#cratesipolis

[city-of-ladies]

"After the death of Olympias, Macedonian troops were commanded by yet a third woman general during the struggle of the successors: Cratesipolis. Cratesipolis was the wife of Alexander, son of the regent Polyperchon, who had been Olympias’ ally. Alexander first appears in the historical record in 317, towards the end of his father’s regency and at the climax of the struggle between Olympias and Adea Eurydice. Naturally he was an ally of Olympias vis-à-vis his father, Polyperchon. Following the death of Alexander the Great, Polyperchon had managed to control portions of the Peloponnese, particularly the ports of Corinth, Sicyon, and Patrae (Diod. 19.35.1; 54.3). In 317 BCE, this Alexander, the son of Polyperchon, was poised to attack Cassander, who himself was besieging Tegea. Cassander sped to Macedon, however, when he heard that Olympias had deposed Adea Eurydice and Philip III. After the death of Olympias, Alexander continued to fight Cassander but eventually switched over to Cassander’s side when Cassander offered him generalship over the Peloponnese, the prize for which he was fighting anyway.

Alexander’s wife, Cratesipolis, was highly esteemed by her husband’s army because she distributed largesse to those in need (Diod. 19.67.1). In 314 BCE, Alexander was assassinated by revolutionary Sicyonians, but Cratesipolis bravely assumed the command of Alexander’s troops and quelled the rebellion (Diod. 19.67.1–2). The Greek Sicyonians thought they had nothing to fear from a woman, and were surprised when Cratesipolis and her forces defeated them. Whereas the Greeks of Sicyon—like those in earlier Rhodes or Aeolis—were loath to be ruled by a woman, once again we see that Macedonian soldiers were willing to take orders from a woman commander. Like her male counterparts, Cratesipolis was shrewd. Whereas Plutarch (Demetrius 9) tells us that she was renowned for her beauty, Diodorus (19.67.2) relates that Cratesipolis was intelligent and possessed “daring [tolma] beyond that of a woman.” Writing almost 400 years later than Thucydides, Diodorus still saw tolma as a male quality, at least the kind of tolma needed to engage in warfare.

Nothing is known of Cratesipolis’ origins or family. Macurdy suggests that she was of the Macedonian nobility, since she married Alexander, the son of a high-ranking Macedonian official, the regent Polyperchon. Her name, Cratesipolis, is found on inscriptions in Larissa in Thessaly, perhaps suggesting a Thessalian origin. Or her name may have been awarded later in life, just as Olympias, Myrtale, and Stratonike were names given by the Macedonians to Alexander’s mother, who was originally called Polyxena (Plut. Mor. 401b). Cratesipolis does mean “ruler of the city,” after all.

Cratesipolis ruled the poleis of Patrae, Sicyon, and Corinth for seven years, but ultimately handed over Sicyon and Corinth to Ptolemy I, perhaps hoping that he would marry her (Diod. 20.37.1; Polyaen. 8.58). She was also no match in terms of military strength for Ptolemy, whose resources and wealth were certainly far greater. Ptolemy, however, tried to woo Cleopatra, the sister of Alexander the Great. Cleopatra was murdered by Antigonus’ machinations, and Ptolemy’s plan was ultimately frustrated. Marriage to Cleopatra might have included the throne of Macedon as a dowry, and Ptolemy was more interested in a royal bride than in Cratesipolis. Cratesipolis then tried to woo Demetrius, another of the warring successors and the son of Antigonus, also with no success as he was almost killed by his enemies trying to meet her, and was forced to flee (Plut. Demetrius 9). We do not hear of Cratesipolis successfully remarrying, nor do we hear anything of her after the incident with Demetrius. Despite her obscurity in both life and death, Cratesipolis’ ability to both govern cities and command armies places her among the ranks of an Olympias or Adea Eurydice."

Postcolonial Amazons, Female Masculinity and Courage in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit Literature, Walter Duvall Penrose

[wonder-worker]

Cratesipolis in the Ancient Sources

314 BCE: "Polyperchon's son Alexander, as he was setting out from Sicyon with his army, was killed by Alexion of Sicyon and certain others who pretended to be friends. His wife, Cratesipolis,​ however, succeeded to his power and held his army together, since she was most highly esteemed by the soldiers for her acts of kindness; for it was her habit to aid those who were in misfortune and to assist many of those who were without resources. She possessed, too, skill in practical matters and more daring than one would expect in a woman. Indeed, when the people of Sicyon scorned her because of her husband's death and assembled under arms in an effort to gain their freedom, she drew up her forces against them and defeated them with great slaughter, but arrested and crucified about thirty. When she had a firm hold on the city, she governed the Sicyonians, maintaining many soldiers, who were ready for any emergency."

— Diodorus Siculus (Book XIX)

308 BCE: "At this time, while Ptolemy was sailing from Myndus with a strong fleet through the islands, he liberated Andros as he passed by and drove out the garrison. Moving on to the Isthmus, he took Sicyon and Corinth from Cratesipolis."

— Diodorus Siculus (Book XX)

308 BCE: "Cratesipolis, who had long fought in vain for an opportunity of betraying Acrocorinth to Ptolemy, having been repeatedly assured by the mercenaries, who composed the guard, that the place could be defended, applauded their fidelity and bravery; however, said she, it may be wise to send for reinforcements from Sicyon. For this purpose, she openly sent a letter of request to the Sicyonians; and privately an invitation to Ptolemy. Ptolemy's troops were dispatched in the night, admitted as the Sicyonian allies, and put in possession of Acrocorinth without the agreement or knowledge of the guards."

— Polyaenus: Stratagems

307 BCE: "But on learning that Cratesipolis, who had been the wife of Polyperchon's​ son Alexander, was tarrying at Patrae, and would be very glad to make him a visit (and she was a famous beauty), [Demetrius the Besieger] left his forces in the territory of Megara and set forth, taking a few light-armed attendants with him. And turning aside from these also, he pitched his tent apart, that the woman might pay her visit to him unobserved. Some of his enemies learned of this, and made a sudden descent upon him. Then, in a fright, he donned a shabby cloak and ran for his life and got away, narrowly escaping a most shameful capture in consequence of his rash ardour. His tent, together with his belongings, was carried off by his enemies."

— Plutarch (Life of Demetrius, 1.9.3)

[valkyries-things]

CRATESIPOLIS // RULER OF SICYON & CORINTH

“She was the ruler of Sicyon and Corinth in 314-308 BC. She was highly distinguished for her beauty, talents, and energy. When her husband was assassinated at Sicyon, she assumed command of his forces, with whom her kindness had made her extremely popular. When the Sicyonians attacked the garrison, she quelled the sedition and crucified thirty of the rebels. Her victory held the town firmly in subjection under King Cassander. However, she had to leave Corinth after Ptolemy ordered her to.”

[scurra-vagus-greek-blog]

SIKYONIA, Sikyon. Circa 225-200 BC. Æ Trichalkon. Dove feeding right; ΣI above / Tripod-lebes within wreath tying below. Warren, Bronze 6B.3a; BCD Peloponnesos 318.5. Sicyon was built on a low triangular plateau about two miles from the Corinthian Gulf. Between the city and its port lay a fertile plain with olive groves and orchards. In Mycenean times Sicyon had been ruled by a line of twenty-six mythical kings and then seven priests of Apollo. The king-list given by Pausanias[1] comprises twenty-four kings, beginning with the autochthonous Aegialeus. The penultimate king of the list, Agamemnon, compels the submission of Sicyon to Mycenae; after him comes the Dorian usurper Phalces. Pausanias shares his source with Castor of Rhodes, who used the king-list in compiling tables of history; the common source was convincingly identified by Felix Jacoby[2] as a lost Sicyonica by the late 4th-century poet Menaechmus of Sicyon. After the Dorian invasion the city remained subject to Argos, whence its Dorian conquerors had come. The community was now divided into the ordinary three Dorian tribes and an equally privileged tribe of Ionians, besides which a class of serfs lived on and worked the land. For some centuries the suzerainty remained, but after 676 BC Sicyon regained its independence under a line of tyrants called the Orthagorides after the name of the first ruler Orthagoras. The most important however was the founder's grandson Cleisthenes, the uncle of the Athenian legislator Cleisthenes who ruled from 600 to 560 BC. Besides reforming the city's constitution to the advantage of the Ionians and replacing Dorian cults with the worship of Dionysus, Cleisthenes gained a reputation as the chief instigator and general of the First Sacred War (590 BC) in the interests of the Delphians. His successor Aeschines was expelled by the Spartans in 556 BC and Sicyon became an ally of the Lacedaemonians for more than a century. During this time, the Sicyonians developed the various industries for which they were known in antiquity. As the abode of the sculptors Dipoenus and Scyllis it gained pre-eminence in woodcarving and bronze work such as is still to be seen in the archaic metal facings found at Olympia. Its pottery, which resembled Corinthian ware, was exported with the latter as far as Etruria. In Sicyon also the art of painting was supposed to have been invented. After the fall of the tyrants their institutions survived until the end of the 6th century BC, when Dorian supremacy was re-established, perhaps by the agency of Sparta under the ephor Chilon, and the city was enrolled in the Peloponnesian League. Henceforth, its policy was usually determined either by Sparta or Corinth. During the Persian Wars, the Sicyonians participated with fifteen triremes in the Battle of Salamis and with 3,000 hoplites in the Battle of Plataea. On the Delphic Serpent Column celebrating the victory Sicyon was named in fifth place after Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Tegea. In September 479 BC a Sicyonian contingent fought bravely in the Battle of Mycale, where they lost more men than any other city. Later in the 5th century BC, Sicyon, like Corinth, suffered from the commercial rivalry of Athens in the western seas, and was repeatedly harassed by squadrons of Athenian ships. The Sicyonians fought two battles against the Athenians, first against their admiral Tolmides in 455 BC and then in a land battle against Pericles with 1000 hoplites in 453 BC. In the Peloponnesian War Sicyon followed the lead of Sparta and Corinth. When these two powers quarrelled during the peace of Nicias, it remained loyal to the Spartans. At the reprise of the war, during the Athenian expedition in Sicily, the Sicyonians contributed 200 pressed hoplites under their commander Sargeus to the force that relieved Syracuse. At the beginning of the 4th century, in the Corinthian war, Sicyon sided again with Sparta and became its base of operations against the allied troops round Corinth. In 369 BC Sicyon was captured and garrisoned by the Thebans in their successful attack on the Peloponnesian League. From 368 to 366 BC Sicyon was ruled by Euphron who first favoured democracy, but then made himself tyrant. Euphron was killed in Thebes by a group af Sicyonian aristocrats, but his compatriots buried him in his home town and continued to honour him like the second founder of the city. During the 4th century BC, the city reached its zenith as a centre of art: its school of painting gained fame under Eupompus and attracted the great masters Pamphilus and Apelles as students, while Lysippus and his pupils raised the Sicyonian sculpture to a level hardly surpassed anywhere else in Greece. The tyrant Aristratus, a friend of the Macedonian royal family, had himself portrayed by the painter Melanthius aside the goddess of victory Nike on a chariot. In this period Sicyon was the undipusted center of Greek painting with its school attracting famous artists from all over Greece, including the celebrated Apelles and Pausias. In 323 BC Euphron the Younger, a grandson of the tyrant Euphron, reintroduced a democracy, but was soon conquered by the Macedonians. When the Macedonian commander Alexander was murdered in Sicyon in 314 BC, his wife Cratesipolis took control of the city and ruled it for six years, until she was induced by king Ptolemy I to hand it over to the Egyptians. In 303 BC Sicyon was conquered by Demetrius Poliorcetes who razed the ancient city in the plain and built a new wall on the ruins of the old Acropolis on the high triangular plateau which resulted sufficient for the reduced populace. The new agora was adorned by a "Painted Stoa" attributed to the king's mistress Lamia, a flute player. For a short time the town was now called "Demetrias", but eventually the old name prevailed. Demetrius left a garrison in the castle to control the city, and the commander Cleon established another tyrannical regime. After some twenty years he was killed by two rivals, Euthydemus and Timocleidas, who became the new joint tyrants of Sicyon. Their rule ended, probably around the start of the Chremonidean War in 267 BC, when they were expelled by the people who elected their leader Cleinias to govern the city on a democratic ground. Two magistrates of these years were the hieromnemoi Sosicles and Euthydamos, known from an inscription at Delphi. The democratic government's most important achievement was the construction of the gymnasium which is attributed to Cleinias. During the same time Xenokrates of Sicyon published his history of art which contributed to spread the fame of Sicyion as an undisputed capital of ancient art. Even this time democracy did not last more than a few years, and in 264 BC Cleinias was slain by his cognate Abantidas, who established his tyranny for twelve years. In 252 BC Abantidas was murdered by two rhetoricians, Aristotle the Dialectician and Deinias of Argos, and his father Paseas took over, only to be murdered after a short rule by another rival named Nicocles. In 251 Aratus of Sicyon, the 20-year-old son of Cleinias, conquered the city with a night assault and expelled the last tyrant. Aratus re-established democracy, called back the exiles and brought his city into the Achaean League. This move ended the internal strife and Aratus remained the leading figure of Achaean politics until his death in 213 BC, during a period of great achievements. The prosperity and peaceful condition of Sicyon was only interrupted by an Aetolian raid in 241 BC and an unsuccessful siege at the hands of king Cleomenes III of Sparta in early 224 BC. As a member of the Achaean federation Sicyon remained a stable democracy until the dissolution of the League by the Romans in 146 BC. In this period Sicyon was damaged by two disastrous earthquakes in 153 BC and 141 BC. The destruction of Corinth (146 BC) brought Sicyon an acquisition of territory and the presidency over the Isthmian games; yet in Cicero's time it had fallen deep into debt. Under the Roman empire it was quite obscured by the restored cities of Corinth and Patrae; in Pausanias' age (150 AD) it was almost desolate. In Byzantine times it became a bishop's seat, and to judge by its later name Hellas it served as a refuge for the Greeks from the Slavonic immigrants of the 8th century. In the 4th century BC the people of Sicyon were the subject of a popular comedy by Menander titled Sikyonioi. William Shakespeare, in his 1606 play Antony and Cleopatra (Act I, Scene 2), notes that Marc Antony's wife, Fulvia died in Sicyon. Historically, she died there in 40 BC while in rebellion against Octavius Caesar. Friedrich Hölderlin's novel Hyperion from 1797 starts at the "paradisiac plain of Sicyon".

[wonder-worker]

Are there any historical women whose lives are very vague who you wish there was more information on?

Yes, many! Seaxburh, Cratesipolis, Dandi Mahadevi, Charumati, Duchess Mu of Xu, Stratonike, Aelfgifu of Northampton, etc.

[heroineimages]

I love how many warrior queens show up in the histories of Alexander and his Successors.

"After the death of Olympias, Macedonian troops were commanded by yet a third woman general during the struggle of the successors: Cratesipolis. Cratesipolis was the wife of Alexander, son of the regent Polyperchon, who had been Olympias’ ally. Alexander first appears in the historical record in 317, towards the end of his father’s regency and at the climax of the struggle between Olympias and Adea Eurydice. Naturally he was an ally of Olympias vis-à-vis his father, Polyperchon. Following the death of Alexander the Great, Polyperchon had managed to control portions of the Peloponnese, particularly the ports of Corinth, Sicyon, and Patrae (Diod. 19.35.1; 54.3). In 317 BCE, this Alexander, the son of Polyperchon, was poised to attack Cassander, who himself was besieging Tegea. Cassander sped to Macedon, however, when he heard that Olympias had deposed Adea Eurydice and Philip III. After the death of Olympias, Alexander continued to fight Cassander but eventually switched over to Cassander’s side when Cassander offered him generalship over the Peloponnese, the prize for which he was fighting anyway.

Alexander’s wife, Cratesipolis, was highly esteemed by her husband’s army because she distributed largesse to those in need (Diod. 19.67.1). In 314 BCE, Alexander was assassinated by revolutionary Sicyonians, but Cratesipolis bravely assumed the command of Alexander’s troops and quelled the rebellion (Diod. 19.67.1–2). The Greek Sicyonians thought they had nothing to fear from a woman, and were surprised when Cratesipolis and her forces defeated them. Whereas the Greeks of Sicyon—like those in earlier Rhodes or Aeolis—were loath to be ruled by a woman, once again we see that Macedonian soldiers were willing to take orders from a woman commander. Like her male counterparts, Cratesipolis was shrewd. Whereas Plutarch (Demetrius 9) tells us that she was renowned for her beauty, Diodorus (19.67.2) relates that Cratesipolis was intelligent and possessed “daring [tolma] beyond that of a woman.” Writing almost 400 years later than Thucydides, Diodorus still saw tolma as a male quality, at least the kind of tolma needed to engage in warfare.

Nothing is known of Cratesipolis’ origins or family. Macurdy suggests that she was of the Macedonian nobility, since she married Alexander, the son of a high-ranking Macedonian official, the regent Polyperchon. Her name, Cratesipolis, is found on inscriptions in Larissa in Thessaly, perhaps suggesting a Thessalian origin. Or her name may have been awarded later in life, just as Olympias, Myrtale, and Stratonike were names given by the Macedonians to Alexander’s mother, who was originally called Polyxena (Plut. Mor. 401b). Cratesipolis does mean “ruler of the city,” after all.

Cratesipolis ruled the poleis of Patrae, Sicyon, and Corinth for seven years, but ultimately handed over Sicyon and Corinth to Ptolemy I, perhaps hoping that he would marry her (Diod. 20.37.1; Polyaen. 8.58). She was also no match in terms of military strength for Ptolemy, whose resources and wealth were certainly far greater. Ptolemy, however, tried to woo Cleopatra, the sister of Alexander the Great. Cleopatra was murdered by Antigonus’ machinations, and Ptolemy’s plan was ultimately frustrated. Marriage to Cleopatra might have included the throne of Macedon as a dowry, and Ptolemy was more interested in a royal bride than in Cratesipolis. Cratesipolis then tried to woo Demetrius, another of the warring successors and the son of Antigonus, also with no success as he was almost killed by his enemies trying to meet her, and was forced to flee (Plut. Demetrius 9). We do not hear of Cratesipolis successfully remarrying, nor do we hear anything of her after the incident with Demetrius. Despite her obscurity in both life and death, Cratesipolis’ ability to both govern cities and command armies places her among the ranks of an Olympias or Adea Eurydice."

Postcolonial Amazons, Female Masculinity and Courage in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit Literature, Walter Duvall Penrose