Argaeus II of Macedon

Argaeus II (Ancient Greek: Ἀργαῖος, romanized: Argaios) was a pretender to the Macedonian crown.

Argaeus II of Macedon
King of Macedonia
Reign	393 – 392 BCE
Predecessor	Amyntas III
Successor	Amyntas III
Dynasty	Argead dynasty
Religion	Ancient Greek religion

War with Amyntas III

With the assistance of the Illyrians, Argaeus II expelled King Amyntas III from his dominions in 393 BCE and kept possession of the throne for about a year. With the aid of the Thessalians, Amyntas III later succeeded in expelling Argaeus II and recovering a part of his kingdom in 392 BCE.

Again pretender?

35 years later, in 359, another Argaeus or Argeus appeared as a pretender to the throne; he may have been the same person as Argaeus II of Macedon. This Argaeus had persuaded the Athenians to support his claim to the Macedonian throne, but Philip II, who had just succeeded to the regency of the kingdom, persuaded the Athenians to remain inactive.

With a force of mercenaries, some Macedonian exiles and a number of Athenian troops (who were permitted to join the Macedonians by their general, Manlias), Argaeus made an attempt to take Aegae, but was repulsed. On his retreat to Methone, he was intercepted by Philip and defeated. Argaeus was either killed in the battle or executed afterward.[1]

References

1. Iain Spence, Historical dictionary of ancient Greek warfare, 2002, p. 62. ISBN 0-8108-4099-5

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Mason, Charles Peter (1870). "Argaeus". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 1. p. 279.