Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Mutiny at Opis was the only true mutiny against Alexander; here I discuss what set it off, and how Alexander handled it. Does include some brief-ish discussion of the "incident" on the Hyphasis, and why it was not a mutiny, and not even an actual "incident," but was pumped up by the needs of later authors and conceptions of Alexander not as conqueror of Persia, but world conqueror. The military dust-up at Opis, however, was a genuine moment of rebellion among the Macedonian rank-and-file that apparently took Alexander by genuine surprise.
Ancient sources mentioned/read:
Plutarch's Life of Alexander 71.1; Arrian's Anabasis 7.8.1-3
(Diodorus and Curtius mentioned in passing.)
Ancient units: Epigoni (Persian infantry "successors" armed with sarissai), Silver Shields/Hypaspists (Macedonian guard); Golden Apple Bearers (Persian guard unit from Immortals); Companion Cavalry.
Greek word mentioned: huperorao [ὑπεροράω], to show contempt for
Modern articles referenced:
"'Mission Accomplished': Alexander at the Hyphasis," Timothy Howe and Sabine Müller, Ancient History Bulletin 26 (2012): 21-38.
"Changes & Challenges at Alexander's Court," Jeanne Reames, in The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great, D. Ogden, ed. Cambridge, 2024: 192-225.
The Mutiny at Opis was the only true mutiny against Alexander; here I discuss what set it off, and how Alexander handled it. Does include some brief-ish discussion of the "incident" on the Hyphasis, and why it was not a mutiny, and not even an actual "incident," but was pumped up by the needs of later authors and conceptions of Alexander not as conqueror of Persia, but world conqueror. The military dust-up at Opis, however, was a genuine moment of rebellion among the Macedonian rank-and-file that apparently took Alexander by genuine surprise.
Ancient sources mentioned/read:
Plutarch's Life of Alexander 71.1; Arrian's Anabasis 7.8.1-3
(Diodorus and Curtius mentioned in passing.)
Ancient units: Epigoni (Persian infantry "successors" armed with sarissai), Silver Shields/Hypaspists (Macedonian guard); Golden Apple Bearers (Persian guard unit from Immortals); Companion Cavalry.
Greek word mentioned: huperorao [ὑπεροράω], to show contempt for
Modern articles referenced:
"'Mission Accomplished': Alexander at the Hyphasis," Timothy Howe and Sabine Müller, Ancient History Bulletin 26 (2012): 21-38.
"Changes & Challenges at Alexander's Court," Jeanne Reames, in The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great, D. Ogden, ed. Cambridge, 2024: 192-225.
