Alexander the Great and Propaganda

221 Pages·2021·2.541 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Baynham, John Walsh

Alexander the Great and Propaganda
Alexander the Great and Propaganda explores the use of propaganda –
whether literature, coinage, or iconography – in the court of Alexander
the Great, as well as those of his Successors, demonstrating that it was as
integral to Hellenistic courts as it was to Imperial Rome.
This volume brings together ten essays from leading international scholars
in Alexander studies. There is currently no equivalent collection which has a
specialist focus of themes or issues relating to the use of propaganda in the
courts of Alexander or his Successors.
This book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of
Alexander studies, as well as those studying the use of propaganda across the
ancient world, and to the more general reader with an interest in Alexander
the Great and his reign.
John Walsh is Assistant Professor in the School of Languages and Literatures
(Classical Studies), University of Guelph, Canada.
Elizabeth Baynham is Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and
Social Science at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Alexander the Great
and Propaganda
Edited by John Walsh
and Elizabeth Baynham
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, John Walsh and Elizabeth
Baynham; individual chapters, the contributors
T he right of John Walsh and Elizabeth Baynham to be identified as
the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Walsh, John, editor. | Baynham, Elizabeth, 1958– editor.
Title: Alexander the Great and propaganda / edited by John Walsh
and Elizabeth Baynham.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020045590 (print) | LCCN 2020045591 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138079106 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367723699
(paperback) | ISBN 9781315114408 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Alexander, the Great, 356 B.C.–323 B.C.—Influence. |
Propaganda, Greek. | Greece—Politics and government—To 146
B.C. | Greece—History—Macedonian Expansion, 359–323 B.C. |
Greece—History—Macedonian Hegemony, 323–281 B.C.
Classification: LCC DF234.3 .A44 2021 (print) | LCC DF234.3
(ebook) | DDC 938/.07092—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020045590
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020045591
ISBN: 978-1-138-07910-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-72369-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-11440-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of figures vii
L ist of contributors viii
A cknowledgements ix
List of abbreviations xi
1 “Selling Alexander”: the concept and use of “propaganda”
in the age of Alexander 1
ELIZABETH BAYNHAM
2 Alexander the Great: A life lived as legend 14
EDWARD M. ANSON
3 Ptolemaic propaganda in Alexander’s visit to Ammon 33
FRANCES POWNALL
4 The “pursuit” of kings : imitatio Alexandri in Arrian’s Darius
and Bessos “Chase scenes” 54
TIMOTHY HOWE
5 The bias of Hieronymus: a source critical analysis
of Diodorus 18.8–18 71
JOHN WALSH
6 At the court of Antigonus Gonatas, the heir of two dynasties 94
FRANCA LANDUCCI
7 Alexander at Naqsh-e Rostam? Persia and the Macedonians 107
SABINE MÜLLER
vi Contents
8 The man who would be king: Alexander between Gaugamela
and Persepolis 129
HUGH BOWDEN
9 Desertions and the rise and fall of rulers in Hellenistic
Macedonia 150
JOSEPH ROISMAN
10 Coinage as propaganda: Alexander and his Successors 162
PAT WHEATLEY AND CHARLOTTE DUNN
I ndex 199
Figures
10.1 Silver tetradrachm of Alexander III, struck c. 336–323 bc 166
10.2 Gold stater of Alexander III, Amphipolis mint,
struck c. 330–320 bc 168
10.3 Silver ‘medallion’ of 5 shekels or decadrachm of
Alexander III, local mint in Babylon, struck c. 325–323 bc 171
10.4 Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter, as satrap,
Alexandria mint, struck c. 311/310–305 bc 174
10.5 Gold stater of Ptolemy I Soter, Cyrene mint,
struck c. 299–294 bc 175
10.6 Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachus, Lysimachia mint,
struck 297/296–282/281 bc 177
10.7 Silver tetradrachm of Seleucus I Nicator, Sardes mint,
struck c. 282–281 bc 179
10.8 Silver tetradrachm of Demetrius I Poliorcetes,
Amphipolis mint, struck c. 289–288 bc 181
Contributors
Edward M. Anson is Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at
Little Rock, United States of America.
Elizabeth Baynham is Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and
Social Science at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Hugh Bowden is Professor of Ancient History at King’s College London,
United Kingdom.
Charlotte Dunn is Lecturer in Classics at the University of Tasmania,
Australia.
Timothy Howe is Professor of History and Ancient Studies at St Olaf Col-
lege, United States of America.
Franca Landucci is Professor of Ancient History in the Department of His-
torical Sciences, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy.
Sabine Müller is Professor Dr in the Seminar für Alte Geschichte, Philipps
Universität, Marburg, Germany.
Frances Pownall is Professor in History and Classics at the University of
Alberta, Canada.
Joseph Roisman is Adjunct Professorial Lecturer in History at the American
University, Washington DC, United States of America.
John Walsh is Assistant Professor, in the School of Languages and Litera-
tures (Classical Studies), University of Guelph, Canada.
Pat Wheatley is Associate Professor in Classics at the University of Otago,
New Zealand.
Acknowledgements
This book has been a long time in production – perhaps far too long. As
noted in Chapter 1, it originated from a conference held by the Australasian
Society for Classical Studies (ASCS) in 2013, as well as a special conference
on Alexander the Great to celebrate a major exhibition of the Alexander
collection from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The Alexander
conference attracted leading scholars from all over the world; it was also
an informal celebration of my late partner Brian Bosworth’s seventieth
birthday – on what would turn out to be his last chance to personally greet
his friends and colleagues from all over the world.
I have many people to acknowledge: first and foremost, Associate Pro-
fessor Ken Sheedy and Dr Blanche Menadier of Macquarie University for
their wonderful organisation of a highly successful conference, especially
in securing funding for international visitors, as well as Dr John Valance,
former principal of Sydney Grammar School, who generously offered the
world-class facilities of the School as a venue. I would also like to thank Pro-
fessor Emeritus Hugh Craig and the University of Newcastle for additional
funding towards the Alexander conference and keynote speaker Professor
Robin Lane Fox, who offered initiative and insight with inimitable panache.
The contributors to this volume – whom I like to think of playfully as
members of a global ‘Alexander family’ (along with many others) – have not
only offered their expertise in wonderfully articulate and engaging chapters
but also been very patient and supportive of the journey this volume has
undertaken; so Ed, Tim, Frances, Franca, Hugh, Sabine, Yossi, John, Pat,
and Charlotte – I am very grateful to you all for your support and patience.
I am grateful to Michael Greenwood, Lizzi Risch, Balaji Karuppanan and
the team at Taylor and Francis for their commitment to the project, profes-
sionalism and help in its production. Finally, to my co-editor John Walsh –
who has been a tower of strength and who needs to be thanked twice – and
his assistants Chelsea Hartlen, Hannah Hodgson, and Shane Hubbard, I
could not have done this book without you.
Liz Baynham
Newcastle, Australia
2020