Ghost on the Throne - James S. Romm [165]
29 in large part as a scapegoat: The motives behind Socrates’ indictment and conviction are of course more complex than I can deal with here. But among them was certainly the fact that two political leaders who had, at various times, collaborated with the Spartans were former students of Socrates.
30 one expert has proposed: See Palagia, “Impact of Ares Macedon,” cited under “Archaeological and Material Evidence” in the bibliography.
31 Long-standing rivals: In a famous analysis of an earlier war, Thucydides makes the same point about the struggle for supremacy between liberal Athens and conservative Sparta. Passions of rival political parties in every Greek city were inflamed due to the fact that each could call on a superpower for support.
Chapter 9: Duels to the Death
1 an older man: There is no evidence about the early life of Aristonous, and it is not known at what point he became a Bodyguard, but Heckel (Who’s Who) supposes he was inherited by Alexander from Philip’s day.
2 no doubt ceased to matter: An important dividing line among historians of the Alexander period concerns the degree of constitutionality they assign to the Macedonians. Some regard this nation as lawful and observant of strict political conventions; others see them engaging in a might-makes-right free-for-all. The debate plays out in interesting ways where the succession to Alexander is concerned. I have here adhered to a moderate constitutionalist position, which I think is supported by the evidence: the impetus to install and obey a legitimate king was paramount throughout the first six years after Alexander’s death, until all hope was lost that such a king could be found. The opposing position is summed up by Carney (Olympias, p. 86): “Legality was never a major issue in Macedonian society generally. After the death of Alexander and certainly after that of Perdiccas, legitimacy is simply not a useful concept for historians to apply.”
3 four Bodyguards to Alexander’s three: See Heckel, “IGii2 561,” cited under “Rhoxane, Alexander IV, Barsine, and Heracles” in the bibliography.
4 the first of their species: Aristotle has such detailed information about elephants in his biological treatises that it has been thought he observed them firsthand, leading to the fanciful supposition that Alexander shipped one specimen back to Athens from Asia for him to examine (the premise of L. Sprague de Camp’s novel An Elephant for Aristotle). However, the more likely explanation is that Aristotle received written reports about the beasts through Ctesias, a Greek physician serving at the court of the Persian kings.
5 bringing with him many tales: Lawrence Tritle has even claimed that Damis published a treatise about elephant handling, though I have found no evidence that confirms this. See “Alexander and the Greeks,” pp. 121–40 of Alexander the Great: A New History, Waldemar Heckel and Lawrence A. Tritle, eds. (Malden, Mass. 2009).
6 causing a time-delayed collapse: This is my hypothesis for the goal of the sapping method described by Diodorus (18.70.5), in which the wooden props of the mine are set on fire.
7 to cross over into Asia: According to Diodorus (18.63.6), the goal of Eumenes’ naval strategy was to permit Polyperchon to invade Asia, though one wonders whether Eumenes would not have considered it more urgent that he himself cross into Europe.
8 At last Eumenes’ fleet was ready: Story related by Polyaenus 4.6.9.
9 a crushing setback: Described in slightly varying versions by Diodorus 18.72 and Polyaenus 4.6.8.
10 on restoring the oligarchy: Cassander granted the Athenians a less stringent property restriction than his father had done, limiting citizenship to those with estates of a thousand drachmas.
11 A new leader: This was Demetrius of Phaleron, whose story, though it falls outside the scope of this book, is as fascinating as any in the post-Alexander world.
12 a brief, defiant visit: This first return to Macedonia of Cassander is mentioned only briefly by Diodorus at 18.75.1 and 19.35.7, and is