Meleager ( Meleagros; died 323 BC) was a Macedonian officer who served under Alexander the Great. He was among the generals that accompanied the king in his quest to conquer Asia Minor, and was one of the most experienced among them. The only military figure who was more experienced than Meleager was the Macedonian general Antipater, who remained in Macedon during Alexander's entire Asian campaign. Career Meleager, son of Neoptolemus, is first mentioned in the war against the Getae in 335 BC. At the Battle of the Granicus in the following year, he commanded one of the divisions of the phalanx, a post which he continued to hold throughout Alexander's campaigns in Asia. He was appointed, together with Coenus and Ptolemy, the son of Seleucus, to command the newly married troops who were sent home from Caria to spend the winter in Macedon, and rejoined Alexander at Gordium during the following summer. Meleager was present at the Battles of Issus and Gaugamela, and was associated with Craterus in the task of dislodging the enemy who guarded the passes into Persia. He took part in the passage of the Hydaspes and in various other operations in India. Despite a long series of services, Alexander did not promote Meleager to any higher position, nor did Meleager take part in any separate command of importance. There are accounts that suggest that the two did not get along or at least had a history of disagreements. For instance, when Alexander gave gifts to the Indian prince Taxiles, Meleager was recorded to have quipped bitterly that it was a pity for the king to travel all the way to India only to give a man such lavish rewards with Alexander retorting that envious men only hurt themselves. Politics and death After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Meleager was the first to propose in the council of officers, that either Arrhidaeus or Heracles, the son of Barsine, should at once be chosen as king, rather than waiting to see if the pregnant Roxana would bear a son. There are sources who suggest that this proposal was motivated by a desire to install a king who was a Macedonian instead of one who had Persian roots or Persian sympathies. The Roman historian Justin, for instance, stated that Meleager was quoted saying: "It was unlawful that kings should be chosen for the Macedonians from the blood