Cleitus the Black

Cleitus the Black saved Alexander's life at the Granicus and was killed by him in a drunken argument eight years later. He was a Macedonian noble, the brother of Lanike, who had been Alexander's nurse, which made him something close to family. He commanded the Royal Squadron of the Companion cavalry, the unit that fought at the king's shoulder. At the Granicus in 334 BC, Alexander was unhorsed and his helmet split by an axe, and the Persian commander Spithridates had his blade raised when Cleitus severed his arm at the shoulder. He fought through the whole eastern campaign, was given joint command of the Companions after Philotas was executed in 330 BC, and was appointed satrap of Bactria and Sogdiana in 328. The quarrel came at a banquet at Maracanda, modern Samarkand, on the eve of his departure for that command. Both men were very drunk. Flatterers were praising Alexander above Castor and Pollux and disparaging Philip's generation; Cleitus, who represented exactly that generation and resented the Persian dress, the proskynesis and the courtiers, said so loudly, reminded Alexander whose blood was on his hand, and quoted Euripides on soldiers doing the work while generals take the credit. Alexander threw an apple at him, looked for his sword, and called the guard in Macedonian. Cleitus was pushed out of the room and came back in through another door to continue. Alexander ran him through with a pike. He then refused food for three days. The court philosopher Anaxarchus talked him out of his grief by arguing that whatever a king does is just, which is roughly the moment the Macedonian monarchy stopped resembling what Philip had left.

• Lived: 375 BCE – 328 BCE
• Nationality: Macedonian
• Roles: general