Menes of Pella

Pella

Pella , an ancient Greek city located in Pella Prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.-Etymology:...

(Greek: ), son of Dionysius, was one of the officers of Alexander the Great; and after the Battle of Issus

Battle of Issus

The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia...

 (333 BC) was admitted by the king into the number of his somatophylakes

Somatophylakes

Somatophylakes , in its literal English translation from Greek, means "bodyguards".The most famous body of somatophylakes were those of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. They consisted of seven men, drawn from the Macedonian nobility, who also acted as high-ranking military officers,...

, in the place of Balacrus

Balacrus

Balacrus , the son of Nicanor, one of Alexander the Great's "Somatophylakes" , was appointed satrap of Cilicia after the battle of Issus, 333 BC. He fell in battle against the Pisidians in the life-time of Alexander...

, who was promoted to the satrapy of Cilicia

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

. In 331 BC, after Alexander had occupied Susa

Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....

, he sent Menes down to the Mediterranean to take the government of Syria, Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

, and Cilicia, entrusting him at the same time with 3000 talents, a portion of which he was to transmit to Antipater

Antipater

Antipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...

 for his war with the Lacedaemonians. Apollodorus of Amphipolis was joined with him in this command.