#cynane

— Sabine Müller, "Argead Women", The Routledge Companion to Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Thessalonike’s age is tough to pinpoint as we have a “lower end” and “higher end” chronology for her, but in any case, even on the low end, she was still well past the normal age of marriage.

I’ve written elsewhere, as has Beth Carney, on the sisters and their political status. Go here:

“Alexander and His Sisters”

Post with Beth Carney’s article in reply to a similar question:

Legend of Mermaid Thessaloniki

I will quickly address the question of Thessaloniki and Hephaistion, as that’s not a part of any of the above, except tangentially.

Remember that marriage for royals is ALWAYS a political matter. Even if Alexander gave his new wife’s sister to Hephaistion so their children would be cousins, that was still part of a larger political move: to marry Greco-Macedonian men to Persian women to form new bonds in Alexander’s emerging Maceo-Persian empire. So Hephaistion’s marriage was part of that, not just a cute marriage tie with Alexander.

There was no reason for Alexander to give Hephaistion one of his own sisters. Hephaistion actually makes that same point in Dancing with the Lion when Alexander quasi-suggests the idea of him marrying Kleopatra: that Philip (still alive then) has no (political) reason to give him a royal princess.

Philip’s (historical) decision to marry Kleopatra to Alexander of Epiros was to offset any perceived insult to that same Alexander’s sister, Olympias. When Philip married his eldest daughter Kynnane to Amyntas, his nephew, it was presumably to keep Amyntas loyal as a back-up Argead when Philip went to Asia, because Alexander was (possibly) in self-imposed exile. In the novels, that’s when their marriage is announced, but in history, we’re not 100% sure. Yet the timing makes it highly possible Alexander wasn’t at court when Amyntas and Kynnane married.

There’s no political reason for Alexander to marry Hephaistion to one of his sisters, especially the one who’s not a widow and is, therefore, prime marriage material. Had Alexander lived, Thessaloniki would likely have remained unmarried for several more years (as, in fact, she did, albeit for other reasons). Alexander already had his marriage tie between himself and Hephaistion with Statiera the younger and Drypetis.

"I had no one before you and her. Now she's gone and I don't even know who you are." - Cynane Varyn

Child of the Streets | Trained by Brissa Varyn | Wielder of Oathbreaker Poor little Cyn. Orphaned twice. The Fool who trusted Brissa, TRUSTED Aeran completely and now it is eating her alive as she realizes that everything that they said was a lie.

Damn I didn't know Alexander the Great had a badass half sister:0 . Why aren't more people mentioning her? Especially those that want so much of a female warrior.

I didn't know about her either??? No one does, I think! More people should know cause new role model UNLOCKED!

Cynané

Cynané (alias Kynané, c. 357- 323 av. J.-C.) était la fille de la princesse illyrienne Audata et du roi Philippe II de Macédoine, ce qui faisait d'elle la demi-sœur d'Alexandre le Grand (356-323 avant J.-C.). Conformément à la tradition illyrienne qui voulait que les femmes soient des guerrières, sa mère l'éleva dans les arts martiaux et dans la conviction qu'elle était l'égale de n'importe quel homme.

CYNANE SNOWSEEKER | SOULBEAST | IRON LEGION | AU COMMANDER