The legendary founder of Alexander the Great’s dynasty of ancient Greece was supposedly King Caranus. According to ancient records, he was the son of Temenus, the great-great-grandson of Heracles. However, did he actually exist? Many modern scholars argue he was actually invented by certain ancient Greeks for political purposes.
Who was King Caranus of Macedon?
King Caranus was the alleged founder of the dynasty that ruled over Macedon. He was the son of Temenus, one of the descendants of Heracles who supposedly led the Dorian invasion.
Temenus established the dynasty that ruled over Argos, making Caranus an Argive prince. However, Caranus fought to establish his own dynasty elsewhere. According to some ancient writers, such as the Greek Marsyas of Pella, Caranus moved to Macedonia on the advice of an oracle.
After arriving at the city of Edessa, Caranus conquered it with a large group of Greek followers. He then established it as his capital, forming the Greek dynasty of Macedon.
Earlier accounts cast doubt on Caranus’ existence
Why do many, if not most, scholars today doubt the existence of Caranus? The reason is that he does not appear in the earliest records of the founding of the kingdom of Macedon. The very earliest account comes from Herodotus.
According to Herodotus, the founder of Macedon was actually an Argive prince named Perdiccas. This Perdiccas does appear in later accounts that mention Caranus, but those versions present him as a son or later descendant of Caranus.
In contrast, Herodotus does not mention Caranus at all. Rather, his account presents Perdiccas as the direct son of Temenus, king of Argos. Perdiccas and his brothers then moved from Argos to Macedonia, and there, Perdiccas became the founder of a new dynasty.
Since Herodotus’ account dates to the fifth century BC, before any source mentioning Caranus of Macedon, this clearly suggests that Caranus did not exist. Not only does he not mention him, but Herodotus’ account does not really leave any space for his existence either.
Further evidence that Caranus of Macedon was fictional
Herodotus is not the only early source who conspicuously leaves Caranus unmentioned. Thucydides, another historian of the fifth century BCE, provides additional evidence that he was fictional. He states that Perdiccas II was the eighth king of Macedon.
We know that Perdiccas II was the eighth king from Perdiccas I. Hence, Thucydides’ remark would require Perdiccas I to have been the first king of Macedon. This contradicts the notion that Perdiccas I was the son or later descendant of Caranus of Macedon, as later records claim.
Since both Herodotus and Thucydides are the earliest writers to provide pertinent information about the founding of the dynasty of Macedon, their testimony is obviously the most valuable. Therefore, the evidence clearly indicates that Caranus was a later invention.
Why was Caranus added to the dynasty of Macedon?
While this does answer the question of whether or not Caranus really existed, it is worth asking why he was artificially added to the list of kings of Macedon in later records.
The simple answer is that no one knows exactly why this happened. However, scholars today generally believe it happened for political reasons. What is clear is that this invention occurred in the early fourth century BCE, when there were dynastic rivalries in Macedonia.
One suggestion is that Caranus (whose name simply means ‘lord’) was added by the line of kings who rivaled those who supported Perdiccas II. Since the name ‘Perdiccas’ was the founded of the entire dynasty, these rival kings inserted the fictional ‘Caranus’ to lessen the apparent importance of Perdiccas I.
These rival kings did end up winning against the supporters of Perdiccas II, which would explain why Caranus rather than Perdiccas I came to be widely accepted as the founder of Macedon.
Whether this suggestion is correct or not, we cannot say. Still, it is an interesting possibility, and the key fact remains that Caranus of Macedon clearly did not actually exist.
