Perdiccas I of Macedon (died 678 BC) was King of Macedon from 700 to 678 BC, preceding Argaeus I. He was the founder of the Argead kingdom, having been exiled to Macedonia from his home in Argos and went on to unite the Macedonian tribes under his (and his brothers Gauanes and Aeropas) rule.
Biography[]
Perdiccas was born in Argos, a descendant of the Dorian warrior Temerus and the brother of Gauanes and Aeropas. In the early 7th century BC, the brothers were exiled from their home in Argos and made their way north to the Orestian Highlands to live among the primitive, pastoralist Macedonian tribes. They found work as shepherds for a local petty chieftain until the chieftain noticed that Perdiccas' bread always swole larger during meals, growing superstitious about his hidden greatness. The chieftain demanded that the three brothers leave his chiefdom, and, when Perdiccas demanded payment, the chieftain mockingly offered him a patch of sunlight which was shining through the roof. Perdiccas accepted the sunpatch, drawing a circle around it with his knife. The chieftain's priest informed the chieftain that this was a poor omen from the gods, so the chieftain sent men to kill the brothers. They then jumped into the Haliacmon River to escape, and they soon came to the Gardens of Midas at the base of Mount Bermion, from which they made a new home and garnered enough support to unite or conquer all of the disparate Macedonian tribes. Perdiccas then migrated eastward out of the Orestian Highlands and into the Emathian plain, where he founded the settlement of Aigai. By the 6th century BC, the Macedonians had established a small kingdom between Bottiaea and the Aegean coast, driving out the Thracian tribes who had lived there previously. Perdiccas founded the Argead dynasty, named for his homeland of Argos, and his patch of sunlight became the "Vergina Sun" symbol of Macedon. Perdiccas died in 678 BC and was succeeded by his son Argaeus I.