Greek Reporter
Philip II Palace in Aigai, Macedonia, Greece, where Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia 2,300 years ago.
Nationalgeographic.co.id—The ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia became one of the most important Greek kingdoms of all time under the rule of Alexander the Great. This happened in the fourth century BC. However, what is the origin of this kingdom? Is it true that there is a connection with Hercules, the hero of Greek mythology?
Descendants of Hercules
One surprising fact about the Macedonians is that they are believed to be descendants of the famous Heracles, also known as Hercules.
This legend emerged from the writings of Herodotus, the first person to write extensively about ancient Greek history. Hercules is an ancient Greek mythological hero who was a demigod.
According to Herodotus, Hercules’ great-grandson was Temenus. This man was the king of Argos who had three sons. One of his sons was Perdiccas.
According to Herodotus’ account, Perdiccas and his brothers left Argos and traveled north, founding their own city-state with Perdiccas as king.
This city-state is in the region called Macedonia. However, when did the origins of this legendary Macedonian kingdom actually occur?
A descendant of Perdiccas five generations later was a king named King Amyntas I. He was a follower of Darius I of Persia, so the date must be certain.
He was apparently born around 570 BC. Counting back five generations to the birth of Perdiccas takes us to around 670 to 695 BC with an average of twenty to twenty-five years per generation.
Therefore, although we cannot determine an exact date, the origins of Macedonian history must date to the middle of the seventh century BC, when Perdiccas and his brothers left Argos to found their own city-state.
Do the origins of the Macedonian people go back to Caranus?
However, contrary to this narrative, many sources state that a certain Caranus was responsible for the origin of the Macedonian people.