Ghost on the Throne - James S. Romm [147]
4 perhaps even his kinsman: Eumenes’ father was also named Hieronymus, and since names in the Greek world tend to run in families, it has been thought that Eumenes and Hieronymus were somehow related.
5 Modern historians: See especially Bosworth, “History and Artifice” (in the bibliography under “Eumenes”).
Introduction: The Opening of the Tombs
1 “Be as calm as possible”: The quotation, and other details of the discovery of Tomb 2 at Vergina, are taken from Andronikos’ own description in “Regal Treasures.”
2 one leading theory: The attribution of the tomb to Philip III and his wife, rather than to Philip II and his wife, has been gaining support in recent years and was vigorously defended by a panel of experts at the January 2008 meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America. Eugene Borza and Olga Palagia, the leading proponents of the theory, have summarized their arguments in “Chronology of the Macedonian Royal Tombs at Vergina.” The attribution to Philip II, however, first asserted by Andronikos, is still supported by many Greek and some European and American scholars (most recently by Ian Worthington in Philip II of Macedonia, New Haven, 2009, app. 6). The bibliography on the subject is vast, and can best be accessed through the article by Borza and Palagia.
3 one expert judged: The paleoanthropologist Antonis Bartsiokas reported evidence of “dry” cremation in “The Eye Injury of King Philip II and the Skeletal Evidence from the Royal Tomb II at Vergina,” Science 228 (2000), pp. 511–14. His conclusions have been accepted by some scholars, but just as this book was nearing completion, a challenge was mounted by a team led by Jonathan Musgrave; their arguments appeared in the International Journal of Medical Sciences for 2010, http://www.medsci.org/v07p00s1.htm. The debate is likely to continue for some time, since it can be conducted only by experts in forensic pathology and these disagree among themselves.
Chapter 1: Bodyguards and Companions
1 their thoughts went back: The recollection is reported by Arrian (Anabasis 7.18.6).
2 an interloper never seen before: The episode of the stranger who took the throne is recounted in different versions by several ancient writers. Arrian (Anabasis 7.24.1–3) reports that the man was tortured by Alexander and claimed only to have acted on a whim. Diodorus (17.116) says that the man refused to explain his actions, while Plutarch (Alexander 73.6–74.1) says he attributed his act to the promptings of Serapis. Both Diodorus and Plutarch say Alexander had the man killed.
3 Belshazzar, his descendant: The feast of Belshazzar is described in the Old Testament book of Daniel 5.
4 The prophecy came to pass: According to a curious tale related by the Jewish historian Josephus, Alexander was shown the passage from the book of Daniel on the occasion of his visit to Jerusalem and interpreted it as referring to his own conquest of the Persian empire (Jewish Antiquities 11.8.5).
5 “To the strongest”: The word kratistos in the saying, as reported by Arrian (Anabasis 7.26.3) and Diodorus (17.117.4), is usually translated “strongest” but can also mean “best,” and indeed Diodorus elsewhere quotes the same saying with a different word, aristos, unambiguously meaning “best” (18.1.4). Quintus Curtius uses the Latin word optimus, “best,” in his version of the story (10.5.5).
6 the Babylonians welcomed him: Their exuberance at the arrival of Alexander is most fully described by Quintus Curtius 5.1.17–23. The Persian-appointed governor of the city, Mazaeus, took the lead in switching sides.
7 Perhaps he began to believe himself: Alexander’s own beliefs about his divine nature are probably unrecoverable, but we do know that his troops twitted him about his descent from Ammon (see Arrian’s Anabasis 7.8.3) and that, in the last year of his life, several Greek cities were debating a proposal to grant him the rites appropriate to a god (see this page).
8 they reached their breaking point: I follow the traditional understanding of the events at the river Hyphasis.