4 Comments:

Blogger Eurodog said...

Is his death a "chercher la femme" situation, WW?

7:16 am  
Blogger Whispering Walls said...

Salut ED - sorry I've been having problems getting into my blog. Yes possibly. Philip was married seven times and his third wife, Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, thought she was being undermined by a later wife, Kleopatra. However, ancient sources dispute whether she really did order the murder. Some say that the assassin, who was one of Philip's bodyguards, had a personal grudge against him. quis custodet custodes?

10:20 am  
Blogger Eurodog said...

Interesting. Our lifes are quite dull really!

10:42 am  
Anonymous kinglear said...

God these bloody actors will do ANYTHING to get noticed and a review...

3:23 pm  

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