Decapitation in Sources on Alexander the Great

132 Pages·2022·3.831 MB·English

by  Marc Mendoza

Decapitation in
Sources on
Alexander
the Great
Marc Mendoza
Decapitation in Sources on Alexander the Great
Marc Mendoza
Decapitation
in Sources
on Alexander
the Great
Marc Mendoza
University of Lleida
Lleida, Spain
ISBN 978-3-031-19173-2 ISBN 978-3-031-19174-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19174-9
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc.
in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such
names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and informa-
tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither
the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been
made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
and institutional affiliations.
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Acknowledgements
The main research for this book was carried out at the Fondation
Hardt (Vandoeuvres, Geneva), which funded my stay. Therefore, my most
sincere gratitude goes to them, for granting me the chance to research in
one of the most outstanding Classical Studies centres (and libraries) in
a beautiful natural environment. I would also like to thank all its staff
for their kindness, a key factor in understanding how profitable a stay
there is. I would like to express my gratitude to all the other guests I
met during my stay for all the enriching conversations, suggestions, and
insights that have found their way into this book. I would like to express a
special appreciation to Pierre Ducrey, president of the Fondation, for his
constant interest in our work and his especially sharp-sighted commen-
taries on my investigation there, which overlaps with some topics that
he has masterfully addressed in his career. Finally, I would like to thank
Joseph Roisman and Giuseppe Squillace, who played a key role in the
application process for that stay.
Once more, I would also like to thank Borja Antela-Bernárdez for his
indispensable help not only in this work but also for all the years we
have been working together. I would like to express my gratitude to
all my former colleagues in the Ancient History area at the Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona, but especially Jordi Vidal, who has been always
my main support there.
Finally, I would also like to thank my family for being always there,
against all odds. Their help may be invisible sometimes, but it is essential.
I have met many dear colleagues during my career, but no one like Dr.
Ashwini Lakshminarayanan. Even in the darkest hours, there are people
who area light in the black.
v
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Greeks, Romans, and Decapitations 7
3 Non-Curtian Decapitations 17
4 Negotiating Heads 25
5 Punished Heads 35
6 Trophy Heads 53
7 Conclusions 73
8 Appendices 79
Editions of Classical Sources 103
Sources Index 111
Subject Index 121
vii
List of Figures
Fig. 2.1 Perseus and Medusa (Temple C, Selinus, sixth century
BCE) 9
Fig. 2.2 The consul L. Junius Brutus flanked by two lictors
with the fasces (Marcus Junius Brutus’ Denarius (rev.), 54
BCE) 13
Fig. 4.1 Spitamenes’ head presented to Alexander by his wife (1696) 27
Fig. 5.1 The punishment of Bessus (André Castaigne, 1899,
engraving) 46
Fig. 6.1 Patraus’ coin (ca. 335–315) 54
Fig. 6.2 Amazon-head-shaped gold rhyton. Panagyurishte Gold
Treasure (late fourth–early third century BCE) 58
Fig. 6.3 The fight of Eumenes of Cardia against Neoptolemus
(1878, engraving) 62
Fig. 8.1 Caesar Horrified at the sight of the head of Pompey
(before 1767, Louis-Jean François Lagrenée) 93
ix
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Always remember that the crowd that applauds your coronation is the same
crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like a show.
Going Postal—Terry Pratchett
Thousands of people suffered a violent death at the time of Alexander’s
conquest. Besides those who had fallen in battle, many others were
murdered or executed in a variety of atrocious ways. Some distin-
guished deaths have attracted noteworthy historiographical attention, like
those of Philotas, Cleitus the Black, Parmenio and Darius III. However,
the discussions have mostly been focused on the circumstances, causes
and consequences, not on the methods themselves. There are certainly
many cases in which there is no clear indication of how they were
actually killed, but the ‘Macedonian way of death’ dealing with the
different killing methods/practices—either legal or extrajudicial—attested
In this book, the abbreviations for Greek authors are taken from the list of the
Liddell-Scott-Jones’ dictionary (LSJ from now on). For Roman authors, we
have used the abbreviations of the Oxford Latin Dictionary. For authors not
found in any of these two lists, either the full name has been preserved or
transparent ad hoc abbreviations have been employed.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1
Switzerland AG 2023
M. Mendoza, Decapitation in Sources on Alexander the Great,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19174-9_1
2 M. MENDOZA
in ancient sources during Alexander’s reign or, more generally, in Mace-
donia and/or the Hellenistic kingdoms has yet to be comprehensively
studied.1 This historiographical lacuna means that these accounts are still
uncritically repeated and transmitted time and again, especially the cases
containing shocking and gruesome details.
Among them, decapitation stands out for its especially impactful,
dramatic effect, leaving an inherently shocking impression on any reader.
This effect makes it very appealing to anyone who wants to underscore the
most sensational aspects of any given episode. It is clear that describing a
beheading in gory detail is much more dramatic than just vaguely saying
that someone was killed. Nowadays, decapitations still arouse strong,
nearly atavistic reactions and feelings. Therefore, it comes as no surprise
that these same intense responses were to be found in ancient societies
as well, even though, as we shall see, sometimes in quite opposite ways.2
How these episodes were received by Greek and Roman audiences will
be a central point in this book because it will give us key clues to help
us assess their reliability/historicity, understand their deep meaning, and
address the influences that might have shaped each author’s version.
Thus, returning to this book’s focus, we know about eight people who
ended up with their heads cut off in Alexander sources: Ariobarzanes,
the nameless satrap of Damascus, Satropates, Parmenio, Satibarzanes,
Spitamenes, Erices/Aphrices and an anonymous sailor.
1 Among the examples listed, there has been only a certain debate about the specific
weapon with which Alexander pierced Cleitus. However, the discussion has mainly been
focused on how these weapons might reveal information about the actual sequence of
events and the reliability of the extant sources. Nobody has addressed the symbolically
legal overtones of the method of Cleitus’ death—or its description in the different sources;
see Bosworth 1995: 60–61; Yardley / Heckel 1997: 224–225; Atkinson / Gargiulo 2000:
486–487. Similarly, the discussions about Philotas’ death have mostly centred on the
authenticity of the accusations—against Philotas himself, the rest of the plotters, and/or
Parmenio—and the legal prerogatives of the Macedonian assembly. Just a handful of words
has been devoted to the actual execution method, although the sources do not agree if the
victims were stoned or pierced with spears; see, for example, Goukowsky 1976: 231–232;
Bosworth 1980: 362; Atkinson 1994: 246; Prandi 2013: 134.
2 For a complete historical and geographical study of decapitation in human societies,
see Gracia Alonso 2017.
1 INTRODUCTION 3
Victim Executioner/Authority Sources
Ariobarzanes (Darius III’s Darius III Aretades of Cnidus
son) (FGrH 285) F1 apud
Plu. Mor. 308c-d
Satrap of Damascus One of his men Curt. III. 13.17
Satropates Ariston Curt. IV. 9.25; Plu. Alex.
39.2
Parmenio Cleander Curt. VII. 2.32
Satibarzanes Erigyius Curt. VII. 4.40
Spitamenes His wife/Massagetae Curt. VIII. 3.8–15; Metz
21–23 (wife); Arr. An . IV.
17.7 (Massagetae)
Erices/Aphrices His own men Curt. VIII. 12.3; D.S.
XVII. 86.2–3
Sailor Alexander Arr. An. VII. 22.4
In the majority of instances, the decapitation was post-mortem,3 and
the head was sent or handed over to Darius III or Alexander. In two
cases (Ariobarzanes and the sailor), the context is not clear and we cannot
ascertain whether beheading was meant to be the execution method
or, as in the other cases, further mutilation after the actual killing.4
The executioners—or the ordering authorities, at least—were mostly
barbarians (to different degrees from the Greek perspective): Persian,
Massagetae/Sogdian, Indian, and Paeonian.
The following table shows how these episodes are distributed among
the extant sources5 :
3 This is explicitly stated in the cases of the satrap of Damascus, Parmenio and
Erices/Aphrices. Besides, it can be inferred or suggested in the episodes of Satibarzanes
and Spitamenes (Massagetae). In the story of Satropates, Curtius seems to imply that
Ariston cut off the head during combat. However, that was nearly impossible with ancient
weapons, and we may understand that it was cut off afterwards; see Voisin 1984: 259;
Gracia Alonso 2017: 101. From Curtius’ and Metz’s versions of Spitamenes’ death, we
can interpret that he was beheaded after he fell asleep due to heavy drinking.
4 Nevertheless, as we shall see, both stories are especially suspicious.
5 X is for the cases in which decapitation is recorded, and O is for those in which the
death is recorded, but not the beheading.