Audata

Audata (Ancient Greek Αὐδάτη; ruled c. 359 – c. 336 BC) was an Illyrian princess and the first attested wife of Philip II of Macedon.

In order to concentrate on the internal struggle necessary to secure his crown, Philip II reaffirmed the treaty the Illyrians had imposed on Macedonia by force of arms and sealed the alliance with Bardyllis by his marriage of Audata.

This action undoubtedly deterred a full-scale Illyrian invasion of Macedonia at a time when the country was most vulnerable.

[Note 1] Philip II immediately consolidated his power as a result, so much that he defeated Bardylis in a decisive battle in 358 BC.

The assignment of the name Eurydice to Cleopatra, the niece of Attalus in 337/336 BC may suggest that Audata was no longer alive or at the court at that time, but Alexander the Great would certainly have encountered her in Pella as a child.