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ASPECTS OF HELLENISTIC KINGSHIP STUDIES IN HELLENISTIC CIVILIZATION Edited by Per Bilde, Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Lise Hannestad, and Jan Zahle VII ASPECTS OF HELLENISTIC KINGSHIP Edited by Per Bilde, Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Lise Hannestad, and Jan Zahle AARHUS UNIVERSITY PRESS ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 Copyright: Aarhus University Press, 1996 Printed by Cambridge University Press ISBN 87 7288 474 6 AARHUS UNIVERSITY PRESS University of Aarhus DK-8000 Aarhus C Fax (+ 45) 8619 8433 73 Lime Walk Headington, Oxford 0X3 7AD Fax (+ 44) 1865 750 079 Box 511 Oakville, Conn. 06779 Fax (+ 1) 203 945 9468 CONTENTS Abbreviations 6 Introduction 9 Oswin Murray 15 Hellenistic Royal Symposia Robert Fleischer 28 Hellenistic Royal Iconography on Coins Amt lie Kuhrt 41 The Seleucid Kings and Babylonia: New Perspectives on the Seleucid Realm in the East Josef Wiesehofer 55 “King of Kings” and “Philhellen:” Kingship in Arsacid Iran Lise Hannestad 67 “This Contributes in no small way to one’s Reputation:” The Bithynian Kings and Greek Culture Tessa Rajak 99 Hasmonean Kingship and the Invention of Tradition Erich S. Gruen 116 Hellenistic Kingship: Puzzles, Problems, and Possibilities Bibliography 126 Index of Persons 136 Index of Modem Authors 140 Geographical Index 141 Index Locorum 143 ABBREVIATIONS AA Archaologischer Anzeiger AAntHung Acta antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae Aclr Acta Iranica (encyclopedic permanente des dtudes iraniennes) ADFU Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka AbhLeipzig Abhandlungen der Kgl. Sachsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig. Phil-hist. Klasse Aegyptus Aegyptus AION Annali dell’Istituto universitario orientale di Napoli AMI Archaologische Mitteilungen aus Iran AnnAMusIst Annual of the Archaeological Museums of Istanbul ANSMN American Numismatic Society Museum Notes ArOr Archfv orientAlnf AssyrSt Assyriological Studies AXIIIKonKlArch Akten des XIII. Intemationalen Kongresses fur Klassische Archaologie (Berlin 1988) Mainz 1990 BAI Bulletin of the Asia Institute, New Series BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BiMesop Biblioteca Mesopotamica BiOr Biblioteca orientalis CAH The Cambridge Ancient History CH Coin Hoards I-VIII, 1975-1994. Edited by the Royal Numismatic Society CHI The Cambridge History of Iran Chiron Chiron C1Q The Classical Quarterly CIRh Clara Rhodos CRAI Academic des inscriptions et belles-lettres. Comptes rendus des stances DenkschrWien Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-hist. Klasse. Denkschriften DJD Discoveries in the Judaean Desert DialHistAnc Dialogues d’histoire ancienne EchosCl Echos du monde classique. Classical Views Enclr Encyclopaedia Iranica EntrHardt Entretiens Fondation Hardt EpigAnat Epigraphica Anatolica. Zeitschrift fiir Epigraphik und historische Geographie Anatoliens Erlsr Eretz-lsrael FAOS Freiburger Altorientalische Studien FGrHist Fragmente der griechischen Historiker. Ed. F. Jacoby 1923- Geri6n Geridn GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Abbreviations 7 HAW Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft Historia Historia. Zeitschrift fur Alte Geschichte HSS Harvard Semitic Series IC Inscriptiones Creticae. Ed. M. Guarducci. 1935-50 Rome 1G Inscriptiones Graecae IGCH An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards. Eds. M. Thompson, O. Mdrkholm & C.M. Kraay. 1973 New York IrAnt Iranica antiqua Iraq Iraq IsrNutnJ Israel Numismatic Journal IstForsch Istanbuler Forschungen IstMitt Istanbuler Mitteilungen J ESHO Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JNG Jahrbuch fur Numismatik und Geldgeschichte JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society JSav Journal des Savants JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JThS Journal of Theological Studies Latomus Latomus. Revue d’fitudes latines Mesopotamia Mesopotamia. Rivista di archeologia MusHelv Museum Helveticum NumChron The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society NumStud Numismatic Studies OGIS Dittenberger, W., Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, 1-2, 1903-1905 Leipzig OECT Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts OJh Jahreshefte des Osterreichischen archaologischen Institutes in Wien OpAth Opuscula atheniensia RA Revue archeologique RAssyr Revue d’assyriologie et d’archdologie orientale RE Pauly, A. & Wissowa, G„ Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft REA Revue des dtudes anciennes RevBelgNum Revue beige de numismatique et de sigillographie Saeculum Saeculum. Jahrbuch fur Universalgeschichte SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum SHC Studies in Hellenistic Civilization, Aarhus 1990- StltFilCl Studi italiani di filologia classica SVF von Arnim, H., Stoicorum veterum fragmenta Syll3 Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum3 Syria Syria. Revue d’art oriental et d’archeologie TCS Texts from Cuneiform Sources Topoi Tonot. Orient - Occident TSTS Toronto Semitic Texts and Studies VAsBibl Vorderasiatische Bibliotek 8 Abbreviations UMStHS University of Michigan Studies, Humanist Series YaleCISt Yale Classical Studies ZA Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie und votderasiatische Archaologie ZDMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgen land ischen Gesellschaft Zetemata Zetemata. Monographien zur klassischen Altertumswissenschaft ZNW Zeitschrift fur die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft ZPE Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik INTRODUCTION Aspects of Hellenistic Kingship is the seventh volume in the series Studies in Hellenistic Civilization published by the Danish interdisciplinary research project on the Hellenistic period launched in 1989 by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. The contents of the volume originate in the project’s fourth international working seminar held in January 1994 on the subject of Hellenistic Kingship — The Royal "Parousia Royal Power and its Symbolic Manifestations. About thirty foreign and Danish scholars took part, among whom were the contributors to this volume. Kingship was perhaps the most important single institution in the Hellenistic period. The Hellenistic world itself was established by the military, political and cultural efforts of Alexander. The enormous territories conquered by him were \ organized, not as a more or less democratic republic or a Greek type of ‘tyranny’, ! but as a monarchy inspired by both the Macedonian Kingdom and the Persian Empire. After Alexander’s death the institution of kingship was taken over and carried on by the Diadochs. In Greece, the monarchy of Alexander and his followers was an innovation. Though an age old phenomenon in the Near East and in the tribal societies north I of Greece such as Macedonia and Thrace, monarchy was not a a political fact in ! the Greek world of the classical period. Characteristically, Philip II (356-336 BC) i was “king” of the Macedonians but only hegemon of the Corinthian League. In most Greek city-states kingship had been abolished centuries ago, and it survived only as a public office, such as the archon basileus (“magistral king”) and the phylobasileus (“tribal king”). The two kings of Sparta did not really count as kings, because their powers were restricted in several ways. Pindar is said to have coined the phrase nomos ho panton basileus, thanaton te kai athanathon (“the law is the king of everyone, man and god”). The same attitude is found in proverbial sayings such as nomos despotes (“the law is lord”) and nomos tyrannos (“the law is master”). Most likely, the very word “king” gave many Greeks an association to Homer’s description of the overlord Agamemnon surrounded by a number of smaller kings. Furthermore, the Greeks were accustomed to see kings such as Kreon, Oidipus, Jason and Pentheus on the stage. In Greek drama such 10 Introduction kings were often presented as tragic persons because they were unable to adjust themselves to the divine or “natural” laws. Another famous example is Kroisos, the Lydian king, as portrayed by Herodotus. And all Greeks would have heard of the king of Persia, ho megas basileus, who was unable to conquer Greece. On the other hand, the Greeks were familiar with the phenomenon of “tyranny,” which was only another type of “monarchy” defined as absolute power in the hands of a single person. On the fringes of the Greek world, however, there were several kingdoms. Besides Persia and Macedonia, we know of kingdoms in Epirus, Thrace, Cyprus and the Greek monarchy of Syracuse in Sicily. In addition, the ancients were well aware of historical examples of kingship such as Egypt and Babylon. But the title “king” was not unambiguous. The “royal” traditions in Egypt, Babylonia, Persia and Macedonia were not identical, but varied considerably. With Alexander’s campaigns and the gradual organization of his Empire, the idea of kingship was (re)introduced on a massive scale into the Greek world. Alexander is said to have brought with him copies of Homer’s works. When visiting Troy, it is told that he made a sacrifice to the Homeric heroes, and to some extent he seems to have identified himself with Homer’s heroic kings. Later, however, when he had conquered the Achaemenid Empire, he apparently gradu ally added a number of Persian royal traditions to his concept and practice of kingship. In the chaos that prevailed during the first years after the early death of Alexander, the idea of his realm as one indivisible monarchy appears to have been generally accepted. The problem was only that there were several candidates for Alexander’s empty throne. The fact that the direct heirs of Alexander, such as Philip Arrhidaios (358-317 BC) and Alexander’s posthumous son with Roxane, Alexander IV (323-310? BC), were kept as hostages and later murdered, suggests that, to some extent, the surviving generals thought of Alexander’s Empire as an hereditary monarchy in the Macedonian and Persian style. However, when Alexander’s direct heirs had disappeared, a new situation arose in 307 BC when Antigonos Monophthalmos and his son, Demetrios Poliorketes, took the diadem, thereby openly presenting themselves as Alexander’s successors. This important act, forced their competitors, Ptolemaios, Kassandros, Lysimachos and Seleukos, likewise to present themselves as basileis. Thus, the foundation was established for the major Hellenistic kingdoms in Egypt, Asia / Syria, Thrace and Macedonia. In the second and first centuries BC, when, as a result of Rome’s expansion into the Eastern Mediterranean and the simultaneous gradual disintegration of the Seleucid Empire, a number of new states arose, almost all of them became
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