EPHESOS AFTER ALEXANDER ----- Socio-Political Transformations in Western Asia Minor During the Early Hellenistic Period
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EPHESOS AFTER ALEXANDER ----- Socio-Political Transformations in Western Asia Minor during the Early Hellenistic Period Paul Ioan Vădan Department of History and Classical Studies McGill University, Montreal February, 2011 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts ©Paul Ioan Vădan, 2011. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND ABSTRACTS.…………………………………………… iii-iv ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION: AFTER ALEXANDER............................................................ 1-4 CHAPTER I: THE LIBERATION OF EPHESOS................................................... 5-30 CHAPTER II: EPHESOS AND THE DIADOCHOI............................................... 31-67 CHAPTER III: THE EPHESOS MEETING........................................................... 68-88 CHAPTER IV: EPHESOS IN THE IONIAN CONTEXT....................................... 89-118 CONCLUSION: HELLENISTIC PATTERNS........................................................ 119-120 APPENDICES....................................................................................................... 121-126 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................. 127-132 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my thesis supervisor Professor Hans Beck whose invaluable advice and support have allowed me to fulfill my dream of becoming a historian. My success also owes much to Professor Michael Fronda whose guidance and understanding have made me a better scholar and person. I would also like to thank my colleagues Eric Brousseau, Brahm Kleinman, Catherine McPherson, Claire Sandoe, and Parrish Wright for their editorial work, and more importantly for their friendship - sine vobis non valeo! My deepest gratitude goes especially to my loving family. The successful completion of this thesis stands as a testament to their efforts and care for my wellbeing. Last but not least, I would also like to thank the Government of Canada for giving my family the opportunity to aspire towards our utmost potential, unhindered in our pursuit of happiness. Mulţumesc! iii ABSTRACT The present study deals with the socio-political transformations in the city of Ephesos in the early Hellenistic period. It shows that during the tumultuous months after the death of Alexander the Great, the Ephesian community sought to re-establish internal and regional stability by appealing to the Macedonian Successors for support. This was achieved at the meeting of Ephesos in the summer of 322 BC, as attested by a detailed epigraphic study of a series of local inscriptions (I. Ephes. 1430-1437). The meeting addressed issues over Ionian democracy and privileges, as well as Macedonian hegemonia, in conformity with the precedents set by Alexander. Its successful conclusion saw Ephesos emerge as the leading and representative member of the Ionian koinon. RÉSUMÉ La présente étude a comme sujet les transformations sociopolitiques dans la cite d'Ephesos dans la haute période hellénistique. Elle montre que pendant les mois tumultueux après la mort d'Alexandre le Grand, la communauté d’Éphèse a cherché à rétablir la stabilité interne et régionale en appelant aux Successeurs Macédoniens. Ce but a été atteint lors de la réunion a Ephese pendant l'été de 322 av-JC, comme il est atteste par un étude épigraphique détaillé d'une une série des inscriptions locales (I. Ephes. 1430- 1437). La réunion a abordé des questions concernant la démocratie et privilèges Ioniennes, aussi que la hegemonia Macédonienne, en conformité avec les précédents mis pas Alexandre. Son succès a vu émerger Ephese en tant que membre dirigeant et représentant du koinon Ionienne. iv ABBREVIATIONS FGrH. Jacoby, F. Die Fragmente der Grieschichen Historiker I. Ephes. Keil, J. Die Inschriften von Ephesos I. Eryth. Engelmann H. and Merkelbach, R. Die Inschriften von Erythrai I. Magn. Kern, O. Die Inschriften von Magnesia am Maeander I. Prien. Hiller von Gaertingen, F. Die Inschriften von Priene IG Inscriptiones Grecae ÖJI Jahresheften Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut RE Pauly, A., Wissowa, G. and Kroll, W. Realencyclopädie des classischen Altertumswissenschaft Tod Tod, Marcus. Greek Historical Inscriptions SIG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum v INTRODUCTION: AFTER ALEXANDER No instance in antiquity has more vividly displayed the authority, charisma and significance of a single man as the moment of Alexander the Great's death in the afternoon of June 11, 323 BC. Plutarch recounts the scene: Even so, having lost Alexander, his power gasped, struggled, and festered through the likes of Perdikkas, Meleagros, Seleukos, Antigonos, who, as it were, provided still a warm breath of life and blood that still pulsed and circulated. But at length as the host was wasting away and was perishing, it generated around itself maggots, as it were, of ignoble kings and of leaders in their last death-struggle.1 This bitter and reproachful tone imposes an unfair verdict of failure, indecisiveness, and waste upon the centuries between Alexander's death until the advent of Rome. Yet such a claim is an illusion supported by academia's retrospective standpoint that tends to ignore the resilient continuities and dynamic changes that molded the "Hellenistic" Age. Indeed, modern authors such as David Braund have claimed that Alexander imposed "a new world order" but had left the self-proclaimed Diadochoi with the burden to give it shape and meaning,2 as they became involved in "a great funeral contest over him."3 But such an exclusive focus of historiography on "great people" who make "important decisions" of monumental consequences obscures the fact that beyond these lies a variegated array of smaller kingdoms, armies, and cities with distinct traditions, conditions and interests. 1 Plut. Mor. 337A. 2 David Braund, "After Alexander: The Emergence of the Hellenistic World, 323-281 BC". A Companion to the Hellenistic World. Ed. by Andrew Erskine, 19 (Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2005). 3 Arr. Anab. 7.26.3. - 1 - The purpose of this study is to shift the focus from such a grand-scale survey approach and instead concentrate on specific local conditions and developments in order to evaluate how individual communities received and dealt with, in their own way, the demise of Alexander. Quintus Curtius reports that "the report of such great disaster was not contained within the city walls, but had spread through the region nearest to Babylon and from there through a great part of Asia on this side of the Euphrates."4 I will therefore adopt a case- study approach that I hope will assess the immediate impact of such news on a particular community most accurately. The city of Ephesos in Western Asia Minor serves this purpose well: it was a very old polis with a history ingrained in Greek culture and identity. Moreover, Ephesos' strategic location and prosperous harbor made it a very influential presence in local and regional developments. Also, the local Artemision is a rare archaeological case that has provided historians with sufficient, although scanty epigraphic evidence that allows us to reconstruct the events and the regional socio-political transformations during the confusing months after the summer of 323 BC. Lastly, the Ephesians developed a strong personal bond with Alexander the Great, which they exhibited as they showed their utmost consideration towards their liberator, benefactor, and protector. For this reason I will begin my thesis with a study of Alexander's advent