The Second Tomb at Vergina and the Problem of the Dead : Philip II or Philip III Arrhidaios?

Abstract

The two tombs were found in the autumn of 1977 at Vergina by M.Andronikos, professor at the University of Thessaloniki. One of these tombs proved to be an unplundered royal grave. Finds from this Macedonian tomb allow it to be dated in the third quarter of the fourth century B.C.. The discovery of a diadem in the main chamber, and a pair of greaves different in length and form in the antechamber (Philip II is reported to have been lame), and the fact that only one king of Macedon died between 350-325 B.C., namely Philip II in 336 B.C., led Andronikos to conclude that the tomb belonged to Philip II and his last wife Kleopatra. This discovery aroused great interest among specialists and scholars and also his hypothesis posed several questions which are still being discussed. In this paper the author considers the relation between the greaves different in length and form and Philip's lameness. The illustration of the greaves themselves (cf. Fig. 3) shows that the short greave was for the left leg, whereas, according to some literary sources, Philip II was wounded in the right leg, both in the shin in 345 B.C. and in the thigh in 339 B.C., the latter wound being said to have lamed him. These facts prove that Philip's wounds cannot possibly have any connection whatsoever with the greaves in the antechamber. On the other hand, Hammond supposes, about the greaves, that "one of his and one of hers" were put there (in the antechamber) for the lady by mistake. If it is right, the only possibility that "one of his and one of hers" can be put there for the lady by mistake is the case of synchronous burial. And further, the presence of armour in the antechamber shows that the queen was a warrior. By examining closely both on the basis of some literary sources, the author suggests that the tomb at Vergina is not the burial place of Philip II and his wife Kleopatra, but of Philip III Arrhidaios and his wife Eurydike.