Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon


Eurydice, born Cleopatra was a mid-4th century BC Macedonian noblewoman, niece of Attalus, and last of the seven wives of Philip II of Macedon.

Biography

Cleopatra was a maiden whom Philip married either in 338 or 337 BCE. As Philip's wife, Cleopatra was given the name "Eurydice". Although Philip was a polygamist, his marriage to Cleopatra greatly upset Olympias, his fourth wife and the mother of Alexander the Great, and threw Alexander's inheritance into question.
According to both Justin and Satyrus, Cleopatra Eurydice and Philip produced two children, Europa, a girl, and Caranus, a boy. Following Philip's assassination, both children were murdered by Olympias, whereupon Cleopatra took her own life. Peter Green strongly suggests that Alexander ordered the death of Caranus, but that the deaths of Europa and Cleopatra were the result of Olympias's vindictiveness.