Craterus in the context of "Cleitus the White"

⭐ In the context of Cleitus the White’s service following Alexander the Great’s campaigns, Craterus is primarily known for what role regarding veteran soldiers?

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Craterus

Craterus, also spelled Krateros (Greek: Κρατερός; c. 370 BC – 321 BC), was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. Throughout his life, he was a loyal supporter of Alexander the Great.

Craterus was the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Alexander from Orestis and brother of admiral Amphoterus. Craterus commanded the phalanx and all infantry on the left wing in Battle of Issus in 333 BC. In Hyrcania, he was sent on a mission against the Tapurians, his first independent command with the Macedonian army. At the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC, near modern Jhelum, he commanded the rearguard, which stayed on the western bank; his men crossed the river only during the final stages of the battle.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Craterus in the context of Cleitus the White

Cleitus (Clitus) the White (Ancient Greek: Κλεῖτος ὁ λευκός; died c. 317 BC) was an officer of Alexander the Great surnamed "White" to distinguish him from Cleitus the Black. He is noted by Athenaeus and Aelian for his pomp and luxury, and is probably the same who is mentioned by Justin among the veterans sent home to Macedonia under Craterus in 324 BC.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Craterus in the context of Eumenes

Eumenes (/jˈmɛnz/; Ancient Greek: Εὐμένης; fl. 361–315 BC) was a Greek general, satrap, and Successor of Alexander the Great. He participated in the Wars of Alexander the Great, serving as Alexander's personal secretary and later on as a battlefield commander. Eumenes depicted himself as a lifelong loyalist of Alexander's dynasty and championed the cause of the Macedonian Argead royal house.

In the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death, Eumenes initially supported the regent Perdiccas in the First Diadochi War, and later the Argead royalty in the Second Diadochi War. Despite less experience as a commander, Eumenes defeated Craterus, one of Alexander's most accomplished generals, at the Battle of the Hellespont in 321 BC. After Perdiccas' murder in 320 BC Eumenes became a public enemy of the new Post-Alexander regime under Antipater and Antigonus. In 319 BC he was defeated by Antigonus at the Battle of Orkynia and confined to Nora.

↑ Return to Menu

Craterus in the context of Battle of the Hellespont (321 BC)


The Battle of the Hellespont took place in 321 or 320 BC between the armies of Craterus and Neoptolemus against Eumenes. It was part of the wars between Alexander's successors. Eumenes and Neoptolemus were sent by Perdiccas to prevent Craterus crossing the Hellespont into Asia, but Neoptolemus deserted to join Craterus. Eumenes won the battle, and both Craterus and Neoptolemus were killed.

↑ Return to Menu

Craterus in the context of Amphoterus (admiral)

Amphoterus (Greek: Ἀμφοτερός) the brother of Craterus, was appointed by Alexander the Great to be his commander of the fleet in the Hellespont in 333 BC. Amphoterus' appointment recognized his successful attempts to subdue the islands between Greece and Asia which had not acknowledged Alexander. Amphoterus cleared Crete of the Persians and pirates. He then sailed to the Peloponnese in 331 BC, where he put down an uprising against Macedonian control.Alexander sent Cypriot and Phoenician ships to help Amphoterus.

↑ Return to Menu

Craterus in the context of Erigyius

Erigyius (in Greek Ἐριγυιoς; died 328 BC), a Mytilenaean, son of Larichus, was an officer in Alexander the Great's army. He had been driven into banishment by Philip II, king of Macedon, because of his faithful attachment to Alexander, and returned when the latter came to the throne in 336 BC. At the battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC, he commanded the cavalry of the allies, as he did also when Alexander set out in 330 BC from Ecbatana in pursuit of Darius III. In the same year Erigyius was entrusted with the command of one of the three divisions with which Alexander invaded Hyrcania. He was also among the generals sent against Satibarzanes, whom he slew in battle with his own hand. In 329 BC, together with Craterus and Hephaestion, and with the assistance of Aristander, a soothsayer, he endeavoured to dissuade Alexander from crossing the Jaxartes river against the Scythians. In 328 BC he fell in a battle against the Bactrian fugitives.

↑ Return to Menu

Craterus in the context of Alexandria Bucephalous

Boukephala (Ancient Greek: Βουκεφάλα) and Nikaia (Νίκαια) were two cities founded by Alexander the Great on either side of the Hydaspes (modern-day Jhelum River, Pakistan) during his invasion of the Indian subcontinent. The cities, two of many founded by Alexander, were built shortly after his victory over the Indian king Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes in early 326 BC.

It is not certain which settlement had which name. Built on the site of the battlefield, the city on the eastern bank was most likely called Nikaia (from nike, lit.'victory'), while its western companion was probably named after Alexander's horse Bucephalus, who died during or after the battle. Their construction was supervised by Craterus, one of Alexander's leading generals. Both cities initially suffered from the rains of the South Asian monsoon. Boukephala seems to have had a more distinguished legacy than Nikaia: mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy, it appears in the 1st-century AD Periplus Maris Erythraei manuscript and on the later Tabula Peutingeriana map. The cities' precise locations are unknown, but it is considered likely that Boukephala was located in the vicinity of modern Jalalpur and that Nikaia was across the river near present-day Mong.

↑ Return to Menu