ARCHELAUS, a Greek philosopher, was a native most probably of Athens, though some say he was born at Miletus. Nothing is known of his life, but as he was a pupil of Anaxagoras, he must have lived about 450 B.c. By several writers he is said to have been the teacher of Socrates, but this report has no support from Plato, Aristotle, or Xenophon, and probably has no foundation save the wish to connect Socrates closely with preceding philosophy. So far as the opinions of Archelaus are known, he seems to have followed with some deviations his master, Anaxagoras. With him he admitted a primitive matter, consisting of infinite particles similar in nature to the bodies formed from them. He further admitted a ruling mind; but he attempted to overcome the dualism of Anaxagoras, and in so doing, more nearly approached the older Ionic physical philosophers. He thought that matter was mingled with mind, and identified the primitive matter with air. His first principle was thus air endowed with mind. Out of this air, by the processes of thickening and thinning, arose cold and warm, or water and fire, the one passive, the other active. From the action of fire on water are formed the atmosphere and the mud, out of which the earth and the heavenly bodies are developed. Living, organised beings, at first of a low type, spring out of this mud, and gradually the races of animals are formed. Man is superior to other beings by his moral and artistic powers. To Archelaus are attributed some ethical doctrines, such as, that right and wrong are not by nature but by custom. This is a well-known proposition of his contemporaries, the Sophists, and in all probability it is attributed to Archelaus erroneously. Ethical teaching was no doubt ascribed to him merely to explain the completely ethical ...character of the philosophy of his supposed pupfl Socrates. No fragments of ‘ Archelaus remain; his doctrines have to be extracted from Diogenes Laertius, Simplicius, Plutarch, and Hippolytus.
ARCHELAUS, natural son of Perdiccas, king of Macedonia, seized the throne in 413 B.C., after having murdered his uncle, his cousin, and his half brother, the legitimate heir. His reign was remarkable for the many improvements he introduced. He fortified cities, constructed roads, and thoroughly organised the army. He endeavoured to spread among his people the refinements of Greek civilisation, and invited to his court many celebrated men of the time—as Zeuxis, Timotheus, Euripides, and Agathon. In 399 b.c. he was killed by one of his courtiers, Craterus; according to some, designedly, according to others, accidentally while engaged in hunting.
ARCHELAUS, a general of Mithridates, commanded his army in the war against the Romans. He was sent into Greece with an army of 120,000, and after three days’ fighting with Bruttius Sura, occupied the Piraeus. Here he was attacked by Sulla, and after a hard struggle was compelled to withdraw into Boeotia. Sulla followed, and at Chaeronea, 86 b.c., completely routed him. A fresh army was sent by Mithridates, but at Orchomenos, after a two days’ battle, Archelaus was again defeated. Peace was soon afterwards concluded, but as Archelaus found that he had incurred the displeasure of Mithridates, he fled over to the Romans, by whom he was well received. He is not heard of again in history, but several of his descendants of the same name held high posts under Pompey, Antony, and Augustus.
ARCHELAUS, son of Herod the Great, had the kingdom of Judaealeft him by the last will of his father, though a previous will had bequeathed it to his brother Antipas. He was proclaimed king by the army, but declined to assume the title until he had submitted his claims to Augustus at Rome. Before setting out, he quelled with the utmost cruelty a sedition of the Pharisees, slaying nearly 3000 of them. At Rome he was opposed by Antipas and by many of the Jews, who feared his cruelty, but Augustus allotted to him the greater part of the kingdom with the title of Ethnarch. He married Glaphyra, the widow of his brother Alexander. This violation of the Mosaic law and his continued cruelty roused the Jews, who complained to Augustus. Archelaus was deposed (7 a.d.) and banished to Vienne. The date of his death is unknown.
ARCHELAUS, son of Apollonius, a sculptor of Priene, is celebrated by his bas-relief representing the apotheosis of Homer. From the style of the work, and from its having been found in the palace of the Emperor Claudius at Bovillae, it may be concluded that it belongs to the 1st century of the Christian era. For some time the bas-relief was in the possession of the Colonna family, but in 1819 it was purchased for £1000, and placed in the British Museum.
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