have entrusted Charidemus with the command of the army and the task of reengaging the Macedonians, but they were countered by the “better men” who persuaded the body to put the city in Phocion's hands. Exile After Alexander's army destroyed the city of Thebes in 335, the young Macedonian king turned toward Athens. The Athenians did everything they could to placate him, but demurred when he demanded the surrender of several men who had consistently advocated continued war with Macedon. Phocion and Demades were sent to negotiate and Alexander relented, though he did demand the banishment of Charidemus. So the mercenary-turned-citizen fled to Persia and the court of King Dareius III, who received him with distinction. Later, during the King's preparations for the Battle of Issus (333), he overplayed his hand. When asked whether the Persian forces were adequate to defeat those of Alexander, Charidemus replied that the Makedonians would not be impressed with the splendor of the Persian army, that they were hardened warriors and unless the King met them with a force of equal intensity – i.e., one composed of Greeks and Makedonians – he could not prevail. This reply so angered Dareius that he ordered Charidemus’ immediate execution – a rash action he soon regretted. References Sources Davies, John K. Athenian Propertied Families 600-300 B.C.. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971. Harding, Philip, ed. The Story of Athens: The fragments of the local chronicles of Attika. New York: Routledge, 2008. Kelly, Douglas. "Charidemos's Citizenship: The Problem of IG li2 207." Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 83 (1990): 96-109. www.jstor.org/stable/20187334. Parke, H. W. "When Was Charidemus Made an Athenian Citizen?" The Classical Review 42, no. 5/6 (1928): 170-170. www.jstor.org/stable/698723. Ancient Euboeans Ancient Greek mercenaries 4th-century BC Greek people Executed ancient Greek people 4th-century BC executions Philip II of Macedon Year of birth unknown People executed by the Achaemenid Empire 333 BC deaths