#ancient Macedon

[jeannereames]

In your own words, how would you describe the bond and relationship between Alexander and Hephaestion, and the importance of Hephaestion to Alexander's life and history?

This is also one that, way back when the books were first published, I addressed in a blog.

The Love Story at the Heart of Dancing with the Lion

It begins:

The nature of Alexander’s relationship with Hephaistion completely fascinates me.

Not whether they were lovers (for the novel, I've assumed that), but the honesty, duration, and sheer depth of it....

I also talk in that post about what kind of man I think Hephaistion was, and why novelists so often can't get a handle on him, making him either bitchy or bland. The novels are, in fact, a long version of my take on the bond between Alexander and Hephaistion, and what it meant. It epitomized Greek philia.

Also, while I'm at it...the novels are about to cycle off Kindle Unlimited. So if you're a member, and you'd like to try them, you'll need to do so before the end of March.

They will still be available after that, of course (and in more places than just Amazon). If you want to buy the ebooks, or the paper versions, I actually get the most in royalties if you do so directly from Riptide, and they're not any more expensive there. But the rules of Amazon Unlimited is that Amazon has to have exclusive rights during their run there. Ergo, they won't be available on Riptide again until April 1st.

[minetteskvareninova]

I’ve never watched a video from this Monsieur Z fellow, but the title of his last one is... Certainly a banger. “What if Sparta Conquered Greece?”

Yeah, dude, what if Sparta had an expansive rather than isolationist state ideology, a fucking clue about logistics, and army that wasn’t just the glorified version of the same old hoplite system everyone used and based off of their increasingly small and more exclusive ruling class? Wonder what that would be like, if Sparta wasn’t fucking Sparta, but displaced Macedon???

[eleventhjove]

the assassination of Philip of Macedon (336 BC)

Philip II of Macedon ruled over Macedonia from 359BC until his assassination in 336BC. He was killed by his bodyguard, Pausanias of Orestis, during the festivities for the marriage of Alexander I of Epirus and Cleopatra of Macedon (Philip's daughter).

Philip was entering the theatre of Aegae (capital of the Macedonians) unprotected, in order to seem more approachable and conspicuous. He was then approached by Pausanias and stabbed in the ribs with a dagger. The assassin immediately fled and ran towards the city gates, where his associates were waiting with horses for his getaway. However, Pausanias tripped on a vine root and was quickly overpowered by his fellow bodyguards, who stabbed him to death.

(1880 illustration depicting the assassination)

the motive

According to Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily in his World History, Pausanias of Orestis verbally abused his rival for the king's affections, a man also named Pausanias. The second Pausanias was unable to tolerate the insult and decided to prove himself by positioning himself in front of the king during battle, subsequently dying from the blows he protected Philip from.

Philip's uncle, Attalus, wanted to punish Pausanias for causing the death of his friend (the other Pausanias). He invited him to dinner, got him drunk, and allowed his stablemen to rape Pausanias. Philip, however, did not punish Attalus, possibly due to their kinship and the fact that Philip needed Attalus (he commanded Philip's forces). While Philip attempted to compensate by promoting Pausanias, he remained resentful and wanted to exact revenge on the king, who had denied him justice.

Despite this explanation, suspicions still fell on Philip's wife Olympias and his son Alexander the Great, as they had a lot to gain from Philip's death. In the epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, Latin writer Justin suggests that Pausanias was instigated to commit the act by Olympias, and that Alexander was not unaware of his father's impending death.

(18th century piece depicting Olympias and bust of Alexander the Great, circa 330BC)

part 1/25 of a series introducing the assassinations outlined in Francis John's 1903 book, Famous Assassinations of History from Philip of Macedon, 336 B.C., to Alexander of Servia, A.D. 1903

[marysmirages]

Spirits of ancient battles. Memories of Alexander the Great (2023/2024)

Gouache version of the work from 2017: https://www.tumblr.com/marysmirages/686070565494259712/spirits-of-ancient-battles-memories-of-alexander?source=share

[badhistorymemes]

Any ideas?

[gemsofgreece]

Photos from the Palace of Aegae (~ 350 BC), the royal residence of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, in Aegae, Imathia, Greece. The site can be visited after being closed for many years but it is still under reconstruction works.

Source of the mosaic close-up

Source of the rest of the photos

[illustratus]

Alexander the Great in the Workshop of Apelles by Giuseppe Cades

[zaireetoo-draws]

Alexander the Great

[pareefae]

People wonder how Alexander was such a strategic genius...well I'm sure he had a lot of "brainstorming" sessions ;^)

Drawing these guys is so fun and it's like I'm in my own fandom, making food for only myself. Just a one man fandom ='D

🔶Full image on my paytree0n!

[tiny-librarian]

"What Alexander the Great accomplishes, seems like something out of myth....and yet he did it."

[inc0rrectmyths]

Alexander: I will crush every kingdom in India and kill the kings, and most importantly kiss Porus.

Hephaestion: Hmm..?

Alexander: KILL PORUS-

[jeannereames]

Hi again Dr Reames! Thank you so much for your explainer on Macedon's relationship with neighbouring Balkan cultures last time. So, another question on cross-cultural ties:

Do we know if the period of Persian hegemony over the region left any impact on how the Macedonian state was run? 

Obviously, the Argeads got to keep their jobs, and my impression is that the Achaemenids rarely intervened in the internal governance of their satraps (outside of wartime levies and big projects like the royal roads). But I also read in Maria Brosius' A History of Ancient Persia that the neighbouring Odrysian Kingdom deliberately modelled its court after the Achaemenid one, and that the Greeks adopted a lot of Persian apparels and everyday items over centuries of cross-Aegean relations.

So did the Persians leave any lasting influence on the Macedonian bureaucracy, court culture, etc.? (Brosius also mentions the Persians identifying the Thracian Getai as a sub-set of Scythians, which had me wondering about the extent of cultural exchanges between Iranian steppe peoples and other cultures of the southern Balkans/west-of-Black Sea region in this period).

Thank you once again for your time!

The answer is, we think, quite a lot—but exactly what is less clear. Like the Odrysians, the Macedonians seem to have borrowed a fair number of court structural ideas. Alexander I also took advantage of Persian assistance to secure his hold on much of the northern area, expanding Macedon and seizing silver mines, through which he enriched his own coinage.

In In the Shadow of Olympus, Gene Borza has a good chapter on Alexander I. Some things are a bit dated now due to recent archaeological discoveries, but the basics are the same. I recommend reading that (the whole book, in fact). Vivi Sarapanidi also has several good articles in English on the significance of archaeological discoveries up there—and separates some of those cultural trends from Persian influence. I’m deeply interested in Late Iron Age/Archaic Age developments in the north, what Macedon borrowed and what it didn’t. A sense of sumptuous royal style is something they shared regionally, not something they got from Persia.

What Macedon did borrow seems to be new offices and ideas for running a court more effectively. So, creating a Royal Bodyguard (Somatophylakes) as well as a special fighting force around the king as a “bodyguard” in combat may both be Persian adoptions, although the reason for “7” Somatophylakes is unclear. Perhaps it reflects the seven princes of Fars who had special status with the Great King at court, but I find it unlikely that Alexander I would adopt a number based on Persian elite. More likely, it reflects the number of high-status clans (Hetairoi) in Macedon at that time; one Somatophylax from each family/clan?

Also, a “combat bodyguard” is something we see in many kingdoms, not just Persia, so that may not be Persian after all. But certainly the Great King from Darius, and possibly Cyrus, forward had the Apple Bearers (Melephoroi) to guard him in battle.

Like Macedon, Persia evolved across time, and our paucity of surviving records, as well as the tendency for Greek writers to project traditions backwards, makes it tough to know when any given element entered into Persian practice.

Another office that may owe to Persia are the King’s Boys (Paides Basilikoi), also called Royal Pages. As with the Somatophylakes, we don’t know when they were instituted. Circumstantial evidence suggests Archelaos, at least, may have had them, but the account of his “accidental” spearing during a royal hunt doesn’t call the boys assisting “King’s Boys.” Their ages aren’t clear; they’re just “youths.” So probably Pages, but unclear.

Finally, offices such as Royal Secretary may owe to Persian example. Yet again, such an office would be a logical extension of increased correspondence. Did the Macedonian court borrow it, or simply decide they needed one due to circumstance?

So, yes—the general assumption is that Macedon borrowed ideas from the Persians, perhaps even a lot of ideas, but pin-pointing what can be tricky. While we don’t want to deny Persian influence, by the same token, we don’t want to assume “Persians” for traditions that may be indigenous, or at least a regional shared culture.

[pothos-hemitheos]

a handsome chappy

[canopiancatboy]

Getting some work done on the Macedonians, going fast and dirty with them for a fun "break" from more intense projects

Works been rough and my car is having a time so a nice repetitive calming exercise like this is nice

[marysmirages]

Battle of the Hydaspes. Alexander the Great (2021)

[pappadu]

as a child my grandpa gave me a little bucephalus figurine so i always liked the tale of alexander and his horse :o