Caranus (son of Philip II)

Caranus or Karanos (Greek: Κάρανος, romanized: Káranos) was the son of Philip II and a half-brother of Alexander the Great. It used to be thought that his mother was Cleopatra Eurydice and so Caranus was an infant at the time of his death. Cleopatra Eurydice bore Philip a female child, Europa, shortly before his death in October 336 BC. However, since the probable date for Philip II and Cleopatra's marriage was spring 337 BC, that would mean that Cleopatra bore two children in 18-20 months. That is possible but unlikely.^{[according to whom?]}

According to Justin,^[1] Alexander III had killed Caranus soon after his accession in 336 BC because he feared him. Alexander III would have been more likely to fear a teenager brother than an infant as a rival for the throne. It seems probable that Caranus was the son of one of Philip II's other wives, either Phila or Philinna.

Pausanias reports^[2] that Olympias was responsible for the deaths of Cleopatra and her son.

• Europa of Macedon

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Caranus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

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