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NOTES
PREFACE: THE KING TAKES A HOLIDAY
the deluxe metropolis of Babylon The remains of Babylon have not been fully excavated. The German archaeologist R. J. Koldewey worked on the site between 1899 and 1917, but much remains to be uncovered and explained. In my reconstruction of events in Babylon in June 323, especially the location of the Hanging Gardens and Alexander’s movements, I rely on Reade.
one of the Seven Wonders Some scholars doubt the existence of the Hanging Gardens, or locate them in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. Archaeologists have failed to identify its remains in Babylon. However, rulers in Mesopotamia and the ancient Middle East were passionate lovers of gardens. To judge by the architectural sophistication of their city’s monuments, the Babylonians were perfectly capable of building the kind of tiered structure described in the literary sources. All the other “Wonders,” from the Pyramids at Gizeh to the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, were historical and there is no good reason to suppose the Hanging Gardens to have been an exception (see Oates, pp. 151 and 157, and Reade, passim).
Two colossal palaces The following description of Babylon is indebted to Oates, pp. 144–49 and Reade, passim.
summer palace It has proved difficult to determine Alexander’s movements during his last illness against what we know of Babylon’s layout and monuments. Schachermeyr (1970, 65–73) argues that he was transferred from the palace complex in the main city up the Euphrates to the “summer” palace. Reade shows, more convincingly, that it must have been the other way around—namely that the king was based in the summer palace, then transported south to the Hanging Gardens in the city and then back again. This reconstruction is necessarily speculative, but it fits known data.
to organize a banquet The following account is based on a conflation of Arrian 7 23 6–8, 24–30, and Plut Alex 75–77. They quoted from a document often referred to as the Royal Journals (e.g., Arrian 725–28). According to some authorities, it is best to see them not as an official daybook but as a statement specially produced about five years after Alexander’s death, probably by the king’s secretary, Eumenes. It was designed to rebut claims that he had b
een poisoned. Although intended as propaganda, it probably gives an accurate description of Alexander’s last days. It may have been based on some kind of court diary or other documents in the royal archives or even notes taken at the time by Eumenes or his staff. I discuss all these matters at greater length on this page, this page, and this page below.
his play, Andromeda Ath 12 537. A plausible anecdote, bearing in mind Alexander’s reported enthusiasm for Euripides and the Attic dramatists.
“I gained glory, not without many trials.” Eur Andr 134 (Loeb).
“For sensible men” Eubulus, Fragment 93, preserved in Athenaeus 2 37c, from a play about Semele and her son, Dionysus.
Alexander challenged a fellow guest Ath 10 434a, quoting Ephippus, a contemporary of Alexander and author of The Deaths of Alexander and Hephaestion.
“as if he had been pierced by a spear” Plut Alex 75 3.
or in the royal tent Curtius, at 10 5 8, places Alexander’s newly dead body in the royal tent. It is perfectly possible that in his last days he felt more comfortable, or that it was deemed more appropriate, for him to lie among his soldiers.
“I imagine some suspected” Arrian 7 26 1.
temple of a Babylonian deity The sources say, perhaps anachronistically, that this was Sarapis, a novel Egyptian god of healing. Alternatively, they could have meant the chief Babylonian divinity, Bel-Marduk, sometimes referred to as Sarri-Rabu, “Great King.” Either way there is no reason to doubt the historicity of the event.
On June 11 Plut Alex 76 4 says June 10, but a contemporary source, Astronomical Diaries, The Omen Catalogue, British Museum, compiled contemporaneously by Babylonian religious officials, dates the death to June 11.
“To whom do you leave the kingdom?” For both quotations, see Diod 17 117 4; or (“To the best man”) Curt 10 5 5. “When you yourselves”: Curt 10 5 6. There was competition for the king’s final message to the world. Readers may take their pick.
CHAPTER 1. GOAT KINGS
“In the old days” Her 8 137.
“with a store of disorderly words.” Homer Il 2 211–77.
“Lower your tunic a little” Plut Mor 178 c–d.
appointed by acclamation Just 7 5 1.
“kingship…is organized” Ar Pol 1310b31.
about fifty million inhabitants Fuller, p. 72.
become an imperial province Macedonia may have been incorporated alongside Thrace into the larger satrapy of Skudra; see Hammond 2, p. 69f. The exact arrangements are unclear. In any case Amyntas was left on his throne as a client-king.
took violent measures Herod, 5 20–21. The story is in a tradition of travesty killings. If it is apocryphal, as is possible, it may have been told to Herodotus by the inventive Alexander himself, who wanted to demonstrate that he had been secretly hostile to his Persian overlords until their removal.
the Persian occupation Hammond 2, p. 64.
Anyone who was not Greek See Hammond 2, p. 46 for a discussion of the Macedonian language.
“frogs around a pond” Plato Phaedo 109b.
“He strung an arrow” Herod 5 105 1–2.
assembled an army Everitt, p. 147f.
“When that monarch overspread” Just 7 4 1.
“The greater part of the sentries” Herod 9 45 1.
“Should you bring this war” Ibid., 45 3.
“first fruit of spoils” Hammond 2 p.102. The Greeks used “Medes” interchangeably with “Persians.” The Medes were an ancient people who lived in northwestern Iran and were an important part of the Persian empire.
Macedonia had quadrupled Roisman, p. 47.
“I will not rebuild a single one” Everitt, p. 193.
“The Greeks who” Herod 522.
“bold-scheming son of Amyntas” Pind Enc frag. 120.
“It is right for the good to be hymned” Ibid., frag. 121.
his death in 452 Hammond 2, p.103f. for a discussion of the date of Alexander’s death.
“Springtime isn’t the only beautiful season” Plut Mor 177a.
Zeuxis to decorate his house Ael VH14 17.
no luck with Socrates Ar Rhet 2 23 8.
nine-day festival Diod 17 16 3.
“Shall we, who are Greeks” Clem 6 1.
When Plato died in 347 Theo BNJ 115, frag. 294.
“not only not Greek” Dem Phil 3 30–31.
“had no claim to the throne” Plato Gorg 471 a and b; I take the following bloodthirsty anecdote from the Gorgias.
a boyfriend called Craterus Ael 8 9. Or Crataeas.
the royal family imploded Just 7 4 8, 7 5 4–7.
“by her diligence” Plut Mor 14c. Some scholars assert that Eurydice’s claimed affection for her children discredits the stories of her murderous ambition. Hardly so. Even third-rate politicians work to improve their public image.
hostage among the Illyrians and then in Thebes Diod 16 2 1–5. Plut Pel 26 5.
amorous commander Plut Erot 17.
origin in the heroic age Connolly 1998, p. 50.
“gave Philip fine opportunities” Just 7 5 3.
trusted his little brother See Hammond 2, p. 207. There is some evidence that the brothers may have quarrelled and that in fact Philip was exiled to a royal estate in a loose form of “house” arrest. But Perdiccas knew the history of plots and assassinations in the royal family. If he had grounds for mistrusting his brother, he would surely have taken more severe measures.
Philip was appointed regent Some argue that Philip was made king at once. I find it more likely that he was promoted after he had shown his mettle. Hammond 2, p. 208f.
“In their swift advance” Il 3, 10–15.
kings and aristocrats stood on chariots see Fuller, p. 39f, for development of Greek warfare.
A hand and a leg Dem Crown 18 67.
lost an eye Diod 16 34 5.
“he did not cover over” Plut Mor 331b–c.
remodeled the remains This section on the Macedonian army and Philip’s reforms is indebted to Fuller, pp. 39–54, and Connolly 1997, passim. Also Poly 4 2 and Asclepiodotus, passim.
replaced the throwing spears Connolly 1998, p. 51. It is possible that the Thebans used a two-handed pike to avoid the crumbling effect.
“Wheeling was thus easier” Ascl 7 3.
“we don’t even allow” Poly 4 2 1.
going for a drink Ael 14 49
“Philip’s court in Macedonia” Poly 8 9 1.
CHAPTER 2. THE APPRENTICE
Here arcane rites Lehmann, passim, for an account of ancient Samothrace, its archaeology, and its religion.
Polyxena acquired another name Carney, pp. 17, 93. It is possible that “Myrtale” was something in the nature of a nickname for everyday use and that “Polyxena” had a formal or official function.
coming-of-age ceremony An analogy suggests itself with the Roman Catholic confirmation ceremony, at which the child participant chooses a new sacred name.
“Here where I struck” Aeschyl Ag 1380f.
“It was not for you” Medea 1354–60.
An initiate of the transcendental Orphic religion Plut Alex 2 5–6.
god of transcendence Carney, p. 98.
“What sweetness is in the mountains” Eur Bacc 135–144, and for the following quotation as well.
“to enter into these states” Plut Alex 2 6.
“great serpents” Luc Alex 7.
schooling in the Greek manner The stories about Alexander’s childhood education derive from Plut Alex 4–6.
A paedogogus was usually Ibid. 5 8 Lysimachus may have preceded rather than followed Leonidas in the nursery. See Heckel (2009), p. 153. Also Garland, p. 103.
an excessive amount of frankincense Plut Alex 25 4–
5, Plut Mor 179 e–f, Pliny Nat Hist 12 62.
a tall, finely bred stallion For the story of Bucephalas, Plut Alex 6 1–5. For his age and that of Alexander, see the estimates in Green, pp. 43–44. Plut Alex 33 1 for Aristander and the eagle.
black with a white blaze Arrian 5 19 5.
thirteen talents The Attic or Athenian silver talent was equivalent to 6,000 drachmas, and one drachma was an infantryman’s daily wage.
“My boy, we’ll have to find” Plut Alex 6 5.
played music on the cithara Aesch Tim 6 5.
“Aren’t you ashamed” Plut Per 1 5.
received them Plut Alex 5 1.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon Ibid. Mor 342 b–c.
very proud of their son This section relies heavily on Plut Alex 7–8.
“the rudder’s guidance” Plut Alex 7 2.
Aristotle spoke with a lisp Diog Lae 5 1 1.
“show you Aristotle’s stone seats” Plut Alex 7 4–5.
Isocrates came to hear See Isoc Alex. Also Merlan, pp. 60–63.
“far smaller than some of the stars” Ar Met 1 3 339b.
“When therefore either a whole family” Ar Pol 1288a15.
“by nature some are free” Ibid., 1254b 32.
“non-Greeks and slave” Ibid., 1252b 8.
knowing the Iliad by heart Dio Chrys 4 39.
“He is two things” Hom Il 3 179.
“And now it was noon” Xen Anab 1 8 8.
“He caught sight of the Great King” Ibid., 1 8 26.
“An intelligent observer” Ibid., 1 5 9.
“If any man makes war” Cyr 8 8 4–7.
“Alexander the Great would not have become great” See Roisman, p. 352. Eunapius was a Greek sophist and historian of the fourth century A.D.
“like a lion’s mane” Plut Rom 1 13. This detail and others concerning Alexander’s teeth, eyes, and movement derive from the often fantastical Alexander Romance. But some of the Romance’s information seems to originate in historical sources and is convincing.
His voice was…high-pitched For this and the girlish appearance, see Green, p. 55 and p. 518, n. 36.
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