Harpalus
Sign in to saveHarpalus (Greek: Ἅρπαλος), son of Machatas, was a Macedonian aristocrat and childhood friend of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Harpalus was repeatedly entrusted with official duties by Alexander and absconded with large sums of money on three occasions. Alexander appointed him treasurer of his empire in Babylon in 330 BC. In 324 BC he fled from Babylon to Athens with a large sum of money. The resulting political controversy in Athens ("the Harpalus Affair") was a contributing factor in the Lamian War.
Key facts
- Person.name
- Harpalus
- Person.birth_date
- 4th century BC
- Person.death_date
- 323 BC
- Person.death_place
- Crete
- Person.occupation
- Treasurer
- Person.years_active
- 330 BC-324 BC
- Person.father
- Machatas of Elimeia
- Person.children
- Calas
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 4 more facts
- date of death
- 0323-01-01
- date of birth
- 0400-01-01
- name in native language
- Ἅρπαλος
- significant place
- Macedonia
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Article
5 sectionsContents
- Life
- Harpalus Affair
- Death on Crete
- Legacy
- References
Harpalus (Greek: Ἅρπαλος), son of Machatas, was a Macedonian aristocrat and childhood friend of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Harpalus was repeatedly entrusted with official duties by Alexander and absconded with large sums of money on three occasions. Alexander appointed him treasurer of his empire in Babylon in 330 BC. In 324 BC he fled from Babylon to Athens with a large sum of money. The resulting political controversy in Athens ("the Harpalus Affair") was a contributing factor in the Lamian War.
==Life== Lame in one leg and therefore exempt from military service, Harpalus did not follow Alexander into the Persian Empire, but was nevertheless given a post in Asia Minor. Alexander is said to have contacted him to request some reading material for his leisure time. Harpalus sent the king plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the History of Philistus and odes by Philoxenus and Telestes.