| Caranus | |
|---|---|
 Pre 500 BC Aigai Trihemiobol associated with the Karanos Oracle | |
| King of Macedonia | |
| Reign | unknown |
| Successor | Coenus |
| Issue | Coenus |
| Dynasty | Argead |
| Father | Temenus |
| Religion | Ancient Greek religion |
Caranus or Karanos (Greek: Κάρανος, romanized: Káranos) was the first king of the ancient greek kingdom of Macedonia according to later traditions. According to Herodotus, however, the first king was Perdiccas I. Caranus is first reported by Theopompus[1] and is the mythical founder of the Argead dynasty.[2][3]
- ^ Theopompus the Historian, Page 270 By Gordon Spencer Shrimpton ISBN 0-7735-0837-6
- ^ Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon, 356–323 B.C.: A Historical Biography, University of California Press, 2013, p.103
- ^ According to Pausanias (Description of Greece, 9.40, 8–9), Caranus set up a trophy after the Argive fashion for a victory against Cisseus: "The Macedonians say that Caranus, king of Macedonia, overcame a chieftain in a bordering country in the battle of Cisseus. For his victory Caranus set up a trophy after the Argive fashion, but it is said to have been upset by a lion from Olympus, which then vanished. Caranus realized that it was a mistaken policy to incur the undying hatred of the non-Greeks dwelling around, and so the rule was adopted that no king of Macedonia, neither Caranus himself nor any of his successors, should set up trophies, if they were ever to gain the good-will of their neighbors. This story is confirmed by the fact that Alexander set up no trophies, neither for his victory over Dareius nor for those he won in India."