Archelaus, a son of Perdiccas II of…
412 BCE
Archelaus, a son of Perdiccas II of Macedon by an enslaved woman, obtains the throne in 413 by murdering his uncle Alcetas II, his cousin Alexander, and his half-brother, a child of seven years, the legitimate heir.
Almost immediately after he takes power, Archelaus is faced with a situation that allows him to completely reverse Macedon's relationship with Athens, which has been a major threat for the past half century.
The crushing defeat experienced by the Athenians at Syracuse in late 413, during which most of their ships were destroyed, has left he Athenians in desperate need of a huge amount of timber to build new ships and Archelaus in a position to set the price.
Archelaus generously supplies the Athenians with the timber they need.
In recognition of this, the Athenians honor Archelaus and his children with the titles of proxenos and euergetes (”benefactor”).
Proxeny or Proxenia is an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosts foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state.