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PHILIPPIDES

ANCIENT NOTABLE BEARERS

As a descendant of the name , I went to great lengths to present accurate information  pertaining to ancient times.  I persistently contacted professors, authors and historians of scholastic authority. I thankfully received their guidance and most honored reply. Information on this site is backed by references .

PHILLIPPIDES OF PAIANIA, son of Philomelos was a very wealthy and distinguished elder statesmen of oligarchic background. He was one of the richest Athenians in the age of Lycurgus of Athens. In 293/2 B.C. IG II3 1 857, Philippides was honoured with a gold crown for his excellence in the interests of the People; and as king. In the attic inscription it states:

Philippides son of Philomelos of Paiania both for his ancestors' and his own excellence and love of honour towards the People, and to crown him with a gold crown. . . , and to announce the crown at the city Dionysia and the Demetrieia at the tragedy competition; and the [competition director or games directors] shall take care of the announcement; and the People shall stand a bronze statue of him in the Agora read in full here

 

After the established coalition government of Athens,  Philippides along with military leader Olympiodoros and Stratokles took part. Furthermore, in Olympiordoros ' second year as eponymous archon , the king (Basileus) was Philippides of Paiania.

Philippies was a pro-Macedonian who is identified with the Philippides prosecuted by Hypereides in 336/5 B.C. for his bold pro-Macedonian measures. After the Battle of Chaerona (where Macedonians defeated Greek-city states), Philippides proposed to the assembly a number of decrees honoring Macedonians , among them Alexander the Great. The decrees were put to a vote with the Presidents and passed.  Philippides was known for saying "We must thank Alexander for all those that died at his hand."   Hypereides detested pro-Macedonian sympathies, but Philippides did not stop there, he had gone a step further and proposed that the Presidents who passed the decrees be crowned for carrying out their duties according to the laws. The trial took place before king Philip's death in 336. A reference to Philip in the papyrus suggests he was still alive during Philippides trial. Hypereides speech lasted over 30 minutes . In the first part of the speech he attacked king Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In the second half, Hypereides  presents the preserved part of the papyrus. He turns his attack on Philippides and his associates . In more detail  Hypereides calls Philippides a traitor to Greece. He pleads stements as such  in the trial  "Philippides campaigned with king Philip's cause against our country which is a serious offence. In fact he precisely did campaign on Philip's side against us and our allies. Each one of them was traitor, one in Thebes, another in Tanagara, another in Eleuthera , doing everything in the service of  the Macedonians."

 

                             It is said that Philippides of Paiania had genealogical strands with the Alexander the Great via his Greek roots in Argos.

 

There is no doubt among the elite historians that the Macedonians and the Argead dynasty were Greek in language and blood.  The Argead royal house were Greeks descended from Argos of Peloponnese. The founder of their house belonged to the royal house of Argos, Greece the “Temenidae”. For more information regarding the bloodline click here and also here . Alexander the Great's mother Olympias, came from the ruling clan of the northwestern Greek region called Epirus. The Ancient Royal House of the Argeads ruled from 700 to 311 BC extending further down the lineage to The Ptolemaic Dynasty , known as the Lagids. The genealogical strands preserved in a number of accounts state Ptolemy I is presented as having direct blood relationships with the Argead kings. Satyrus the Peripatetic, traced the partrilinear descent of Arsinoe directly through Macedonian kings.  The connection between the two kingdoms comes through Cleopatra's VII father Auletes who was a direct descendant of Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy l Soter and son of Arsinoe. The Lagids was also a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt during the Hellenistic period, The Ptolemaic rule lasted for 275 years from 305 to 30 BC.  They were the last dynasty of ancient Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. She is arguably the most famous woman from classical antiquity, and one of the most familiar personalities in human history.  The outcome of the trial has not been documented.

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REFERENCES

 

  1.  Paschidis, Paschalis (2008). Between City and King. Athens: National Hellenic Research Foundation. ISBN 978-960-7905-44-4..

  2. Tarn, William Woodthorpe. Antigonos Gonatas King of Macedonia 276-239 B.C. London: University of Oxford.

  3.  Shear, T. Leslie (1978). Kallias of Sphettos and The Revolt of Athens in 286 B.C. Princeton, New Jersey: Library of Congress Cataloging. ISBN 0-87661-517-5.

  4.  Lambert, Steven. "Honours for Philippides of Paiania". Attic Inscriptions Online. 2015

  5.  Worthington, Ian (2001). Dinarchus, Hyperides & Lycurgus. Austin, Texas: University of Texas. ISBN 0-292-79142-9.

 

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The final two columns of P.Lit.Lond. 134, the 2nd-century BCE papyrus that transmits the conclusion to Against Philippides

PHILIPPIDES OF KEPHALE  (Ancient Greek: Φιλιππίδης) was an Athenian poet of the Greek New Comedy. He was the son of Philokles of Kephale . He was a great personal friend (philos) of King Lysimachus (i.e "successor" of Alexander the Great ) Philippides is reported as having had great influence with Lysimachus. In 285 BC Athens passed a decree to honor Philippides for his continuous requests to Lysimachus for aid to recover Piraeus and the forts. He was an extremely generous man as one can see by reading his honours.

Part of the honours for Philippides of Kephale states : When king Lysimachos won the battle at Ipsos against Antigonos and Demetrios, those citizens who perished in the crisis he buried at his own expense, while he alerted the king to those who became prisoners, and after gaining their release,those wishing to remain in service he arranged that they be assigned to regiments, and those preferring o leave he supplied with clothes and travelling  money from his own resources and sent them where each wished, more than three hundred in all;  Read the full honour Click here  to read the full honours.

In 286/285 BC Philippides was elected agonothetes.

The Suda reports that Philippides produced 45 plays. Only the titles of 16 plays (along with associated fragments) have survived.

  • Adoniazousai (Women Mourning for Adonis)

  • Amphiaraos (Amphiaraus)

  • Ananeosis (Renewal)

  • Argyrioi Aphanismos (Disappearance of the Money)

  • Auloi (Flutes)

  • Basanizomene (Woman Being Tortured)

  • Lakiadai (Laciadae)

  • Mastropos (The Pimp)

  • Olynthia (Woman from Olynthos)

  • Sympleousai (Woman Sailing Together) or Synekpleousai (Women Sailing Forth Together)

  • Philadelphoi (The Brother-Loving Men)

  • Philathenaios (Lover of Athens)

  • Philargyros (Lover of Money)

  • Philarkhos (Philarchus)

  • Phileuripides (The Euripides-Lover)

  • Triodoi, or Rhopopoles

REFRENCES

  1.  Suda φ 345.

  2.  Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 3.15.2

  3.  Tarn, William Woodthorpe (1912). Antigonos Gonatas. London: University of Oxford

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PHEIDEPPIDES MYTHICAL MARATHON RUNNER

I felt it important to address this mythical story being it is very visable. The spelling of the name is quite different from the derivative name I am presenting and I have not found evidence stating the stories of this ancient runner is true.

On the contrary, I have found concrete information that it is a myth , greatly exaggerated and a clever means of advertizing for the Olympics.

 

 

Fifth century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus, the “father of history,” made no mention of Pheidippides running to Athens in his account of the Battle of Marathon. He did write that before the battle Pheidippides was sent to Sparta to ask the Spartans for assistance. He completed the run (estimated to be between 140 and 153 miles) in two days and then immediately raced back to Marathon.

Herodotus also wrote that after the battle the Athenian army hurried back to Athens so that the Persians, who had escaped on their ships, could not attack the undefended city. According to Dutch ancient historian Jona Lendering, creator of the Web site Livius, the Pheidippides myth is a combination of his epic run and the Athenians’ march to Athens.

The first account of Pheidippides running to Athens did not appear until the second century A.D., when Greek writer Lucian wrote in his “True History,” “Philippides the hemerodromos, reporting the victory from Marathon to the archons, Who were seated anxiously awaiting the result of the battle, said, ‘rejoice, we have won,’ and saying this, died at the same time as his report, expiring with the salutation.”

Lucian, however, was a satirist, not a historian. “His True History contains nothing of any historical value whatsoever, but he had a great time making fun of the serious writers of his day,” writes archaeologist Jim D. Muhly, former director of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.

The myth also appeared in Plutarch’s 347 A.D. work “Moralia,”though Plutarch said the runner was named Eukles or Thersippus.

The story of Pheidippides was popularized in the 19th century. In 1834, French sculptor Cortot completed a sculpture in Paris’ Tuileries Palace of Pheidippides dying as he announced victory. In 1879, English poet Robert Browning wrote the poem “Pheidippides,”which stated:

“Unforeseeing one! Yes, he fought on the Marathon day:
So, when Persia was dust, all cried ‘To Akropolis!
Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due!
“Athens is saved, thank Pan,” go shout!’ He flung down his shield, Ran like fire once more: and the space ‘twixt the Fennel-field
And Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through,
Till in he broke: ‘Rejoice, we conquer!’ Like wine thro’ clay,
Joy in his blood bursting his heart, he died—the bliss!”

Nineteen years after the poem, the marathon race was created. “It is probable that this poem, and not the actual historical facts, would have been in the minds of those, who not twenty years later, would be concerned with the revival of the Olympic Games and the formation of any possible events which could provide a link with the past,” wrote R. Grogan in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

MODERN NOTABLE BEARERS

PHILIPPIDES

  • Dr. George J. Philippides;  MD Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease, Internal Medicine Boston, Mass

  • Stephanie L. Philippides; MD Clearwater, Florida

  • Christopher Philippides ; Attorney at Mullen & Filippi ,LLP Sacremento California

  • Zoe Philippides; Attorney Thousancd Oaks ,CA

  •  The Honourable Anthe Philippides; Justice Philippides . Her Honour was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in December 2000 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal in December 2014. 

NOTABLE  PHILIPPIDES

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