A Note on Divine Honours for Antigonos Gonatas

Nearly a century ago, W. W. Tarn concluded that Antigonos Gonatas had never been honoured as a god. He based his view (which was thereafter acknowledged as “the traditional view” on the subject) not only on the influence of the Stoic philosophy but also on a well known passage in Plutarch’s Moralia 360c, where Antigonos Gonatas retorts sarcastically to the poet Hermodotos that “the servant who carries my night pot knows I am not a god”. This paper offers an alternative interpretation of the passage. Gonatas does not reject divine honours, but only his supposed godlike nature. All we can deduce from his statement is a feeling of disapproval for those honours and there is no hint to support the traditional view. The context in Plutarch’s text clarifies this further. Plutarch builds a case against a very common practice, the divine honours towards great kings. He lists examples and on the most crucial turn of his argument he adds the anecdote concerning Gonatas. If Antigonos was never worshipped as a god, this example would have been meaningless. There would be no better argument than citing a king’s disapproval of this practice, but a king who – like all those listed before and after him – had indeed received divine honors

Antigonos Gonatas : coinage, money and the economy

'Antigonos Gonatas: Coinage, Money and the Economy' is a presentation and systematic analysis of the precious metal coinages in the name of `king Antigonos'. Most of these issues, including (a) gold staters and silver tetradrachms with the types of Alexander III and (b) silver with individual Antigonid types (tetradrachms, `Pans' and 'Poseidons'; a few drachmae, `Pans' and 'Zeus'; pentobols, `Zeus'), are traditionally assigned to the Makedonian king Antigonos Gonatas (r. 283/277-239 BC). However, their relative chronology and their respective presence in hoards allow for their wider distribution from Gonatas to his later homonym, Antigonos Doson, and for their production at a single mint, demonstrating thus a strong sense of dynastic continuity among Gonatas' successors(chapter 2). It is argued that the numismatic iconography aligns itself with the main threads of the Antigonid international policy established by Gonatas: the Antigonids, following the example of the Temenids, deliberately emphasised their Hellenic identity and piety, in order to become assimilated to the military and political `debates' both in mainland Greece and on an international level. The introduction, in particular, of the second Antigonid tetradrachm type, the Poseidon-head, meant the resumption of the naval claims of Monophthalmos and Poliorketes in the Aegean concomitantly to Gonatas' victorious naval battle against the Ptolemaic fleet at Andros (chapters 2.1,2.4). The analysis of the numismatic material (chapters 3-6) is a prerequisite for a tentative estimation of its approximate quantity and for a better assessment of its distribution pattern. The disproportion between the low annual production rate of these issues and the Antigonid financial requirements may be explained by the use of other precious metal coinages following the Attic weight standard (chapter 7). It is therefore argued that the exercise by the Antigonids of pro-active economic and administrative control was limited and that the introduction of the Antigonid individual issues was inspired by political alongside economic forces

The Regnal Years of Antigonos Gonatas

Although the decline of Demetrios I Poliorketes' rule and the succession by his son Antigonos II Gonatas are well known in principle, inconsistencies in the ancient sources have so far obscured the dynastic chronology. However, difficulties can be overcome, if an inclusive count is applied persistently and if the Armenian version of Eusebios' Chronicle (Porphyry FGH / BNJ 260 F 3), is preferred over the Greek version: the former ascribes Gonatas 43 regnal years, the latter 44. It can be shown that the latter is part of a tradition implying that Gonatas died in 239/38 instead of 240/39 BCE. As a result, Demetrios I began his final campaign in Asia Minor in 286 or 285, was captured in spring 284, and died in 283/82 BCE, whence Gonatas began counting his regnal years. The latter died in 239 BCE, probably in the later summer, yielding the throne to his son Demetrios II.Aunque el declive del gobierno de Demetrios I Poliorketes y la sucesión por parte de su hijo Antigonos II Gonatas son bien conocidos en principio, las incoherencias de las fuentes antiguas han oscurecido hasta ahora la cronología dinástica. Sin embargo, las dificultades pueden superarse, si se aplica persistentemente un recuento inclusivo y si se prefiere la versión armenia de la Crónica de Eusebios (Porfirio FGH / BNJ 260 F 3), en lugar de la versión griega: la primera atribuye a Gonatas 43 años de reinado, la segunda 44. Se puede demostrar que esta última forma parte de una tradición que implica que Gonatas murió en 239/38 en lugar de 240/39 a.C. En consecuencia, Demetrios I comenzó su campaña final en Asia Menor en el 286 o 285, fue capturado en la primavera del 284 y murió en el 283/82 a.C., momento en el que Gonatas comenzó a contar sus años regios. Este último murió en el 239 a.C., probablemente a finales del verano, cediendo el trono a su hijo Demetrios II. Traducción realizada con la versión gratuita del traductor www.DeepL.com/Translato

Endowed Eponymous Festivals on Delos

Second-century BC Delos saw the creation of more than two dozen endowments, by men and women, Delians and aliens, and, most famously, Hellenistic royalty or their agents. Scholars agree that these underwrote festivals (mostly eponymous: The Antigoneia, Eutycheia, Philonideia, Ptolemaieia, Stesileia, etc.), and have focused on the political motivation, purpose, and effects of the dozen or so royal specimens. This paper suggests that we have misconstrued the Greek of the Delian accounts; that the endowments did not fund eponymous festivals per se, but modest recurring ritual that was established on the occasion of significant family events, especially marriage and death; that this peculiar Delian phenomenon has more to say about authentic piety than grand politics, and more in common with Hellenistic family cult than festival culture

Endowed Eponymous Festivals on Delos

Second-century BC Delos saw the creation of more than two dozen endowments, by men and women, Delians and aliens, and, most famously, Hellenistic royalty or their agents. Scholars agree that these underwrote festivals (mostly eponymous: The Antigoneia, Eutycheia, Philonideia, Ptolemaieia, Stesileia, etc.), and have focused on the political motivation, purpose, and effects of the dozen or so royal specimens. This paper suggests that we have misconstrued the Greek of the Delian accounts; that the endowments did not fund eponymous festivals per se, but modest recurring ritual that was established on the occasion of significant family events, especially marriage and death; that this peculiar Delian phenomenon has more to say about authentic piety than grand politics, and more in common with Hellenistic family cult than festival culture

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace: Hellenistic Patronage and Politics

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace remains one of the most intriguing sites of the ancient Greek world. Not only were the mystery cults and gods worshipped at Samothrace unusual, the Sanctuary developed an important political significance, attracting the patronage of Philip III Arrhidaios (son of Philip II of Macedon and half-brother of Alexander the Great), brother-and-sister spouses Arsinoe II and Ptolemy II of Egypt, and Antigonos Gonatas. During the early third century BCE, Arsinoe dedicated her Rotunda in the Sanctuary, and her husband Ptolemy built his Propylon. In the midst of the political turmoil that developed in the Hellenistic Greek world after the death of Alexander the Great, leaders such as Arsinoe II and Ptolemy II utilized Samothrace’s connections to Alexander (through his brother and father) to cement their own legitimacy as rulers. Even while his brother was still alive, in the late fourth century BCE, the epileptic Arrhidaios—who could never have been his father’s heir—built an Altar Court at Samothrace, to indicate his importance as Alexander’s minister of religious affairs. Finally, perhaps the most well-known work from Samothrace, the Winged Victory or Nike of Samothrace statue, was an extremely political piece, erected by Antigonos Gonatas as the Ptolemies began to fall from power in the mid-third century BCE

The X4 Hoard (Spain) : Unveiling the Presence of Greek Coinages during the Second Punic War

A specific lot of Greek coins coming from one of the most important hoards buried in Spain during the last or first decade of the third-second century BCE is described in detail. Attention is drawn to their role in the economy of this time period, in which coins were valued by users for their silver content. The Second Punic War war and related troop movements fostered the spread of Greek coins far from their minting area on a scale not previously see

A Note on the history of Hellenistic Megara: Τhe date of the Antigonid garrison in Aegosthena

This paper presents a proposal for the date of the Antigonid military presence in Aegosthena near Megara, which is known only by a Megarian honorary decree for Boiotian Zoilos, the royal commander of the garrison (IG VII 1). The named king Demetrios in the inscription could be Poliorketes (306-284 BC) or his grandson, Demetrios II (239-229 BC). All the available evidences (philological, prosopographical, letters a.o.) are examined and the conclusion is that a date around 295-287 BC is the more preferable