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Hellenistic Empire |
Plutarch: Philip of Macedon's Assassination, Hippocrates, Diogenes Laërtes: Life of Diogenes the Cynic, Statue of Aphrodite-Isis, Pergamon frieze |
Plutarch: Philip of Macedon's Assassination
The assassination that had the greatest impact on the course of ancient history was that of Philip II (r. 359-336 B.C.E.), king of Macedon and father of Alexander the Great. Lawyers, confronted by a suspicious death, often ask the question cui bono?--" to whose benefit?" In Philip's case, obviously, it was to Alexander's. Father and son had their differences, at the center of which was Alexander's forceful mother, Olympias, who had figured more prominently in her son's life than Philip had. When Philip took as his new wife (Macedonian kings often practiced polygamy) a high-born Macedonian woman named Cleopatra, his relations with Olympias naturally were strained and Alexander's position as likely heir to the throne became insecure, since Olympias was not Macedonian by blood. Could either Alexander or Olympias have been behind the killing of Philip? You be the judge! Hint: try constructing a chart of relationships (several of the participants share the same name).
The marriages and love affairs of Philip not only led to conflicts in his household and among his womenfolk, but soon affected the state as a whole, when disputes arose between himself and his son Alexander. The envious and vengeful personality of Olympias fanned these flames, as she provoked Alexander to defy his father. Their differences came to a crisis with Philip's decision to marry Cleopatra, a very young woman with whom he had rashly fallen in love. At a banquet one night, Attalus, Cleopatra's uncle, being quite drunk, urged the Macedonians to pray the gods that the marriage of Philip and Cleopatra would produce a pure-blooded heir [i.e., Macedonian on both sides] to the throne. This infuriated Alexander, who shouted "You scoundrel, are you calling me a bastard?" He then flung his drink at Attalus. Philip rose to intervene, drawing his sword against his son. Luckily, he was so unbalanced by wine and anger that he stumbled and fell to the ground. At this, Alexander sneered and said "Here's the man who plans to travel from Europe to Asia, but he can't even make it from one couch to another without taking a header! " Following this drunken ruckus, Alexander left the capital, removing Olympias to Epirus and himself to Illyria.
In the archonship of Pythodorus [336 B.C.E.] ... Philip, having been appointed hegemon [commander-in-chief] by the Greek states, commenced the war with Persia by sending ahead into Asia [Minor] an advance expedition under the command of Attalus and Parmenio, with orders to liberate the Greek city-states there. Philip himself, anxious to have divine approval, consulted the Pythia [priestess at Delphi] to ask if he would defeat the Persian king. She responded as follows: "The bull is garlanded [for sacrifice]. All is ready and the sacrificer is at hand. "
Though the response was equivocal, Philip took it as propitious to himself: that is, predicting the death of the Persian king. In fact, it foretold Philip's own death at a festival with solemn sacrifices; he, like the bull, would die wearing religious wreaths. But Philip rejoiced to think that he had the backing of the gods and trusted that Macedonian arms would subjugate Asia [Minor].
Philip now made plans for spectacular celebrations for the gods, in conjunction with the wedding of his and Olympias's daughter, Cleopatra, who was marrying Alexander, the king of Epirus (and brother of Olympias). Eager to have as many Greeks as possible participating in the sacred observances, he scheduled elaborate musical displays and feasts for his guests. He invited his own friends from all over Greece and urged his courtiers to do the same. He intended to impress the Greeks with his civility and to repay the honors bestowed on him as supreme commander by staging an appropriate social event.
Many people came to the festival at Aegae in Macedonia from all parts both for the games and for the marriage. Philip was awarded golden crowns not only by individuals but also by many major city-states, including Athens. When the herald announced the Athenian decoration, he closed by saying that the Athenians would surrender anyone plotting against Philip and seeking refuge at Athens. The words (later) seemed an omen from the gods that a conspiracy was in fact approaching. There were several other sayings at the time that seemed to foreshadow the king's demise....
The games were to begin the next day. The theater was already packed before dawn, and at sunrise the lavish procession began: it included dazzling images of the twelve Olympian gods meant to awe the spectators; and to the twelve was joined a thirteenth--that of Philip himself.
Philip appeared at the crowded theater attired in a white mantle. He bid his bodyguards to keep their distance, meaning to demonstrate his confidence in the adulation of the Greeks, which made armed guards unnecessary. Amidst the general applause and raves, the plot to assassinate unfolded itself. In the interest of clarity, I will examine the motives for it.
A Macedonian, Pausanias by name, from the Orestis district, had been a member of the king's bodyguard. Because of his attractiveness, Philip became his lover. When Philip then turned his attentions elsewhere (to another man named Pausanias), the first Pausanias mocked the second by saying he was androgynous and promiscuous. Cut to the quick by this slur, the second Pausanias secured his own death in a sensational way, after confiding in Attalus what he was intending to do. For, some days later, during a battle with Pleurias, an Illyrian king, Pausanias shielded Philip's body with his own, and died from fatal wounds so received.
The incident was widely reported. Attalus, a man of standing and influence in the court of Philip, thereupon invited the first Pausanias to dinner. Having gotten him drunk on undiluted wine, he then handed him over nearly unconscious to be raped by his mule-drivers. Pausanias, once sobered up, was deeply aggrieved by the assault on his person and denounced Attalus to the king. Philip, however, although outraged at the brutality of the deed, did not choose to bring Attalus to account because of their affiliation and because he had need of the man's services at the moment: Attalus was the [uncle] of Philip's new wife, Cleopatra, and, owing to his valor, had just been appointed general of the forward forces in Asia. Thus, Philip instead tried to quell Pausanias's justifiable rage over his injury by giving him gifts and elevating his position in the corps of his personal bodyguards.
Pausanias for his part kept his grudge and longed to exact vengeance not only from the man who had injured him, but also from the one who had declined to redress the injustice. His teacher, the sophist Hermocrates, unwittingly inspired him in his scheme. When Pausanias asked him how one could become most renowned, the sophist answered: "by slaying the man whose achievements were the greatest, for the assassin's fame would endure as long as the great man's. " Pausanias took this opinion as applicable to his own situation. He immediately resolved to revenge himself during the distractions of the wedding festival. Having readied horses at the city gates, he went to the entrance of the theater carrying a concealed Celtic dagger. Philip on his arrival bid his companions to enter ahead of him and, with his bodyguard ordered to keep their distance, was by himself. Pausanias darted forward and stabbed the king through his ribs, killing him instantly. He then made a dash for the gates and his getaway horses. Meantime, the royal bodyguards sprang into action, some rushing to the fallen king, others pursuing the killer; these included Leonnatus, Perdiccas, and Attalus [not the uncle of Cleopatra]. Pausanias nearly made it to the waiting horses, but his shoe caught in a vine and he fell. As he was getting up, Perdiccas and the others overtook him and slew him with their javelins.
So perished Philip, the greatest European monarch of his era. The vast extent of his rule led him to claim a throne among the twelve great Olympian deities. He reigned twenty-four years, in that time rising from a man with little support for his claim to the throne to ruler of the greatest empire in Greece. The success of his career derived not so much from his military genius as trom his facility and tact in diplomacy. They say that he prided himself more on his skills of strategy and diplomacy than on his battlefield courage, for his whole army shared the credit for success in combat, while he alone got the recognition for diplomatic victories.
Question:
Which people and what motives might have been behind the murder of Philip?
Hippocrates (c. 400 BC)
Let us inquire then regarding what is admitted to be Medicine; namely, that which was invented for the sake of the sick, which possesses a name and practitioners, whether it also seeks to accomplish the same objects, and whence it derived its origin. To me, then, it appears, as I said at the commencement, that nobody would have sought for medicine at all, provided the same kinds of diet had suited with men in sickness as in good health. Wherefore, even yet, such races of men as make no use of medicine, namely, barbarians, and even certain of the Greeks, live in the same way when sick as when in health; that is to say, they take what suits their appetite, and neither abstain from, nor restrict themselves in anything for which they have a desire. But those who have cultivated and invented medicine, having the same object in view as those of whom I formerly spoke, in the first place, I suppose, diminished the quantity of the articles of food which they used, and this alone would be sufficient for certain of the sick, and be manifestly beneficial to them, although not to all, for there would be some so affected as not to be able to manage even small quantities of their usual food, and as such persons would seem to require something weaker, they invented soups, by mixing a few strong things with much water, and thus abstracting that which was strong in them by dilution and boiling. But such as could not manage even soups, laid them aside, and had recourse to drinks, and so regulated them as to mixture and quantity, that they were administered neither stronger nor weaker than what was required.
Question: What does this passage tell us about the Hellenistic practice of medicine?
Diogenes Laërtius: Life of Diogenes the Cynic (d. 325 BC)
Once, when some strangers wished to see Demosthenes, he stretched out his middle finger and said, "This is the great demagogue of the Athenian people." When some one had dropped a loaf, and was ashamed to pick it up again, he, wishing to give him a lesson, tied a cord round the neck of a bottle and dragged it all through the Ceramicus. He used to say, that he imitated the teachers of choruses, for that they spoke too loud, in order that the rest might catch the proper tone. Another of his sayings, was that most men were within a finger’s breadth of being mad. If, then, any one were to walk along, stretching out his middle finger, he will seem to be mad; but if he puts out his forefinger, he will not be thought so. Another of his sayings was, that things of great value were often sold for nothing, and vice versâ. Accordingly, that a statue would fetch three thousand drachmas, and a bushel of meal only two obols. . .
On one occasion he saw a child drinking out of its hands, and so he threw away the cup which belonged to his wallet, saying, "That child has beaten me in simplicity." He also threw away his spoon, after seeing a boy, when he had broken his vessel, take up his lentils with a crust of bread. And he used to argue thus, – "Everything belongs to the gods; and wise men are the friends of the gods. All things are in common among friends; therefore everything belongs to wise men." Once he saw a woman falling down before the Gods in an unbecoming attitude; he, wishing to cure her of her superstition, as Zoilus of Perga tells us, came up to her, and said, "Are you not afraid, O woman, to be in such an indecent attitude, when some God may be behind you, for every place is full of him?" . . .
Once, while he was sitting in the sun in the Craneum, Alexander was standing by, and said to him, "Ask any favour you choose of me." And he replied, " Cease to shade me from the sun." On one occasion a man was reading some long passages, and when he came to the end of the book and showed that there was nothing more written, "Be of good cheer, my friends," exclaimed Diogenes, "I see land." A man once proved to him syllogistically that he had horns, so he put his hand to his forehead and said, "I do not see them." And in a similar manner he replied to one who had been asserting that there was no such thing as motion, by getting up and walking away. When a man was talking about the heavenly bodies and meteors, "Pray how many days," said he to him, "is it since you came down from heaven?"
Question:
Why might Diogenes' cynicism have been popular in Hellenistic times?
Statue of Aphrodite-Isis (AD 2nd-3rd c)
Terra-cotta, Egyptian
Question:
What does this image of Isis tell us about the Hellenistic world?
Pergamon frieze: Athena taking Young Alcyoneos by the Hair (175 BC)
Click on image for larger view:
Question:
What does the style of this frieze tell us about the Hellenistic world?