Alexander the Great : themes and issues

241 Pages·2013·4.08 MB·English

Alexander
the Great
Alexander
the Great
Themes and Issues
Edward M. Anson
LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square 175 Fifth Avenue
London New York
WC1B 3DP NY 10010
UK USA
www.bloomsbury.com
First published 2013
© Edward M. Anson, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Edward M. Anson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identifed as Author of this work.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting
on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication
can be accepted by Bloomsbury Academic or the author.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
EISBN: 9780826445216

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anson, Edward M.
Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues/Edward M. Anson
Includes bibliographic references and index.
ISBN 9781441113900 (hardcover) – ISBN 9781441193797 (pbk.)
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
CONTENTS
Preface vi
Maps viii
Abbreviations x
Chronology xii
Introduction 1
1 The Macedonian background 13
2 A father’s legacy: Philip II and the rise
of the Macedonian nation 43
3 Alexander and deifcation 83
4 A lexander and the administration
of an empire 121
5 The kingdom of Asia 153
6 Alexander’s legacy 181
Notes 189
Bibliography 201
Index 221
PREFACE
Why another book on Alexander? It’s a good question with, perhaps,
not an adequate answer. I could blame Michael Greenwood of
Bloomsbury Academic for asking me to write one, but I guess that
would be disingenuous. After all, I did agree to do so. Why not
another biography? The events of Alexander’s life are by-and-large
clear and more than adequately set forth in a number of excellent
biographies. This book looks at certain aspects of his reign omitting
most of the details that are covered elsewhere. What is it that
fascinates me about Alexander? Do I like him, dislike him? That is
hard to explain. I have a fascination not only with him and his many
talents but also with his faws. Could Philip have accomplished as
much, more? Could the Hellenistic Age have arisen without the
violence and bloodshed? Maybe. But, Philip died before whatever
he wished to accomplish in the East had hardly begun, and the new
Age did arise in violence and bloodshed. What might have been
or could have happened are moot points. The key to the changes
brought with the conquests of Alexander was Alexander. That in
and of itself makes him a central fgure in the transformation. His
successes, his failures, his intentions, all are central to the process
that set in motion the creation of the Hellenistic Age. To understand
the man is to begin to understand the dramatic evolution of the
ancient world that began in the late fourth-century BC with the
conquest of the Persian Empire.
I have many people to thank, not so much for this particular
manuscript, for which I am almost entirely to blame, but for the
friendships, encouragements, and the willingness to share insights
and knowledge. Lindsay Adams has been my friend from our time
together in graduate school to the present day. For almost as long I
have known Beth Carney, who I frst met as a colleague at Clemson.
I would also be remiss in not thanking Waldemar Heckel for the
years of friendship and encouragement, and especially for throwing
PREFACE vii
me a lifeline after my many years lost in administration and campus
politics. There are also those colleagues of more recent vintage: Gene
Borza, Pat Wheatley, Victor Alonso-Troncoso, Brian Bosworth,
Elizabeth Baynham, Frances Pownall, Franca Landucci Gattinoni,
Joseph Roisman, Tom Boiy, Alexander Meeus, Sabine Müller, and
so many more. I have enjoyed our conversations and have profted
from their knowledge and insights. Finally, but certainly not last or
least, my wife Jeanne, who as a lay person read the manuscript and
is responsible for making its arguments clearer and its prose more
understandable.
MAPS
THRACE
PAEONIA
Strymon River
PELAGONIA Axius River
Nestus River
EDONIS
ALMOPIA
LYNCESTIS BOTTIAEA BISALTIA Philippi
Pella CRESTONIA Amphipolis
EORDAEA EMATHIA
MYGDONIA
ORESTIS MethPoyndena CHALCIDICE
Haliacmon River
ELIMEIA PIERIA Potidaea Olynthus
UPPER MACEDONIA TYMPHAEA 0 10 30 40m
LOWER MACEDONIA
1. Ancient Macedonia
MAPS ix

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