Argead women and religion

The studies on the relationship between religion and Macedonian monarchy have been mainly focused on male rulers. This paper tries to compile and analyse the evidence for Macedonian royal women. This article demonstrates the importance of public religion and patronage for those women through archaeological, epigraphical, and textual evidence. The corpus shows that religious affairs in Macedonia were necessarily entangled with political and cultural aspects, hindering straightforward conclusions about the range and evolution of the royal women in the public religion of Argead Macedonia.Los estudios sobre la relación entre religión y monarquía macedonia se han centrado principalmente en los gobernantes varones. Este artículo trata de recopilar y analizar las pruebas relativas a las mujeres de la realeza macedonia. Este artículo demuestra la importancia de la religión pública y el mecenazgo para esas mujeres a través de pruebas arqueológicas, epigráficas y textuales. El corpus muestra que los asuntos religiosos en Macedonia estaban necesariamente enredados con aspectos políticos y culturales, lo que dificulta la obtención de conclusiones directas sobre el alcance y la evolución de las mujeres de la realeza en la religión pública de la Macedonia de Argead

Argead Women and Religion

The studies on the relationship between religion and Macedonian monarchy have been mainly focused on male rulers. This paper tries to compile and analyse the evidence for Macedonian royal women. This article demonstrates the importance of public religion and patronage for those women through archaeological, epigraphical, and textual evidence. The corpus shows that religious affairs in Macedonia were necessarily entangled with political and cultural aspects, hindering straightforward conclusions about the range and evolution of the royal women in the public religion of Argead Macedonia

Terrible Olympias : another Study in Method

Olympias of Epirus is one of the main characters in the history of the emergency of Macedonia as an international power with Philip II and Alexander. Nevertheless, despite the many books, papers and studies that had been improving our knowledge about Argead Macedonia in times of the great Macedonian conquerors, the historians of the XIXth and XXth centuries treated Olympias in the same terms of the ancient sources. This uncritical perspective denotes a clear tendency and aims to reproduce gender stereotypes that comes to our own days.Olimpias de Epiro es uno de los personajes principales en la historia de la emergencia de Macedonia como potencia internacional con Felipe II y Alejandro. Sin embargo, a pesar de los muchos libros, artículos y estudios que habían ido mejorando nuestro conocimiento sobre Argead Macedonia en tiempos de los grandes conquistadores macedonios, los historiadores de los siglos XIX y XX trataron a Olimpia en los mismos términos que las fuentes antiguas. Esta perspectiva acrítica denota una clara tendencia y apunta a reproducir los estereotipos de género que llegan a nuestros días

"The Women Who Would Be Kings" - A study of the Argead royal women in the early Diadochoi Wars (323-316 BCE): The Rivalry of Adea-Eurydike and Olympias and the Death of the Argead dynasty

Arvefølgekrigene etter Aleksander den Stores død i 323 fvt. varte i flere tiår og førte til slutt til etableringen av en rekke hellenistiske kongeriker på toppen av det veldige imperiet Aleksander hadde skapt. I prosessen ble det gamle Argead-dynastiet som hadde styrt Makedonia siden det 7. århundret fvt., tilintetgjort av de ærgjerrige generalene som sloss for å tilegne seg så mye makt og territorie som mulig. Men sentralt i den tidlige fasen av disse konfliktene (323-316 fvt.) sto to kvinner fra Argead-familien; Adea-Eurydike og Olympias. I skarp kontrast med kulturelle gresk-makedonske normer, tilegnet disse to dronningene seg enorm politisk makt i Makedonia. Begge ble drevet fremover av omstendigheter som var unike for perioden med intenst politisk maktspill, og dynastiske feider, krig med flere av de mannlige generalene (“Diadokerne”), og et konstant omveltende politisk klima, endte til slutt med både Adeas og Olympias’ død. Ettermælet til de to er likevel viktig, og deres handlinger fremprovoserte responser og endringer i det kulturelle og politiske landskapet i både Makedonia og den hellenistiske verden. Oppgaven studerer både Adeas og Olympias’ karriære, motivasjoner og resultater av deres maktspill, samt rollen de andre kvinnene i Argead-dynastiet spilte i de tidlige Diadokerkrigene. Analysen og betraktningene i oppgaven baserer seg på nøye undersøkelser av det tilgjengelige kildematerialet, på originalspråket der det er mulig, samt støtter seg på moderne forskningslitteratur innen en rekke felt, som numismatikk, kjønnsteori og arkeologi. Alle disse perspektivene bidrar til å danne et nytt bilde av disse atypiske mektige kvinnene

Innovation or Tradition? Succession to the Kingship in Temenid Macedonia

This article attempts to show that the free designation of the successor to the throne by Ptolemy I and Seleukos I, and the association in power of the successor during the last years of the king’s reign, was not an innovation of the age of the Diadochi but an old Macedonian practice. Using IG II/III2 102, the treaty between Athens, Amyntas II and his son Alexander as a starting point, this work collects all the evidence for the designation of the succesor to the throne in the Temenid Kingdom, discusses previous theories about succession, and argues that the successor was designated by the king himself, who appears to have had full jurisdiction to decide on the matter freely, unimpeded by custom or law

Innovation or Tradition? Succession to the Kingship in Temenid Macedonia

This article attempts to show that the free designation of the successor to the throne by Ptolemy I and Seleukos I, and the association in power of the successor during the last years of the king’s reign, was not an innovation of the age of the Diadochi but an old Macedonian practice. Using IG II/III2 102, the treaty between Athens, Amyntas II and his son Alexander as a starting point, this work collects all the evidence for the designation of the succesor to the throne in the Temenid Kingdom, discusses previous theories about succession, and argues that the successor was designated by the king himself, who appears to have had full jurisdiction to decide on the matter freely, unimpeded by custom or law

Forever Young : the strange youth of the Macedonian Kings

Traditionally, the belief has been that the Hellenistic kings began to shave their beards following the example of Alexander the Great. This paper proposes a new vision of this idea, given that explains the shaven face of Alexander through the youngness of the Macedonian kings. In our opinion, the sovereigns of Macedonia were presented many times by their fathers or regents like eternal teenagers in order to remain in power for as long as possible. Thus, the only way for any member of the Argead dynasty to achieve complete autonomy and to be fully free was to be seated on the throne. The same happen during the lifetime of popular generals (Parmenion) or advisers (Aratus). The royal portrait created by the Diadochoi was a symbol of power through which they could govern, never was an imitation of a real one. However, this royal portrait was inspired by Macedonian models that presented the Argead prince as inexpert and weak when they were unbearded.Tradicionalmente, se ha creído que los reyes helenísticos comenzaron a afeitarse la barba siguiendo el ejemplo de Alejandro Magno. Este artículo propone una nueva visión de esta idea, dado que explica el rostro rapado de Alejandro a través de la juventud de los reyes macedonios. En nuestra opinión, los soberanos de Macedonia fueron presentados muchas veces por sus padres o regentes como eternos adolescentes para permanecer en el poder el mayor tiempo posible. Por lo tanto, la única forma de que cualquier miembro de la dinastía Argead logre una autonomía completa y sea completamente libre era sentarse en el trono. Lo mismo ocurre durante la vida de los generales populares (Parmenion) o consejeros (Aratus). El retrato real creado por los Diadochoi fue un símbolo de poder a través del cual podían gobernar, nunca fue una imitación de uno real. Sin embargo, este retrato real se inspiró en modelos macedonios que presentaban al príncipe Argead como inexperto y débil cuando no llevaban barba

“The Hellenistic ruler cult and Ptolemy I’s quest for legitimacy”

Alexander III died suddenly in Babylon in 323 BC. With Philip III Arrhidaeus in a mentally deficient state and Alexander IV not being of age, Alexander died without a suitable heir. The task of succeeding one of the most storied legacies in the ancient world was left to the generals of Alexander III. On his deathbed, Alexander was asked who should lead the Macedonians, of which he allegedly replied “the strongest”. Thus began the process of selecting the individual who would succeed Alexander the Great, which ended up becoming a contentious task due to Macedonian succession customs. Subsequently the ‘Successors’ quarrelled over who should succeed Alexander as the true successor. The wars of the Successors are founded on an issue of legitimacy that qualifies the notion of the strongest. Being deemed the true successor of Alexander the Great meant the opportunity to continue a period of Macedonian dominance following the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III. Alexander III is hailed as one of the most extraordinary individuals of the ancient world with his imperial campaigns being widely documented, political stability being pinpointed as one of the Macedonian strong points during the period of their dominance. The ruler cult is a point of reference for the explaining the relative political stability throughout the reign of Alexander the Great. The ruler cult can be understood as a sociopolitical construct that hybridized the notion of the ruler with that of a religious leader. The oriental influence of Alexander’s campaigns in Asia would inform the customs and practices of the divine ruler. The Macedonians’ ability to establish a presence in foreign territories made such a social construct a necessity in the task of centralizing of minds for political stability. Alexander’s rendition of the cult informed the formalized Ptolemaic ruler cult. The similarities and differences of the renditions help us to understand this political tool that Ptolemy I required in order to be deemed the true successor of Alexander the Great. The following will be an investigation into whether Ptolemy I is able to attain legitimacy, firstly as a successor to Alexander the Great, secondly as Pharaoh of Egypt

The tradition and ideology of naming Seleukid Queens

This article examines the traditions and ideology which guide the Seleukid dynasty’s faithful repetition of female names over various generations as a case study for better understanding Hellenistic royal onomastics. Beginning with a review of the function of Greek personal names more generally, the article then examines the mechanics behind repeating royal female names. The name Laodike is then taken as a case study, and is examined in relation to Seleukid mythology, royal cult, and the longer literary tradition stretching back to Homer. A reconstruction is then proposed, in which it is argued that female names functioned as quasi- titles

Marriage Discourses

Marriage was historically not only a romantic ideal, but a tool of exploitation of women in many regards. Discourses about marriage in history and literature naturally became more and more heated, especially during the “long” 19th century. The present volume provides a discussion of the marriage discourses in different chronological and geographical contexts and shows which arguments played an important role in the demand for more equality