Lanike

Lanike or Lanice (Greek: Λανίκη), also called Hellanike or Alacrinis, daughter of Dropidas, was the sister of Clitus the Black and the nurse of Alexander the Great. She was born, most likely, shortly after 380 BC; for she is named as the mother of Proteas and two other sons who died in the battle at Miletus in 334 BC. Her husband may have been Andronicus of Olynthus.^[1]

Lanike in fiction

She is referenced in Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut by Oliver Stone. Clitus asks Alexander, "Who planned the Asian invasion while you were still being spanked on your bottom by my sister Lanike?" In a rage Alexander proceeds to kill Clitus, but while mourning his actions, Alexander weeps about what he has done to Lanike, i.e. killing her brother. She also appears in numerous dramatic and fictional accounts of Alexander's life, such as the novel Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault.

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