Macedonian King Research Articles

Illyrians and Macedonians in the Fifth Century BC

The Illyrians lived in a mountainous territory that bordered the rich plains of Macedonia. Therefore, since the archaic age, they tried several times to penetrate Macedonia. Greek sources emphasize the resistance of the Macedonian kings, who were repeatedly defeated by the Illyrians. During the Peloponnesian War Macedonian king Perdikkas II allied with the Spartan general Brasidas to fight against the Illyrians and stopped their advance. But only half a century later the great king Philip II managed to keep the Illyrians permanently away from the borders of Macedonia.

Tymphaia(ns): Molossian(s) or Macedonian(s)?

The Tymphaians, like the Orestai, were considered as Molossian tribes by the end of the sixth century BC. One should not make the common mistake of interpreting the Macedonian expansion in these areas with the help of much later literary sources depicting the conditions in these areas under Roman rule, especially those of the Roman province of Macedonia, thus ignoring the earlier sources; therefore, one should not include Tymphaia in the “original” Macedonian regions. Tymphaia was incorporated in the Macedonian kingdom after 351 or 342 by Philip II, thus becoming thereafter an integral part of Macedonia and the theater of crucial decisions regarding the Macedonian throne. The preexisting institutions of the Tymphaians were not abolished after this incorporation. Their characterization as “Macedonians” by Arrian is related to the political use of the “national” adjective “Macedonians”, i.e., subjects of the Macedonian king. The tribal organization of the region must also have played an important role in the perception of the Tymphaians by the southern Greeks. In this context, one can only admit one’s inability to proceed to further suggestions or assumptions, as the surviving written testimonies are scarce. Perhaps, vital in this direction will be the data given to the historians through the archaeological excavations conducted in the area and the possible identification of the settlements mentioned in the scarce literary sources.

Oliveira Martins’s Alexander the Great in O Helenismo e a civilização cristã

Abstract This article analyzes Joaquim Pedro de Oliveira Martins’s view of Alexander the Great as described in O helenismo e a civilização cristã (1878). I argue, first, that Oliveira Martins’s increasing interest in Hellenism’s contribution to the rise of Christianity is part of his attempt to make sense of his own time, and a consequence of his early revolutionary ideals. Second, I advance the debate about Oliveira Martins’s ancient sources, arguing that his use of Plutarch’s account alone in Chapter 6 (“Alexander’s empire”) is not arbitrary. In fact, it both reflects and supports his view on the Macedonian king as a revolutionary historical figure, whom he calls “Alexander the Messiah.”

The Family of Philip II of Macedon: the culturological approach of ancient authors

Philip II of Macedon had an unprecedented number of interethnic marriages and seven children born in these unions. His matrimonial activity met the requirements of politics. However, the works of ancient authors contain a large amount of contradictory information concerning the family of Philip II. Attempts by ancient historians to retrospectively explain the situation of the royal children and wives often make it difficult to recreate the true picture of what happened. The ancient authors were representatives of a different culture, a different era, different from the time of Philip's reign. Therefore, modern researchers still do not have a single opinion regarding the marital relations of the Macedonian king and his family, which confirms the relevance of this topic. The purpose of this article is to clarify the role of members of the royal family at the court of Philip, and the factors that influenced their participation in political affairs. The theoretical basis of the research is the works of Athenaeus, Plutarch, Pompey Trog and Diodorus Siculus, as well as the works of modern authors. The methods of analysis and synthesis, the method of systematization of materials, as well as the comparative historical method and the method of studying cultural memory were used in the work. For the first time, the article attempts to consider the history of the family of Philip of Macedon, systematizing all available references in the sources. In addition, the authors analyze the material in the context of the ancient perception of the world. As a result of the study, the authors came to the conclusion that all ancient historians were not only influenced by Greek customs and customs and the traditional dichotomy of "Hellenes-barbarians", but also wrote their works under the impression of contemporary political events. These circumstances influenced the desire of historians to rationalize and explain the events that took place in the family of the Macedonian king. The culturological approach allowed the ancient authors to focus only on important events from their point of view, which did not always correspond to reality.

The Argead Kings of Macedonia in the 'Chronicle' of John of Nikiu

This essay deals with a description of the reigns of the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty (Philip II, Alexander the Great and Philip III Arrhidaeus) in the Chronicle of John of Nikiu (late 7th century AD). The author argues that in contrast to John of Nikiu’s information about Philip II and Philip III Arrhidaeus, the account of Alexander found in his Chronicle is far from being merely a truncated version of the corresponding story given by John Malalas (6th century AD), but has a certain self-sufficiency. Therefore, in the opinion of the author, it can be well assumed that the image of Alexander presented by John of Nikiu holds a special, albeit quite modest, place among the portraits of the great conqueror we find in the Byzantine world’s literature.

Alexander was great, but Rome is greater: Considering Livy's depiction of Alexander

AbstractThe Romans were conquerors, and it is unsurprising that they looked favorably upon the greatest conqueror of antiquity, Alexander the Great. In Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, there are several passages in which he uses the image of Alexander to help craft his own concept of Rome's place within the wider Hellenistic world, especially within the eastern Mediterranean. Livy, despite his generally positive opinion of Alexander, ultimately created scenarios where he portrayed the Romans as superior to the Macedonian king, first, because of the primary focus of Livy's history, namely the rise of Rome to Mediterranean dominance, and second, because of the political atmosphere in which Livy was writing, namely the complete submission of the Mediterranean basin under Augustus' empire. Although scattered throughout Livy's extensive writing, when analyzed together these passages illustrate a persistent and connected motif that influences Livy's larger narrative: Alexander was great, but Rome is greater.

I re macedoni e le due corone di Zeus

The Macedonian Kings and the Two Wreaths of Zeus This paper aims to investigate the reasons why, since the reign of Philip II, the “national” Zeus, venerated on Olympus and Dion and characterized by the oak crown, was abandoned in favor of the Olympian Zeus of Elis, characterized by the olive/oleaster wreath. We notice that while the members of the royal family display, in life and death, an oak wreath as an insignia of their kingship, and at the same time also as a symbol of their highest divinity, the kings themselves issue the image of the panhellenic god with an olive/laurel wreath on their coins.

I re macedoni e le due corone di Zeus

The Macedonian Kings and the Two Wreaths of Zeus This paper aims to investigate the reasons why, since the reign of Philip II, the “national” Zeus, venerated on Olympus and Dion and characterized by the oak crown, was abandoned in favor of the Olympian Zeus of Elis, characterized by the olive/oleaster wreath. We notice that while the members of the royal family display, in life and death, an oak wreath as an insignia of their kingship, and at the same time also as a symbol of their highest divinity, the kings themselves issue the image of the panhellenic god with an olive/laurel wreath on their coins.

The trial of Demetrius: some observations on legal procedure against court misconduct under Philip V of Macedonia

Abstract Despite extensive scholarship on trials regarding misconduct in the court of Philip V of Macedonia, the trial of his son Demetrius on the charge of assault on his brother and heir apparent Perseus, which is the only example of a trial of a Macedonian king’s son, seems to have escaped the attention of modern historians. Given that it is an event whose most detailed description appears in Livy’s history and that the Roman historian offers a very positive picture of the romanophile Demetrius, it is easy to understand why this trial has not been considered worthy of study. Nevertheless, Livy’s account reveals that the king observed specific procedural rules which are known from the other trials he dealt with, and which demonstrates Philip’s somewhat juridical attitude in legal processes against misconduct of the members of his court. The main purpose of this article is to highlight Philip’s juridical attitude by showing the similarity of the procedure applied in the trial of Demetrius as described by Livy to the legal processes followed by Philip in the trials of his courtiers during his early reign.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Aphorism on the Aristotle-Alexander Legend: Sources, Meaning, And Its Reception by Francis Bacon

One of Leonardo da Vinci’s autographed aphorisms states that Aristotle and Alexander were each other’s teachers. Interpreting it in light of those of Leonardo’s readings which instigated him to write it down along with providing him the material he needed to do so, I argue that the aphorism turns against Aristotle as an emblematically boastful, know-it-all man involved in undue occupation of all knowledge throughout history. Leonardo presents Aristotle as if he had been taught by the pernicious conqueror Alexander to act in scholarship in the way the Macedonian king had acted in politics and external affairs. The core of this critique goes back to a traditional anti-Aristotelian point in Antiquity, complies with the 15th- and 16th-century anti-Aristotelianism and goes hand-in-hand with Leonardo’s own view that intelligent men (including himself) are capable of going much further than Aristotle in the direction of discovering the truth. I identify Leonardo’s sources and I argue that Francis Bacon’s repeated bitter remark that the soul of Aristotle was infected by Alexander’s tyrannic character was quite probably based on Leonardo’s aphorism.

Luisa Prandi

Luisa Prandi (born in 1952) has showed a great interest in Classics and the Ancient World even from her earliest age. Her love for the Ancient Greek world arose during her studies at the University of Milan. As a student of distinguished scholars such as Marta Sordi (1925-2009), Luigi F. Pizzolato (1939-), Giuseppe Billanovich (1913-2000) and Orsolina Montevecchi (1911-2009), she learned from each of them a devotion for the study of the ancient sources that have made, with a great merit, that she becomes one of the best and most recognized scholars on the ancient world. She is, also, a main name in the research of the topic of the Historians of Alexander or Alexandrographers. These authors are fundamental for the knowledge of the Macedonian king: as she uses to argue, we cannot write a single word about Alexander overlooking them”. Writing about Alexander is a such a Herculean task, since there is no other figure of whom there are more historians with extreme contradictions among their accounts. It is almost impossible to say something new about Alexander, but to say about his historians, about whom so few fragments are available, is even more difficult.
 Prof. Luisa Prandi’s brilliant versatility is quite a strange attribute among academics: she has showed many times her abilities to work directly with all kinds of sources (especially papyri), but always with a sober, serious, and noncontroversial approach. Readers will find in her a person of carefully taste concerning what to say and how to stress her opinions and views. That seriousness is reflected and witnessed when she writes, since she belongs to that wonderful school of researchers who are aware that theories will pass but the facts (sources) are the ones that remain. From that humility and that certainty, Luisa Prandi presents herself to our readers of Karanos.

The Temenidae, Who Came Out of Argos. Literary Sources and Numismatic Evidence on the Macedonian Dynastic Traditions / Temenidzi, którzy przybyli z Argos. Macedońskie tradycje dynastyczne w źródłach literackich i świadectwach numizmatycznych

The prevailing opinion is that, at least from Alexander I onwards, Macedonian rulers attached a lot of importance to the tradition of their Argive origin. There are also suggestions that various images placed on royal coins refer to the mythical founder of the dynasty and his foreign origin. But a review of these images does not provide convincing arguments to justify the above-mentioned opinion. The preserved fragments of poetry dedicated to Alexander I seem to speak rather in favor of his interest in the Trojan myth. If the Argive origin of the royal family is so strongly emphasized by Herodotus, Thucydides, and Euripides, then perhaps the “establishment” of the genealogical ties of the Macedonian kings with Temenidae of Argos took place in Athens. The Greek authors presented the Macedonian rulers with versions of the mythical past of their family linked to Greek tradition. But there is not much to indicate that the predecessors of Alexander the Great attached particular importance to them.

The Temenidae, Who Came Out of Argos. Literary Sources and Numismatic Evidence on the Macedonian Dynastic Traditions / Temenidzi, którzy przybyli z Argos. Macedońskie tradycje dynastyczne w źródłach literackich i świadectwach numizmatycznych

The prevailing opinion is that, at least from Alexander I onwards, Macedonian rulers attached a lot of importance to the tradition of their Argive origin. There are also suggestions that various images placed on royal coins refer to the mythical founder of the dynasty and his foreign origin. But a review of these images does not provide convincing arguments to justify the above-mentioned opinion. The preserved fragments of poetry dedicated to Alexander I seem to speak rather in favor of his interest in the Trojan myth. If the Argive origin of the royal family is so strongly emphasized by Herodotus, Thucydides, and Euripides, then perhaps the “establishment” of the genealogical ties of the Macedonian kings with Temenidae of Argos took place in Athens. The Greek authors presented the Macedonian rulers with versions of the mythical past of their family linked to Greek tradition. But there is not much to indicate that the predecessors of Alexander the Great attached particular importance to them.

Historical Perspective and Medical Maladies of Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great (356 BC - 323 BC) was only 20 years old when he was named the next King of Macedonia after his father was assassinated. The following 11 years witnessed the evolution of an outstanding leader who expanded his empire from Egypt to the Indian frontier. Despite successfully conquering much of the world, he was afflicted with a febrile illness at the age of 32, which he battled for a mere 11 days before perishing. It has been almost 2,400 years since his death, but the exact cause remains a mystery. Did he die of natural causes or at the hands of conspirators? Numerous papers have been written about the illnesses suffered by Alexander, with the current evidence revealing a healthy 32-year-old man who developed fever and acute abdominal pain with rapid deterioration of his general condition leading to death within a short duration. We analyze various theories and discuss possible etiologies that may have contributed to his tragic death. Information was gathered from primary and secondary sources found through searching multiple online academic databases and the University of Southern California (USC), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Harvard libraries. Unreliable sources and the unavailability of Alexander’s body for autopsy make reaching a definitive diagnosis an impossible task; however, based on existing information, we presume that he most probably died of a neurological cause due to acute necrotizing pancreatitis and encephalopathy secondary to peritonitis. Other potential causes include fulminant hepatic failure, acute demyelinating neuropathy or Guillain Barre Syndrome, and arsenic poisoning.

Riding East—Western Myths, Nostalgia, and the Crossing of Generic Boundaries in Hidalgo (2004)

<i>Riding East</i>—Western Myths, Nostalgia, and the Crossing of Generic Boundaries in <i>Hidalgo</i> (2004)

К вопросу о политической пропаганде Александра i филэллина

The greatest amount of evidence about the reign of Alexander I of Macedon is contained in the work of Herodotus. The ancient historian is the only author who gives a detailed description of Alexander's policy during the Greco-Persian wars. This article is dedicated to several questions. First of all, the author discusses the question of what sources Herodotus could use for his stories about the Macedonian king. The author raises the question of the possible personal stay of Herodotus in Macedonia and comes to the conclusion that the most presumable point of view that Herodotus visited Macedonia in the middle of the 5th century BC. The ancient author could have the possibility to speak directly with Alexander and get detailed description of his policy during the Greco-Persian wars.An equally important question remains the question of what Alexander's propaganda was. The paper examines the evidence of Herodotus about Alexander, the direct speeches of the Macedonian king, as well as the numismatics of Alexander's time. The general idea of Alexander's speeches boils down to the assertion that the Macedonians have Greek origin. Among other things, the first mention of the legend about the Greek origin of Argead dynasty appears in the work of Herodotus. In the time of Alexander, iconography with Greek symbols appears on Macedonian coins.The author comes to the conclusion that Alexander's propaganda was aimed at proving the Greek origin of the Macedonians and improving relations with the Greek world. To a greater extent, propaganda was directed precisely at the citizens of Athens, since Macedonia continued to be an important economic partner of this policy.

Anty-Aleksander? Wizerunek Demetriusza Poliorketesa w "Żywocie Demetriusza" Plutarcha z Cheronei

The assumption that imitation of Alexander the Great played a key role in the image of Demetrius Poliorcetes has been broadly accepted by many researchers. The main source on this subject is Plutarch’s Life of Demetrius where the author directly compares these two Macedonian kings and depicts Demetrius as a failed imitator of Alexnader. However, the juxtaposition of numerous other parts in that biography with fragments of Life of Alexander demonstrates that Plutarch purpose was creating the image of Demetrius as a sort of anti-Alexander.

Signs and premonitions for Alexander's reign

Abstract This work focuses on the analysis of a series of famous episodes that underline the prodigious birth and the exceptional destiny of Alexander the Great. First, the article examines the accounts of the Macedonian king's conception, due to the union of his mother Olympias with the king/magician Nectanebo, or with a snake, or with the god Ammon – depending on the different versions. Subsequently, the stories of the oracles foretelling Alexander's domination over the world and the premonitions that mark his rise to power are analyzed. Finally, the death omens are also taken into account. Summing up, this study deals with the elements related to Alexander's mythology and the reasons why the literary sources of the classical world present him as a being halfway between human and divine.

The influence of Xenophon’s didactic writings on the military leadership practice of Alexander the Great

The article examines the influence of Xenophon’s didactic works on the military activities of Alexander the Great. It is re-vealed that messages from ancient sources containing direct in-dications of the fact that Alexander was familiar with Xeno-phon’s works are either fundamentally unreliable or subject to different interpretations. Nevertheless, a comparison of the rec-ommendations proposed in “Kyropedia” and other Athenian au-thor’s writings the with Alexander’s practical activities reveals obvious similarities in their views on training military personnel, organizing competitions in military skill, providing soldiers with richly decorated weapons, and caring for the sick and wounded. A set of coincidences is associated with the political and admin-istrative activities of Alexander, who, like Cyrus the Elder in Xenophon’s writings, demonstratively showed mercy towards the vanquished, attracted representatives of the local elite to the ser-vice, wore clothes traditional for a conquered country. A large number of similarities, good education of Alexander and the popularity of Xenophon’s writings in the second half of the 4th century BCE allow us to conclude that the Macedonian king was familiar with the works of the Athenian author. However, the components of Xenophon's didactic legacy associated with the methods of warfare do not correlate well with Alexander's mili-tary leadership practice. The fundamental differences are re-vealed in the armament of the cavalry and their tactics, the depth of the infantry formation, the role of army branches on the battle-field. They were caused by a significant breakthrough in the art of war that took place in Macedonia during the time of Philip II. This breakthrough also led to the emergence of new tactics that provided for crushing the enemy not with a frontal attack of heavy infantry, but through the combined use of various types of troops. Alexander as a military leader was raised under the con-ditions of a new, more developed military art. Thus, the over-whelming majority of Xenophon's recommendations, which de-scribed the cavalry as a purely auxiliary branch of the army and considered the classical hoplite phalanx a decisive force in battle, were clearly irrelevant for him and therefore ignored.

Hrabanus Maurus’ Post-Patristic Renovation of 1 Maccabees 1:1–8

Abstract In this article, I examine Hrabanus Maurus’ exegesis of the opening verses of 1 Maccabees, which preserves a concise account of Alexander the Great’s career. My main goal is to demonstrate how Hrabanus reinterpreted the representation of the Macedonian king from 1 Maccabees. To this end, I employ transformation theory, which enables me to analyze the ways in which Hrabanus updated the meaning of the biblical text. I argue that Hrabanus turned the negative Maccabean narrative of Alexander into a positive representation that was attractive to contemporary readers. I support this argument by focusing on Hrabanus’ recourse to Latin sources, primarily the late antique authors Jerome, Orosius, and Justin, an epitomist of Roman history. I find that Hrabanus challenged Jerome’s interpretations, neutralized much of Orosius’ negative appraisal of Alexander, and amplified the laudatory passages of Justin, which generated a new image of the ancient king. The present article thus contributes to three fields: medieval exegesis of biblical texts, Carolingian reinterpretation of the patristic heritage, and the reception of Alexander the Great.