Autodicus also known as Autodikos, Autolycus and Autolykos (early to mid-340s BC til to unknown date of death) 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.

Autodicus was the third 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 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 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...

. Autodicus with his brothers grew up with the status of Macedonians; he with his brothers enjoyed prominent positions in King Alexander the Great’s circle and Autodicus 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:...

.

Autodicus was appointed in 321 BC as one of the four Somatophylakes

Somatophylakes

Somatophylakes , in its literal English translation from Greek, means "bodyguards".The most famous body of somatophylakes were those of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. They consisted of seven men, drawn from the Macedonian nobility, who also acted as high-ranking military officers,...

 at Triparadeisus

Triparadeisos

Triparadeisos or Triparadisus was a Greek settlement in Syria near the sources of the Orontes.It was the place where the Treaty of Triparadisus occurred, in which Alexander the Great's Empire was divided between his generals in 321 BC. It has been suggested that it was at the site of modern...

 for the Greek Macedonian King Philip III Arrhidaeus

Philip III of Macedon

Philip III Arrhidaeus was the king of Macedonia from after June 11, 323 BC until his death. He was a son of King Philip II of Macedonia by Philinna of Larissa, allegedly a Thessalian dancer, and a half-brother of Alexander the Great...

 who reigned 323 BC-317 BC, who was a paternal half-brother of Alexander the Great.

In Lysimachus’ reign 306 BC-281 BC in his rule as King over Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

, Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 and Macedonia

Macedonia (Greece)

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

; Autodicus and his family were prominent figures in his Thracian court and were among those who stayed loyal to Lysimachus.

According to an inscription found, Autodicus had a wife called Adeia

Adeia

Adeia also known as Adaea was a Greek noblewoman. She was the wife of Autodicus, one of the four Somatophylakes for the Greek Macedonian King Philip III Arrhidaeus who reigned 323 BC-317 BC...

, by whom he had children. However the identities of their children are unknown.

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