| Aeropus II | |
| Succession: | King of Macedonia |
| Reign: | 398/7 – July/August 394/3 BC[1] |
| Predecessor: | Orestes |
| Successor: | Amyntas II |
| Dynasty: | Argead |
| Father: | Perdiccas II |
| Mother: | unknown |
| Spouse: | unknown |
| Issue: | Pausanias |
| Birth Date: | ? |
| Death Date: | July/August 394/3 BC |
| Religion: | Ancient Greek religion |
Aeropus II (grc|Ἀέροπος|Aéropos), son of Perdiccas II, was king of Macedonia from 398/7 until his death from illness in July or August of 394/3 BC.[2] [3] He first governed as guardian (epitropos) for his young nephew Orestes when Archelaus died in 400/399 BC. However, Diodorus reports that Aeropus murdered Orestes three years later, but it is also possible that he had simply won the support of the Macedonian nobility.[4] [5] As king, he took the name Archelaus.[1] Aeropus had a son named Pausanias, but was succeeded instead by Amyntas II, son of his great-uncle Menelaus.[6]
Two traditions relate how Aeropus was overawed by either the insolence[7] or the stratagems of the Lacedaemonian king Agesilaus, allowing his armies free passage through Macedonia after their campaign in Asia.
There is a minority view among scholars that Aeropus was a Lyncestian prince, rather than an Argead, who married into the dynasty, therefore enabling him later to become regent for Orestes.[8] However, the majority of historians believe Aeropus to have been Perdiccas' son and thus a member of the dynasty.[9] [10]