Parmenion, the loyal Macedonian general, was executed without trial—sacrificed in the shadow of Alexander’s growing imperial power.
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An Old Lion in the Shadow of the Sun
When Alexander crossed the Hellespont in 334 BC, he was not alone. At his side, the Macedonian army was already roaring—hardened by decades of conquests under Philip II. And among the veterans, one name resonated with respect and fear: Parmenion.
Wise, cautious, experienced, he was one of the pillars of Macedonian expansion. Yet his name remains eclipsed by the glory of the young king. Why would such an influential man be executed without trial, betrayed by his own camp? Parmenion’s fate, both noble and tragic, deserves to be told at last.
His name is often drowned in the brightness of Alexander’s myth, as if he were merely a footnote in the grand fresco of conquest. Yet ancient sources—particularly Diodorus of Sicily, Arrian, and Plutarch—acknowledge his central military role. If Alexander represented the impulse, Parmenion was the strategic backbone of the Macedonian army. His story reveals how empires are built not only by heroes, but by men in the shadows.
Parmenion, Son of Old Macedonia: A Rise in a Changing Kingdom
A Steadfast Loyalty to Philip II
Little is known about Parmenion’s exact origins. Born around 400 BC, he enters the historical stage as Macedonia begins to transform under Philip II. While the once-marginal kingdom becomes a military power, Parmenion stands out for his strategic acumen and unwavering loyalty.
In 356 BC, he secured a victory against the Illyrians—a constant threat on the kingdom’s northern border. Shortly after, Philip sent him on a diplomatic mission to Athens, where he negotiated on behalf of Macedonia. At a time when Macedonian aristocrats were often unruly, Parmenion embodied discipline and order…
His feats earned him the king’s trust, making him one of the cornerstones of the new Macedonian army—now built around the phalanx, the Companion cavalry (the Hetairoi), and a strategy based on mobility and encirclement.
Parmenion is cited as one of the first generals to understand and rigorously apply Philip II’s military reforms. He played a quiet yet crucial role in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, where Macedonian forces crushed the Athenian and Theban troops. His loyalty was all the more precious to Philip, who had to face a frequently unruly and undisciplined nobility. Some sources note that Parmenion began diplomatic missions very early, proving that his influence went far beyond the battlefield.
The Shadow Strategist
Under Philip, Parmenion played a key role: he was tasked with laying the groundwork for the Asian campaign against the Persian Empire. He left for Asia Minor in 336 BC, leading an advance military force. He seized several cities in Ionia. But just as this operation began, Philip was assassinated.
The arrival of Alexander, then only 20 years old, radically changed the situation.
His sense of logistics and operational preparation was recognized as essential in the planning of the upcoming campaigns. While Alexander was still a teenager, Parmenion drew the first outlines of the offensive against Persia by capturing several strongholds in Asia Minor. He relied on a network of satraps and Greek cities favorable to Macedonia to establish support bases. This pragmatism—sometimes seen as conservatism—would clash head-on with Alexander’s divine and conquering vision.
Alexander’s Right Hand: Experience Serving Youth
An Unlikely Duo: Fiery Genius and Strategic Caution
Alexander kept Parmenion in his position. It would have been unwise to dismiss such a respected veteran. And indeed, Parmenion became the young king’s military right hand during the first great campaigns.
But tensions soon emerged. Parmenion, methodical and cautious, often opposed Alexander’s impetuous decisions. At the crossing of the Granicus River (334 BC), Parmenion advised waiting until the next day to attack the Persians, emphasizing the risks of a frontal battle through the river. Alexander, eager to strike quickly, overrode him.
The attack was victorious, and glory went to the king—not to the man who had counseled patience.
This opposition between caution and boldness shaped their relationship throughout the Asian campaigns. The generational gap was compounded by a clash of values: Parmenion represented the landowning aristocracy, while Alexander envisioned himself a universal sovereign. Parmenion understood that the war against Persia would be long and arduous, requiring solid supply lines. The sources never mention insubordination on his part, underscoring his constant loyalty despite tactical disagreements.
One of the most famous episodes in their relationship occurred when Darius, the Persian king, sent Alexander a peace offer. He proposed ceding territories west of the Euphrates and offered his daughter’s hand—an offer that would have fulfilled many ambitions. Parmenion, always pragmatic, declared: “If I were Alexander, I would accept.” To which the king replied, with youthful pride and the conviction of a grand destiny: “So would I, if I were Parmenion.”
This now-legendary exchange highlights the contrast between a strategy of territorial consolidation and a nearly messianic will to dominate completely.
Parmenion at Issus and Gaugamela
Despite their growing disagreements, Alexander still recognized Parmenion’s strategic value. During the battles of Issus (333 BC) and then Gaugamela (331 BC), the old general continued to command the Macedonian army’s left wing—a vital position exposed to frontal and flanking assaults by Persian forces.
At Gaugamela, while Alexander launched a decisive maneuver against the Persian center, Parmenion faced a massive offensive led by Median and Bactrian cavalry. The left wing faltered under the pressure, nearly being overrun. According to Arrian and Quintus Curtius, communication became difficult, and Parmenion sent messengers several times to alert the king. Eventually, Alexander, in the midst of chasing a fleeing Darius, was forced to halt his victorious pursuit to return and stabilize the left front.
This decision, with heavy consequences, probably saved part of the army from tactical collapse. But it cost Alexander a complete victory: once again, Darius escaped. For the Macedonian king, obsessed with personally neutralizing his opponent, the intervention on Parmenion’s behalf appeared as an obstacle to the destiny he had crafted for himself. In his eyes, it was a hindrance—perhaps even a failure attributed to the old general.
Although Parmenion showed calm resolve and avoided a disaster on his flank, this episode deepened Alexander’s growing distrust. From Gaugamela onward, the gap widened: the pragmatic military world that Parmenion embodied clashed more and more with the heroic, almost divine vision of a conquering king who no longer tolerated the shadow of any independent figure in his entourage.
A Disrespected Father Figure
As time passed, Alexander increasingly distanced himself from his former mentors. Parmenion, about thirty years his senior, embodied a Macedonia that no longer existed: monarchic, moderate, where kings listened to their generals.
He was probably perceived by Alexander as a father figure… and therefore, as an obstacle. The king now wanted men who would obey without question, and Parmenion began to stand out awkwardly in this changing entourage—full of flattery and new ambitions.
Alexander, increasingly surrounded by Oriental courtiers, began to mistrust his closest Macedonian advisers. Parmenion became, despite himself, the symbol of a shared power the king now intended to concentrate in his own hands. Several young officers, newly promoted, saw Parmenion as a barrier to their own rise. The cultural divide deepened, with Parmenion remaining loyal to Macedonian tradition while Alexander dreamed of becoming the heir of the Achaemenid kings.
The Blood Trap: Philotas, Betrayal or Political Purge?
Philotas, Son of Parmenion, Accused of Conspiracy
Philotas, son of Parmenion, was also a high-ranking officer, head of the Companions. But he drew hostility: arrogant, he alienated several fellow officers.
In 330 BC, while Alexander was at Phrada (in Arachosia), a plot against him was revealed. Philotas was accused of failing to report seditious remarks in time. Under torture, he confessed—perhaps everything they wanted him to. The trial was rushed, the execution brutal.
The trial of Philotas was marked by confessions obtained under torture, casting doubt on their reliability. His influence among the Hetairoi was judged excessive by some of Alexander’s close allies, notably Craterus and Hephaestion. Several versions of the plot coexist—some mention a dream, others a soldier’s confession to Philotas. This narrative confusion was heavily exploited by Alexander’s propaganda to justify eliminating the Parmenion faction.
A Political Trial?
It is likely that the accusations against Philotas were manipulated. His father was one of the few generals still capable of challenging Alexander’s decisions. By eliminating the son, the king brought down the father.
Plutarch reports that the fear of a revolt by Parmenion pushed Alexander to act quickly. Parmenion was then in Media, far from the court, but he commanded a crucial logistical base and many troops. Alexander took no chances.
Plutarch himself suggests that the affair may have been fabricated to remove a political faction. Alexander may have used fear of conspiracy to consolidate his authority by eliminating those who represented a counterweight. The troops, deeply loyal to Parmenion, were not informed immediately, avoiding any violent reaction. The elimination of Philotas marked a turning point: afterward, the army was under a more vertical authority, centered on Alexander alone.
The Assassination of Parmenion: Necessity or State Crime?
A Death Without Trial
Without warning Parmenion or granting him a trial, Alexander sent two officers—Polydamas and Cleitus—with orders to execute the former general. The operation was carried out in utmost secrecy: Parmenion was killed before even learning of his son’s death.
Some ancient accounts describe a blunt and brutal killing: a loyal man executed to prevent a hypothetical revenge. Parmenion, faithful to the end, died in silence and oblivion.
Parmenion was killed in Ecbatana, without ever being confronted with the accusations against his son. The execution order was written in Alexander’s own hand—proof of a well-considered decision. The officers sent to kill him knew him well, making their mission all the more cruel. No resistance was reported, indicating he had neither planned betrayal nor plotted rebellion.
What Did He Know? What Could He Do?
No evidence proves that Parmenion was involved in the plot. His assassination seems more like a purge policy than a reaction to proven treason.
Some historians see this as the rise of a paranoid Alexander, transformed by war, unable to tolerate the slightest contradiction. Others emphasize that the military situation was risky: leaving Parmenion alive, commanding an army after his son’s execution, was a dangerous gamble.
The fact that Parmenion was geographically isolated makes coordination with a central plot unlikely. Some modern historians believe his death mainly served to send a signal of terror to other officers. No letters, no direct testimonies from Parmenion remain, contributing to his historical erasure. His assassination, considered by Arrian as a “necessary but cruel” decision, remains one of the darkest episodes of the Asian campaign.
Conclusion – The Eternal Number Two
Parmenion was undoubtedly one of Macedonia’s greatest strategists, yet he never sought the spotlight. He served a kingdom, not his own glory. His tragic fate reflects the tension between the old world—defined by loyalty and duty—and the new order embodied by Alexander, marked by personal power, imperial cult, and royal solitude.
His disappearance marked a rupture: after Parmenion, no general would openly challenge Alexander. The conquest continued, but the king was now alone. And in the shadows, the memory of a cautious old man lingered—one who fell for having served two kings too well.
Parmenion’s legacy is paradoxically better preserved by those who study logistics and strategy than by Alexander’s panegyrists. His absence left a void that was never truly filled in the Macedonian high command. One could say that without him, Alexander’s early victories would have been far more perilous. His historical erasure—intentional or not—illustrates the tragic fate of those who build history without reaping its glory.
Sources
- 📚 Waldemar Heckel & Lawrence A. Tritle, Alexander the Great: A New History, Wiley‑Blackwell, 2009
- 🌐 Encyclopædia Britannica – “Parmenion”
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The illustrations were generated using artificial intelligence to support the historical narrative and enhance immersion. They were created by the author and are their property. Any reproduction requires prior authorization by email.
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