The Last Days and Testament of Alexander the Great: A Prosopographic Study

127 Pages·1988·2.572 MB·English

by  Waldemar Heckel

HISTORIA
ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR ALTE GESCHICHTE : REVUE D'HISTOIRE
ANCIENNE - JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY - RIVISTA
DI STORIA ANTICA

EINZELSCHRIFTEN * HEFT 56
THE LAST DAYS AND TESTAMENT OF
ALEXANDER THE GREAT:
A PROSOPOGRAPHIC STUDY
BY
WALDEMAR HECKEL
S
FRANZ STEINER VERLAG WIESBADEN GMBH
STUTTGART
WALDEMAR HECKEL
THE LAST DAYS AND TESTAMENT
OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
HISTORIA
ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR ALTE GESCHICHTE - REVUE D'HISTOIRE
ANCIENNE - JOURNAL OF ANCIENT HISTORY - RIVISTA
DI STORIA ANTICA

EINZELSCHRIFTEN
HERAUSGEGEBEN VON
HEINZ HEINEN/TRIER
HILDEGARD TEMPORINI/TÜBINGEN : GEROLD WALSER/BERN
HEFT 56
YW
FRANZ STEINER VERLAG WIESBADEN GMBH
STUTTGART 1988
THE LAST DAYS AND TESTAMENT OF
ALEXANDER THE GREAT:
A PROSOPOGRAPHIC STUDY
BY
WALDEMAR HECKEL
FRANZ STEINER VERLAG WIESBADEN GMBH
STUTTGART 1988
For my Father
in honour of his seventy-fifth birthday

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ........cceeccosccssccenccnsccnsscsctescccsstesceeecccesccssceesececsceccssencnesceess ΧΙ.
List of Abbreviations ...............ccsccsccosecsecescesccnccceresccncsssccscceccesceees XIII.
Introduction ΡΝ l.
I. The Pamphlet.......ee.eee.eee.e e .eee .een.e .eene. nen.nen. n.nn.e .s.e te.ne.n .ser.e e s
1. Introduction ...............ccccceccasccsscscccsscecnscccscscesccescsccarsescerceseuces 5.
(1) Background ..............ccsccssssesceessscesecsseceeessccesessceesascessenseeeeseees 5.
(ii) The Plot .............ccsccosccssscseccrscccesccescesssecescnsccsctesseuaccesseceseess 7.
2. The Omen ............csccsccceccsccsscsscceccessceccecceaceeccessesensccsceessscacsences 8.
3. Execution of the Plot ..............csscsssscccsscrsscescnsccscssecsscusceccursesees 10.
(i) Kassandros' arrival..............ssccseceessecceececccecsesesccscesccescnecessece 10.
(ii) Medios’ Dinner-Party .............cccccsssscsccsssssccessecesssccsessccoensces 10.
(iii) The Effects of the Poisomn...............scccssccsssccssecsscsseenccescceccees 11.
4. Alexander Prepares to Die............................ eeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeee 11.
(i) Alexander attempts Suicide................ccccccssssssssscesssssesscsecsceees 11.
(ii) Alexander begins to compose his Testament ........................... 11.
(iii) The Macedonians react to their King's imminent death............ 12.
5. The Interpolated "Letter of the Rhodians" ................................. 12.
6. The Death of Alexander ................ccccescecscssccecceccecseccescessecceccess 14.
7. The Testament .............:ccsssccsccscccseccenccccscescescescucessencescsccccecses 15.
The Importance of the Pamphlet ...............................eeeeeeeeeeeeeee 18.
II. The Marshals of Alexander's Empire...........................e.e..r.e. 19.
(i) The Position of Krateros..............cccccssssccssssseccsssesenssssscccesseses 19.
(ii) The Position of Ptolemy ................................eeeeeeeeec eeeeeee 23.
(iii) The Position of Perdikkas .......................σ.ον. σ.ον. σ.ν.σν.ον.ο.σε.νν 26.
(iv) The Position of Antipatros ...........................cceeeeeeeseeec 28.
III. The Satrap of Egypt .......................seeene eeeenee ennenee eeeeneneee 30.
IV. The Conspirators .........e.sse.n .eee .eee .ne .een.e e.nnee encenneen ennee eenan o 34.
Table 1: The Guests of Medios ............e..e.s.e. .e.ee .e.e.n.e 34.
1. The Friends of Antipatros and Antigonos ................................-. 35.
(i) Nearchos ...........scccsccssccaccsscecsscccssceccessescescescessscscestescscesceeces 36.
(ii) Philotas ............c0ssccevececsssccescccescecesscessesenscccesecevessnsccasceceeees 36.
(111) Medios ..............seeceescencccesccescescccesconsceecessccccceceacececceceusees 37.
(iv) Memandros.............cecccscosccsccscccscescceccsccastassescusscuccesceccucesees 37.
2. Some Problematic Individuals..................................e.e.s.e.. 37.
(i) Medios, the hOSt...............cssccccsssssceccsessscccscecsecceceecscesesscesenes 37
(ii-iii) Peithon and Peukestas ..................cccseccesccssecsccceccesceecceseacs 38
(iv) Stasanor................ eese σον ον eese eene entes senses eate eser esa νον 39
(vi) Meleagros...............cccccescecesecccnseccnssscessscceesccesescesseeesecouees 40.
(vii) ...EUTOPIOS..............0sesesescccesccceccoeescessescececeeeeeeeesecessseseseees 40.
(viii) Leonnatos ...........c.ccescesccsecceecsecccecescoeececcesceseceecssccnseeeeeeees 41.
(ix) Philip "the physician" .................ccssssscccsssecceessseecesseesceneseeees 42.
3. Some Identifications ..........e.e.e ..ees.e .se.es .ee.se .e.e.n.e 42.
(i) Philip (μηχανικός) .........csccessscssssssccssscccccccesccecseceeecseceseneeene 42.
(ii) Ariston of PharsaloS.................ccccccsesssscceeccecceeeccssssceeccceseeees 43.
(iii) Herakleides the Thrakian ............................... eere 44.
(iv) Polydoros ...........e ee.eee.ee .ee e.ee e.ese. ees.e e.ee e.ee .ee.ne. e.nne. n.en ne 44.
[60ΠῚ 45.
Table 2: Relevance of the Guest-List ..............ccscccssccssccssccsseseseees 46.
Table 3: Political Affiliations (323-316 B.C.).............................. 47.
V. Polyperchon, the Epimeleia, and the Royal Family ....................... 48.
1. The Royal Family.........c e.ee.eee.ese.se. es.ses. ee.se .es.en.t .e.t.n.a 50.
(i) The Status of Alexander IV ................cccsscesscecscnscccesscesceeccseecs 50.
(ii) Olympias....................eeeeeeeeeeeceneeeneeneee eeenn eeeeneeene 52.
(iii) Rhoxane ............e.see. s.ens.es .een.e t.ee.t eeeee satc eseas eeeee etesee eeere en 52.
2. The Guardianship of the "Kings" .................ccccsssssssssceeessesseeeeees 53.
VI. The Sisters of Alexander the Great ........................... eese 55.
(1) Kynnane.................. Leeeeeeee eese eene eee enne ee nnne nene th nennt etna eeen 57.
(ii) Kleopatra .............cccccssssscccccssecccessssceceenscecereeseceeesseeesesecseacs 57.
(iii) Thessalonike ................. eese eeeeeeee eee e en nenne eh enses teet oe 58.
VII. The Satraps..............ee .eee .ee .eee. e.e e.e e.ene 1enene encocehe eenene eeetete 60.
Table 4: The Administration of the Empire................................. 60.
(Ὁ Asia West of the Halys—Antipatros and Kassandros ................. 61.
(ii) Lydia and Kilikia—Menandros and Philotas........................... 63.
(111) Karia—Asandro,............cccsssccssessecssccecscsccssscccsscesecscecescceacs 64.
(iv) India—Peithon .....................e.es.e .ee .ee.e .ee eeecne enec eneenetee ne nn n 65.
(v) Mesopotamia and Babylonia—Arkesilaos and Seleukos ............ 66.
(vi) Syria magna or Syria Mesopotamia— Peithon ........................ 66.
(vii) Egypt and Koile Syria—Ptolemy and Laomedon................... 67.
(viii) The Upper Satrapies—Perdikkas ....................................... 67.
(ix) Illyria—Holkias..........................eeee eeeenee eneeneneen eneeneneee 68.
Excursus: Rhodes and Thebes....................e.e.s..e. ..e.e.r.e 69.
1. The Freedom of the Rhodians ............................... eere 69.
2. The Restoration of Thebes........................ eee 70.
VIII. The Pamphlet in Historical Context...............................sssssse 71.
(i) Ptolemy, Lysimachos (and Seleukos [?]).................................. 72.
(ii) Asandros and the Rhodians....................................... ΝῊ 73.
(iii) Peithon and the Upper Satrapies........................................... 74.
Table 5: Events in Chronological Context................................... 76.
Table 6: Chronology of the Diadochoi........................................ 77.
IX. The Author ............ccccccccscscscccsscscccccscsceeseucscccsseccscsesscesesscesenens 79.
Appendix 1: Testimonia and Texts ............................. eese 82.
1. Testimonia .........ee.se .eee. een.e ee.e e.n.e ...teernes esteraee etee n 82.
MD CREME 86.
i. Liber de Morte Testamentumque... (ed. Thomas)...................... 86.
ii. Pseudo-Kallisthenes A 3.30.1-33.25 (ed. Kroll) ....................... 93.
iii. Julius Valerius (ed. Kübler)................................. cessere. 101.
iv. Leo (ed. Pfister)...........ccssccscccssccoeccnsccseccsscceseaeccescsseccseceees 104.
Appendix 2: The Satrapal Division, excluding the Indian Territories 108.
Bibliography ......ννον νον σνεν eνsee νeee eνee eοene eνnne οennνe eοnean νseteο ne νste νa ne ne 110.
PREFACE
Stanley Mayer Burstein must come first in this libellum. Our meeting
in Seattle, Washington, in May of 1979 was not only the beginning of a
warm personal and academic friendship but also the occasion that inspired
my investigations into "Last Days and Testament of Alexander the Great”.
It was he who first suggested to me that the Pamphlet may have been
composed during the regency of Polyperchon, but, although I shared his
uneasiness with the view that it was a Perdikkan forgery, I was unable at
that time to think of good arguments in favour of a date c.317. This study
began as an inquiry into some relatively minor prosopographic points.
My aim was to determine the value of the evidence of Metz manuscript
and the various versions of Pseudo-Kallisthenes for the biographies of
Alexander's marshals. But, as I began to'look closely at the texts and the
views of modem scholars, I realised that a full-scale prosopographic
analysis would help to answer a number of questions: Does the work have
any historical value? Was it conceived as political propaganda? And, if
so, by whom and when?
My first opportunity to look closely at the problem came during my
sabbatical leave (1983-84), which I spent in the friendly surroundings of
the Seminar für Alte Geschichte of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitüt in
Freiburg im Breisgau. I am grateful to Prof. Dr W. Schmitthenner for
his kind hospitality, for giving me the opportunity to present the first
fruits of this study to his colleagues and students, and for sending me, two
years later, a copy of J. Seibert's study of the "Last Days and Testament",
which I might otherwise have missed. I wish also to thank Prof. Dr P.R.
Franke of Saarbrücken, as well as Prof. Dr Gerhard Wirth and Prof. Dr
Klaus Rosenat the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitát in Bonn, who invited
me to address their students and offered helpful comments. An English
version was given to Department of Ancient History at the University of
Liverpool, for which invitation I am grateful to Professors J.K. Davies
and Francis Cairns. In all the discussions that followed, questions
invariably arose about Rhodian interpolation and the high profile of
Rhodes. I have done little, even in this expanded version, with the