Alcimachus of Apollonia was a Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 nobleman who was a Macedonian

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...

 Thessalian

Thessaly

Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....

 who served as an official. He was an active diplomat and administrator in the latter reign of King Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...

 who reigned 359 BC–336 BC and the first years of his son, King Alexander the Great reigned 336 BC–323 BC.

Alcimachus was the first born of four sons to Agathocles

Agathocles of Pella

Agathocles was a Greek nobleman who was a contemporary to King Philip II of Macedon who reigned 359 BC-336 BC.Agathocles was a Thessalian Serf from Crannon. His father’s name may have been Alcimachus. It was through his flattery, that Agathocles became an intimate friend of Philip II.Philip II...

 and his wife, perhaps named Arsinoe. His paternal grandfather may have been called Alcimachus and one of his brothers was Lysimachus

Lysimachus

Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...

 one of the Diadochi

Diadochi

The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...

 of Alexander the Great.

His father was a nobleman of high rank who was an intimate friend of Philip II, who shared in Philip II’s councils and became a favorite in the Argead court

Argead dynasty

The Argead dynasty was an ancient Greek royal house. They were the ruling dynasty of Macedonia from about 700 to 310 BC. Their tradition, as described in ancient Greek historiography, traced their origins to Argos, in southern Greece...

. Alcimachus with his brothers grew up with the status of Macedonians; he with his brothers enjoyed prominent positions in Alexander’s circle and Alcimachus with his brothers were educated at the court at Pella

Pella

Pella , an ancient Greek city located in Pella Prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.-Etymology:...

.

Two years after the Battle of Chaeronea

Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)

The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in 338 BC, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between the forces of Philip II of Macedon and an alliance of Greek city-states...

 in 336 BC, Alcimachus and Antipater

Antipater

Antipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...

 was sent by Philip II to Athens where they were made as Proxenoi

Proxeny

Proxeny or Proxenia in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called Proxenos or Proxeinos...

 of Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 which they were honored in a decree. Sometime in the reign of Philip II, Alcimachus may have been granted property in Apollonia

Apollonia, Thessaloniki

Apollonia is an ancient town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volvi, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located along the Via Egnatia in Macedonia, about midway between Thessaloniki and...

 and may had honors bestowed upon him by Philip II. Two years later Alcimachus was in charge of an army, empowered by Alexander to ‘liberate’ the cities of Ionia

Ionia

Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...

 and Aeolis

Aeolis

Aeolis or Aeolia was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of Asia Minor, mostly along the coast, and also several offshore islands , where the Aeolian Greek city-states were located...

. When Alcimachus was sent by Alexander to establish democracies in the Ionian and Aeolian cities, Alexander may have voiced some displeasure with Alcimachus’ behavior in handling affairs there, as he may have been the Alcimachus named in the Second Letter to the Chians. After Alexander’s possible displeasure with Alcimachus, he is not mentioned again in the Alexander historians.

By an unnamed Greek wife, Alcimachus had two sons: Alcimachus

Alcimachus (son of Alcimachus of Apollonia)

Alcimachus, also known as Alcimachus of Apollonia was a Greek nobleman who was a Macedonian Thessalian and his father’s first youngest brother was Lysimachus one of the Diadochi of Alexander the Great....

 by whom he had a grandson called Lysippus

Lysippus (grandson of Alcimachus of Apollonia)

Lysippus was a Greek nobleman who was a Macedonian Thessalian.Lysippus was a member of a very wealthy, political influential and distinguished family...

 and Philip

Philip (son of Alcimachus of Apollonia)

Philip was a Greek nobleman who was a Macedonian Thessalian and his father’s first youngest brother was Lysimachus one of the Diadochi of Alexander the Great....

.

Sources

• Lysimachus’ article at Livius.org
• H.S. Lund, Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship, Routledge, 2002
• W. Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006