Final Exam Essays 20

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

1. THE CHARACTER OF ALEXANDER. Do a character- study of Alexander: what seem to have been the formative influences in his life? Was there method to his madness? Describe his parents and the influence that they appear to have had on him. Discuss his supposed personality changes and the specific turning points at which we begin to perceive them. With regard to his behavior at the end of his career, discuss whether his actions as "Great King" were rationally or irrationally motivated. 2. ALEXANDER THE GOD: Discuss Alexander's preoccupation with religion and Godhead. What seems to have provoked it; how many ways did it manifest itself, and what can be said about his overall sincerity in the matter as well as of the reaction of the MacedonianS? 3. MACEDONIAN MUTINIES and CONSPIRACIES. Discuss problems which arose between Alexander and his Macedonian army during the campaigns from Persia to India and back (330-323 B.C.). Mention and assess all pertinent evidence for the soldiers' complaints arising during the mutinies. What issues and/or attitudes seem to have been at root in these conflicts? You are welcome to discuss the question from the perspective of the officers and bodyguards or the common soldiers. 4. BATTLEMANIA. Compare and contrast the strategic and tactical strengths of the Persian forces and Alexander's answers to the problems posed in each of the following battles: Granicus River, Issus, Gaugamela, and the Hydaspes River (Professor will select 2 of the 4 to be written on). Specifically, how did Alexander address his numerical weakness in each battle? 5. Alexander’s Dealings with His Officers: Address the issue of Alexander’s relations with his Macedonian officers. Address this from from ONE of several vantage points. A. Discuss Alexander's relationship with Parmenio and Philotas from beginning to their deaths. B. Discuss Alexander's life-long friendship with some of the junior officers of the campaign (Haephestion, Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Harpalus, Nearchus, Erigyius,ˇfor ex.) and the manner in which they managed to move into positions of importance. C. Study "neutral" figures such Cleitus the Black and Craterus, to the same effect. From your particular vantage point, what can be said about the apparent rift between the older officers and the younger ones? WRITE ON ONE ONLY. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Alexander the Great and Hephaestion
2019-3337-AJHIS-HIS 1 Alexander the Great and Hephaestion: 2 Censorship and Bisexual Erasure in Post-Macedonian 3 Society 4 5 6 Same-sex relations were common in ancient Greece and having both male and female 7 physical relationships was a cultural norm. However, Alexander the Great is almost 8 always portrayed in modern depictions as heterosexual, and the disappearance of his 9 life-partner Hephaestion is all but complete in ancient literature. Five full primary 10 source biographies of Alexander have survived from antiquity, making it possible to 11 observe the way scholars, popular writers and filmmakers from the Victorian era 12 forward have interpreted this evidence. This research borrows an approach from 13 gender studies, using the phenomenon of bisexual erasure to contribute a new 14 understanding for missing information regarding the relationship between Alexander 15 and his life-partner Hephaestion. In Greek and Macedonian society, pederasty was the 16 norm, and boys and men did not have relations with others of the same age because 17 there was almost always a financial and power difference. Hephaestion was taller and 18 more handsome than Alexander, so it might have appeared that he held the power in 19 their relationship. The hypothesis put forward here suggests that writers have erased 20 the sexual partnership between Alexander and Hephaestion because their relationship 21 did not fit the norm of acceptable pederasty as practiced in Greek and Macedonian 22 culture or was no longer socially acceptable in the Roman contexts of the ancient 23 historians. Ancient biographers may have conducted censorship to conceal any 24 implication of femininity or submissiveness in this relationship.
[Show full text]
Alexander's Seventh Phalanx Battalion Milns, R D Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1966; 7, 2; Proquest Pg
Alexander's Seventh Phalanx Battalion Milns, R D Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1966; 7, 2; ProQuest pg. 159 Alexander's Seventh Phalanx Battalion R. D. Milns SOME TIME between the battle of Gaugamela and the battle of A the Hydaspes the number of battalions in the Macedonian phalanx was raised from six to seven.1 This much is clear; what is not certain is when the new formation came into being. Berve2 believes that the introduction took place at Susa in 331 B.C. He bases his belief on two facts: (a) the arrival of 6,000 Macedonian infantry and 500 Macedonian cavalry under Amyntas, son of Andromenes, when the King was either near or at Susa;3 (b) the appearance of Philotas (not the son of Parmenion) as a battalion leader shortly afterwards at the Persian Gates.4 Tarn, in his discussion of the phalanx,5 believes that the seventh battalion was not created until 328/7, when Alexander was at Bactra, the new battalion being that of Cleitus "the White".6 Berve is re jected on the grounds: (a) that Arrian (3.16.11) says that Amyntas' reinforcements were "inserted into the existing (six) battalions KC1:TCt. e8vr(; (b) that Philotas has in fact taken over the command of Perdiccas' battalion, Perdiccas having been "promoted to the Staff ... doubtless after the battle" (i.e. Gaugamela).7 The seventh battalion was formed, he believes, from reinforcements from Macedonia who reached Alexander at Nautaca.8 Now all of Tarn's arguments are open to objection; and I shall treat them in the order they are presented above.
[Show full text]
MAC II in General, All Greek Troops “Constitutionally
ALEXANDER’S FINAL ARMY An Honors Thesis for the Department of History By Jonathan A. Miller Thesis Advisor: Steven Hirsch Tufts University, 2011 AKNOWLEDGMENTS Alexander the Great is a man with whom many great leaders throughout history have been compared, a model of excellence whose achievements can never quite be matched. 2 My introduction to his legacy occurred in the third grade. Reading a biography of Julius Caesar for a class project, I happened across Plutarch’s famous description of Caesar’s reaction to reading a history of Alexander: “he was lost in thought for a long time, and then burst into tears. His friends were astonished, and asked the reason for his tears. ‘Do you not think,’ said he, ‘that it is a matter of sorrow that while Alexander, at my age, was already king of so many peoples, I have as yet achieved no brilliant success?’”1 This story captivated my imagination and stuck with me throughout my middle and high school years. Once at college, I decided to write a thesis on Alexander to better understand the one man capable of breeding thoughts of inadequacy in Caesar. This work is in many ways a tribute to both Caesar and Alexander. More pointedly, it is an exploration into the designs of a man at the feet of whom lay the whole world. This paper has meant a lot to me. I want to thank all those who made it possible. First and foremost, my undying gratitude goes to Professor Steven Hirsch, who has helped me navigate the difficult process of researching and writing this thesis.
[Show full text]
(1988) 116–118 © Dr. Rudolf Habelt Gmbh, Bonn
E. BADIAN TWO POSTSCRIPTS ON THE MARRIAGE OF PHILA AND BALACRUS aus: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 73 (1988) 116–118 © Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn 116 TWO POSTSCRIPTS ON THE MARRIAGE OF PHILA AND BALACRUS Waldemar Heckel (ZPE 70,1987,161-2) has done a service to prosopography of Alexander and the Diadochoi by his acute demonstration that the marriage of Phila and Balacrus, Alexander's satrap of Cilicia, must be accepted as historical fact. In view of the inadequacy of our source for the connection (the writer of romance, Antonius Diogenes, as recorded by Photius), it had been inconclusively discussed ever since Droysen first accepted it and then changed his mind about it.1) The dedication by an Antipater son of "Balagros" indeed establishes the fact. There is perhaps slight further confirmation for the identification discovered by Heckel in the spelling of "Balagros": the inscription coincides with Photius in this detail, and the spelling is a very rare variant.2) a.) Heckel should not, however, be followed in his acceptance of the authenticity of the letter cited by the Greek novelist. His statement that Photius "preserves, on the testimony of Antonius Diogenes, the details of a letter ..." is followed by his use of the letter in order to show that Phila cannot have been with her husband when he cook over the satrapy of Cilicia, since he still wrote to her from Tyre. In fact, there cannot be any doubt that the letter is fictitious: it pro- vides the setting for Diogenes' romance and the details are historically worthless.
[Show full text]
The Antigonids and the Ruler Cult. Global and Local Perspectives?
The Antigonids and the Ruler Cult Global and Local Perspectives? 1 Franca Landucci DOI – 10.7358/erga-2016-002-land AbsTRACT – Demetrius Poliorketes is considered by modern scholars the true founder of ruler cult. In particular the Athenians attributed him several divine honors between 307 and 290 BC. The ancient authors in general consider these honors in a negative perspec- tive, while offering words of appreciation about an ideal sovereignty intended as a glorious form of servitude and embodied in Antigonus Gonatas, Demetrius Poliorketes’ son and heir. An analysis of the epigraphic evidences referring to this king leads to the conclusion that Antigonus Gonatas did not officially encourage the worship towards himself. KEYWORDS – Antigonids, Antigonus Gonatas, Demetrius Poliorketes, Hellenism, ruler cult. Antigonidi, Antigono Gonata, culto del sovrano, Demetrio Poliorcete, ellenismo. Modern scholars consider Demetrius Poliorketes the true founder of ruler cult due to the impressively vast literary tradition on the divine honours bestowed upon this historical figure, especially by Athens, between the late fourth and the early third century BC 2. As evidenced also in modern bib- liography, these honours seem to climax in the celebration of Poliorketes as deus praesens in the well-known ithyphallus dedicated to him by the Athenians around 290 3. Documentation is however pervaded by a tone that is strongly hostile to the granting of such honours. Furthermore, despite the fact that it has been handed down to us through Roman Imperial writers like Diodorus, Plutarch and Athenaeus, the tradition reflects a tendency contemporary to the age of the Diadochi, since these same authors refer, often explicitly, to a 1 All dates are BC, unless otherwise stated.
[Show full text]
4. Barsine, Daughter of Artabazus
Alexander’s Lovers by Andrew Chugg 4. Barsine, Daughter of Artabazus Barsine was by birth a minor princess of the Achaemenid Empire of the Persians, for her father, Artabazus, was the son of a Great King’s daughter.197 It is known that his father was Pharnabazus, who had married Apame, the daughter of Artaxerxes II, some time between 392 - 387BC.198 Artabazus was a senior Persian Satrap and courtier and was latterly renowned for his loyalty first to Darius, then to Alexander. Perhaps this was the outcome of a bad experience of the consequences of disloyalty earlier in his long career. In 358BC Artaxerxes III Ochus had upon his accession ordered the western Satraps to disband their mercenary armies, but this edict had eventually edged Artabazus into an unsuccessful revolt. He spent some years in exile at Philip’s court during Alexander’s childhood, starting in about 352BC and extending until around 349BC,199 at which time he became reconciled with the Great King. It is likely that his daughter Barsine and the rest of his immediate family accompanied him in his exile, so it is feasible that Barsine knew Alexander when they were both still children. Plutarch relates that she had received a “Greek upbringing”, though in point of fact this education could just as well have been delivered in Artabazus’ Satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, where the population was predominantly ethnically Greek. As a young girl, Barsine appears to have married Mentor,200 a Greek mercenary general from Rhodes. Artabazus had previously married the sister of this Rhodian, so Barsine may have been Mentor’s niece.
[Show full text]
The Successors: Alexander's Legacy
The Successors: Alexander’s Legacy November 20-22, 2015 Committee Background Guide The Successors: Alexander’s Legacy 1 Table of Contents Committee Director Welcome Letter ...........................................................................................2 Summons to the Babylon Council ................................................................................................3 The History of Macedon and Alexander ......................................................................................4 The Rise of Macedon and the Reign of Philip II ..........................................................................4 The Persian Empire ......................................................................................................................5 The Wars of Alexander ................................................................................................................5 Alexander’s Plans and Death .......................................................................................................7 Key Topics ......................................................................................................................................8 Succession of the Throne .............................................................................................................8 Partition of the Satrapies ............................................................................................................10 Continuity and Governance ........................................................................................................11
[Show full text]
Alexander's Successors
Perdiccas, 323-320 Antigonus (western Asia Minor) 288-285 Antipater (Macedonia) 301, after Ipsus Lysimachus (Anatolia, Thrace) Archon (Babylon) Lysimachus (Anatolia, Thrace) Ptolemy (Egypt) Asander (Caria) Ptolemy (Egypt) Seleucus (Babylonia, N. Syria) Persia to Alexander the Great Atropates (northern Media) 315-311 Alexander’s Seleucus (Babylonia, N. Syria) Eumenes (Cappadocia, Pontus) vs. 318-316 Cassander Cassander (Macedonia) Laomedon (Syria) Lysimachus Daniel 11:1-4 Antigonus Demetrius (Cyprus, Tyre, Demetrius (Macedonia, Cyprus, Leonnatus (Phrygia) Ptolemy Successors Cassander Sidon, Agaean islands) Tyre, Sidon, Agaean islands) Lysimachus (Thrace) Peithon Seleucus Menander (Lydia) Ptolemy Bythinia Bythinia Olympias (Epirus) vs. 332-260 BC Seleucus Epirus Epirus “And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise Peithon (southern Media) Antigonus Greece Greece Philippus (Bactria) vs. Aristodemus Heraclean kingdom Heraclean kingdom Ptolemy (Egypt) Demetrius in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as Eumenes Paeonia Paeonia Stasanor (Aria) Nearchus Olympias Pontus Pontus and others . Peithon Polyperchon Rhodes Rhodes he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece. And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.” (Dan 11:2-3) 320 330310 300 290 280 270 260 250 Antipater, 320-319 Alcetas and Attalus (Pisidia ) Antigenes (Susiana) Antigonus (army in Asia) Arrhidaeus (Phrygia) Cassander
[Show full text]
Causes of the Rise in Violence in the Eastern Campaigns of Alexander the Great
“Just Rage”: Causes of the Rise in Violence in the Eastern Campaigns of Alexander the Great _______________________________________ A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _____________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by Jenna Rice MAY 2014 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled “JUST RAGE”: CAUSES OF THE RISE IN VIOLENCE IN THE EASTERN CAMPAIGNS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT presented by Jenna Rice, a candidate for the degree of master of history, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor Ian Worthington Professor Lawrence Okamura Professor LeeAnn Whites Professor Michael Barnes τῷ πατρί, ὅς ἐμοί τ'ἐπίστευε καὶ ἐπεκέλευε ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee, Professors Worthington, Okamura, Whites, and Barnes, for the time they spent reading and considering my thesis during such a busy part of the semester. I received a number of thoughtful questions and suggestions of new methodologies which will prompt further research of my topic in the future. I am especially grateful to my advisor, Professor Worthington, for reading through and assessing many drafts of many chapters and for his willingness to discuss and debate the topic at length. I know that the advice I received throughout the editing process will serve me well in future research endeavors. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. THE GREEK RULES OF WAR ..............................................................................5 2. ALEXANDER IN PERSIA ...................................................................................22 3.
[Show full text]
Nearchus of Crete
Histos 11 (2017) XXIX–XXXV REVIEW–DISCUSSION NEARCHUS OF CRETE Veronica Bucciantini, Studio su Nearco di Creta. Dalla descrizione geografica alla nar- razione storica. Studi di Storia greca e romana, 11. Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso, 2015. Pp. 251. Paperback, €18.00. ISBN 978-88-6274-643-4. Note: The Table of Contents of this book appears at the end of the review. hile Nearchus’ fragments have long been commented upon by ex- cellent scholars, the academic community was awaiting a mono- W graph entirely devoted to this exceptional author. The gap has just been filled by Veronica Bucciantini (henceforth B.), who gives a study encom- passing all aspects of Nearchus’ career and personality. This book is a revised version of her doctoral thesis, completed under the supervision of a leading expert in ancient geography, Serena Bianchetti. It does not consist of a new commentary of the extant fragments,1 and B. certainly does not aim at exten- sively addressing and discussing the many complex issues raised by this text: for instance, Nearchus’ ‘scientific’ skills (ch. 3: ‘N. osservatore “scientifico”’) are not studied against the background of fourth-century Greek science and culture. Instead B. provides a convenient synthesis presenting the various as- pects of Nearchus’ life and actions, some of which are more carefully investi- gated than others. B.’s inquiry, mostly based on Arrian’s Indikê, is backed up by an excellent up-to-date bibliography. Her Italian is rather easy to follow. However, the author of the present review, who is not a native speaker, is un- able to detect typos and mistakes.
[Show full text]
Eumenes, Neoptolemus and "PSI" XII 1284 Bosworth, a B Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Jan 1, 1978; 19, 3; Periodicals Archive Online Pg
Eumenes, Neoptolemus and "PSI" XII 1284 Bosworth, A B Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Jan 1, 1978; 19, 3; Periodicals Archive Online pg. 227 Eumenes, Neoptolemus and PSI XII 1284 A. B. Bosworth N 1932 E. Breccia discovered a small scrap of papyrus at Kom Ali I el Gamman near Oxyrhynchus. Once discovered it waited nearly twenty years for publication. The editio princeps of 1951 was the work of Vittorio Bartoletti, aided by suggestions from Maas and Jacoby.1 The papyrus itself consists of three columns, numbered consecutively 81-83, of which the central column is preserved almost complete. Those to right and left are defective except for a few letters at the extremities which defy reconstruction.2 The script belongs to the late second century. I shall first give the text with rudimentary critical apparatus and then a translation of the consecutive narrative. ]!,TE"e [we cp]9flfPwTarrjV 7ToL[~e]ff!' r9~e i7T7T[E"v]eLv [T]~V 0tPW €7TEXcfJpoVV [€]v TagE [£] oi S€ KaT67TLv av.rwv, oeo£ imrije, fJ T [V]XOL ~g!}'59!,TL~OV wc lmO rfj gVVEXE{~ [T]WV fl~~cP!, cWa~:rEAoVvTE[C] ~v EP./-'O/\!}!,, a \, TWVA" L7T7TEWV. E"VP.EV1JC OE,"" wc( 'T7}VI TE SV'}'K/\T/CLVI:. I \ TOV- svvac-I:. 5 7TLCp.oV 7C!W Ma'5~S6vwV7TVK~V KaTELSEV Kat aVTOVC T~j~ yvcfJp.a[LC] EC, TO"'".... E7TL 7Tav KLVOVVEVELV~ " EPPWP.EVOVC,, 7TEP.7TELI av1"'0 LC .!:t,EVVLav~ I avopaJI ~ p.aKE"Sovt~ov7a rfj <p [W ]vfl, <ppacaL KEAEvcac WC KaTU c76p.a P.€V ou p.aXEL7aL aUToLc 7Tapa'5[oAov]~wv S~ T[fi] TE i7T7TC[) Kat TaLC TWV tPLAwv 7agECLV E"t[p]gOL aUTovc TWV E7TL7[rySEl]wv' oi S€, El Kat [EL] 10 7Tapv IXp.axol TLVEC ccptc [L]!, St;JKOVCLV aM' OtJT' [«Xv] Tep ')IE ALP.ep EVt V9~[V] avTLT[ 1 vO/Ll'O]r'TEC Latte: perhaps E1TtVOOV]r'TEC (cf Arrian 1.23.5 [see below]).
[Show full text]
Companion Cavalry and the Macedonian Heavy Infantry
THE ARMY OP ALEXANDER THE GREAT %/ ROBERT LOCK IT'-'-i""*'?.} Submitted to satisfy the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in the School of History in the University of Leeds. Supervisor: Professor E. Badian Date of Submission: Thursday 14 March 1974 IMAGING SERVICES NORTH X 5 Boston Spa, Wetherby </l *xj 1 West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ. * $ www.bl.uk BEST COPY AVAILABLE. TEXT IN ORIGINAL IS CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF THE PAGE ABSTRACT The army with which Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire was "built around the Macedonian Companion cavalry and the Macedonian heavy infantry. The Macedonian nobility were traditionally fine horsemen, hut the infantry was poorly armed and badly organised until the reign of Alexander II in 369/8 B.C. This king formed a small royal standing army; it consisted of a cavalry force of Macedonian nobles, which he named the 'hetairoi' (or Companion]! cavalry, and an infantry body drawn from the commoners and trained to fight in phalangite formation: these he called the »pezetairoi» (or foot-companions). Philip II (359-336 B.C.) expanded the kingdom and greatly increased the manpower resources for war. Towards the end of his reign he started preparations for the invasion of the Persian empire and levied many more Macedonians than had hitherto been involved in the king's wars. In order to attach these men more closely to himself he extended the meaning of the terms »hetairol» and 'pezetairoi to refer to the whole bodies of Macedonian cavalry and heavy infantry which served under him on his campaigning.
[Show full text]