Did Hephaistion Drink Himself to Death? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-10-08 | Our sources actually contain rather different stories of Hephaistion’s death. These are sometimes mistakenly conflated when they really shouldn’t be, as letting them stand alone tells its OWN tale about what our sources (especially Plutarch) want us to believe about Hephaistion. Sources mentioned:Arrian’s Anabasis, 7.14.1 forwardDiodorus 17.110.8Plutarch Alexander 72.1 forwardCurtius Rufus and Justin also mentioned in passing.
The (Heroic?) Death of Krateros Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-10-02 | I use 3 different descriptions (Arrian, Diodorus, and Plutarch) of the death in battle of Krateros, Alexander’s chief military general, to show how our sources “tweak” the details to suit their OWN narrative. Rather than try to reconcile sources and smooth out differences, we need to pay attention to the differences to better understand how each source wants us to “hear” the story. This is (shortly) after Alexander died, but it applies to the histories about his life too.Ancient sources mentioned:Photius of Byzantium’s summary of Arrian’s “After Alexander,” book 7 (Fragment 9.26), Brill’s New Jacoby.Diodorus, book 18.29.4-30.6Plutarch, Life of Eumenes 5-7 (select)(Cover image: Lion Hunt mosaic from Pella, "House of Dionysos," our only [probable] image of Krateros on right.)
Great Conqueror or Brutal Butcher? Alexanders Mixed Reputation. Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-09-10 | This week's video is more philosophical than content-focused. I poke a little at the sometimes vexed dichotomy of Alexander's position in history: hero or villain. Also, the tendency to knock him down a peg because he can't really be "all that." I am not, generally, a fan of extreme positions. Also, one can be astonished by someone's achievement while also being appalled. His world very much wasn't ours and we can't expect him (or any other ancient figure) to act or think like a modern. And (simultaneously) we oughtn't hold him up as an example for the modern aspiring world conqueror to emulate.That tension sometimes causes difficulties for fans of history.
Hephaistion Wasnt Alexanders Arm Candy! Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-09-04 | At his death, Hephaistion was second man in Alexander's empire (chilliarch)--a far cry from just Alexander's sounding board and/or love interest, as he too often appears in pop history renditions. They don't seem to know what to do with him, other than create romantic rivalries. Yet Hephaistion's REAL rivals weren't Alexander's wives, mistresses, or the eunuch Bagoas. They were *other Marshals*, and Krateros in particular. After c.329/28 BCE, he became Alexander's chief logistic (and diplomatic) officer. Let's take a look.Sources mentioned: Arrian, Curtius Rufus, Diodoros, PlutarchArticle referenced: J. Reames, "The Cult of Hephaistion," in RESPONSES TO OLIVER STONE'S "ALEXANDER." Paul Cartledge and Fiona Greenland, eds. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2010, 183-216.researchgate.net/publication/291861079_The_cult_of_Hephaestion
Hephaistions Family Wasnt Macedonian! Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-08-26 | Hephaistion (Hephaestion) grew up with Alexander the Great. He was his best friend, second-hand man (chiliarch), and probable lover. But his NAME reveals a surprising family origin. He (and his family) weren't native to ancient Macedonia. So where did they come from?Follow the tale of how I uncovered his surprising Athenian (Attic-Ionian) connections. How did he come to the Macedonian court to be raised with the prince? (This is 10 minutes longer than usual due to the storytelling nature of the account.)Epigraphy = the study of inscriptionsOnomastics = the study of names (specifically)Prosopography = the study of relations between individuals/families (especially in politics or at a court)Articles and resources mentioned:"Mapping Identity in Greece and Magna Graecia," Jeanne Reames (with Jason Heppler and Cory Starman for IT work)jheppler.shinyapps.io/reamesmap"Becoming Macedonian: Name Mapping and Ethnic Identity. The Case of Hephaistion," Jeanne Reameshttps://revistes.uab.cat/karanos/article/view/v3-reames"Lexicon of Greek Personal Names"lgpn.ox.ac.ukLexicon of Argead Macedoniahttps://www.frank-timme.de/en/programme/product/lexicon_of_argead_makedonia
Alexander in Roman Memory & Alexander the Tourist with Dr. Jennifer Finn Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-08-13 | Dr. Jennifer Finn joins us to talk about her recent book on Alexander's use and presentation by Roman autocrats, as well as her current project on [Royal] tourism in the ancient world, and how ancient rulers used these "Grand Tours" to demarcate their empires.In addition, she describes her own journey to not one, but TWO PhDs, one focusing on ancient Greece and Alexander, and the other on the ancient near east. This gives her more languages, and thus, more texts, than traditional Hellenists use. Oh, and she's also a marathon runner and triathlete too.https://luc.academia.edu/JenniferFinnLoyola Classics: https://www.luc.edu/classicalstudies/index.shtmlFirst book: degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501504969/htmlSecond book: https://press.umich.edu/Books/C/Contested-PastsANCIENT FIGURES MENTIONED:Cyrus: also known as Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire (ca. 550 BCE, on his takeover of the Median Empire and then the city of Babylon in 539 BCE). His tomb was located at the first Persian capital, Pasargadae.Agrippa: the right-hand man and very able naval commander of Augustus (he also married Augustus’ daughter, Julia), he produced a map detailing all of Augustus’ holdings.Nabonidus: last king of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty (r. 556-539 BCE), also known in scholarship as “the first archaeologist.”Marduk: the preeminent and patron god of Babylon, he is the subject of the epic Enuma Elish (The Babylonian Epic of Creation).Diodorus: late first century BCE author of a universal history that covers mythological times to the late Roman Republic. Book 17 is entirely devoted to the reign of Alexander the Great.Nebuchadnezzar II: king of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty (r. 605-562 BCE), he was well known for revivifying and beautifying the city of Babylon.
What Killed Alexander the Great? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-08-09 | What killed the conqueror has been the subject of speculation from antiquity to today, but a number of issues prevent an easy answer. First, we don't have his body, so any evidence is restricted to what the ancient sources report. And those sources have their own agendas. Ultimately, there are two threads in the ancient sources: he died of some fever disease, or he was poisoned (assassinated).The latter is *juicier*--clickbait--so it gets more traction. This video discusses why it won't fly, and where it came from (a smear campaign against Antipatros). Alcohol is part of that thread (the means of delivery), not a separate cause, although it tends to get pulled out today and treated as a serious contender.Less exciting--but more ironic--is that some microscopic bug he couldn't even see killed the man who'd conquered a fair chunk of his known world.Here, we discuss the issues with the sources, and why ancient moralizing renders our symptomology a problem. Can we trust our sources. (Hint: no.) So if the sources may be lying to us, how can we possibly know what killed Alexander? Fair question.Btw, at one point I say (kill) with steel...yeah, they didn't have steel yet. I meant with iron. Common phrase so a slip of the tongue.Articles mentioned:"How Did Alexander the Great Die" Owen Jarus for Live Sciencelivescience.com/archaeology/how-did-alexander-the-great-die"A Mysterious Death," Oldach DW, Richard RE, Borza EN, Benitez RM., New England Journal of Medicine 333.24 (1998)nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJM199806113382411"Some New Thoughts on the Death of Alexander the Great," E.N. Borza and J. Reames-Zimmerman, The Ancient World (1999)https://www.academia.edu/2512445/Some_new_thoughts_on_the_death_of_Alexander_the_Great"The Mourning of Alexander the Great," J. Reames-Zimmerman, Syllecta Classica (2002)https://www.academia.edu/2512448/The_Mourning_of_Alexander_the_Great"Worms and the Death of Kings," Thomas Africa, Classical Antiquity 1.1 (1982)https://online.ucpress.edu/ca/article-abstract/1/1/1/25324/Worms-and-the-Death-of-Kings-A-Cautionary-Note-on?redirectedFrom=fulltext
July *19*: Happy Birthday Alexander! Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-07-19 | While most internet sites will give you July 20th or 21st as Alexander's birthday--that's incorrect! In this video, we look at all the moving pieces that might render the 19th (or even late on the 18th!) more likely. Using a specific bite-sized detail like this allows us to explore the historian's method in determining details from the past, and which sources to trust.ANCIENT SOURCES MENTIONED:--Plutarch's Life of Alexander (specifically 3.3)--The Babylonian ChronicleA useful website with an *enormous* bibliography on these things, including Assyrian king lists, etc. You want to pay attention to Tom Boiy's work here, as he's the one specializing in the right period.web.archive.org/web/20121001014629/livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/chron_literature.htmlFor understanding ancient record- and time-keeping, see the classic text:E. J. BICKERMAN, Chronology of the Ancient World, Cornell U. Press, 1980. We also have Alan Samuel's earlier (1972) Greek and Roman Chronology: Calendars and Years in Classical Antiquity, and Robert Hannah's more recent (but dependent on both) Greek and Roman calendars : constructions of time in the classical world, Duckworth, 2005. I'm not listing the latter at the top because it's kind of in-between an academic and a popular work, and is also narrower than Bickerman, so I'd still preference Bickerman as the place to go, especially for material on the ANE, which applies for Alexander.
Thanks for Six Months! Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-07-15 | Quick run-down of the channel at 6 months, with reminders of what's available on the channel. And for those who've wondered what "Mathetria" means, it's "woman scholar" in ancient Greek.LINKS:My CV (resume)jeannereames.net/cv.htmlSome publications available onlinehttps://unomaha.academia.edu/JeanneReamesWebsite about the novelsjeannereames.net/Dancing_with_the_Lion/DwtL.htmlMy Tumblr:tumblr.com/jeannereamesBluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/mathetria.bsky.social
What did Alexander think he was doing? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-07-12 | I dig into one of the central questions surrounding Alexander's reign after Darius's death in mid-330. What was he trying to accomplish?W.W. Tarn talked about a "Brotherhood of Mankind": a "great loving cup" mixing "all the races of mankind." Since the late 1950s and Ernst Badian's meticulous destruction of Tarn's historiographic methods (and thus, his arguments), that concept has been viewed as chivalric propaganda, displaced in favor of Realpolitik.Without ignoring the Realpolitik, have we perhaps been overhasty, and overly dismissive of Alexander's attempts to blend two courts?What DID Alexander think he was doing?PUBLICATIONS MENTIONED:*Jeanne Reames, "Court and Companions" and "Changes and Challenges at Alexander's Court." In, The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great, Daniel Ogden, ed., Cambridge, 2024.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/classical-studies/ancient-history/cambridge-companion-alexander-great?format=PB&isbn=9781108744676*Hugh Bowden, Alexander the Great: a Very Short Introduction, Oxford, 2014academic.oup.com/book/554*Edward M. Anson, Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues, Bloomsbury, 2013bloomsbury.com/us/alexander-the-great-9781441193797*W. Lindsay Adams, Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror, Longman, 2004amazon.com/Alexander-Great-Conqueror-Library-Biography/dp/0321086171*Lucian, "Dialogues of the Dead" (#12 [14])lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php?id=home:texts_and_library:dialogues:dialogues-of-the-dead*Jennifer Finn, "Urbicide, Memory Sanctions, and the Perso-Macedonian Dynasty." In, Macedon and Its Influences, J. Reames & G. Wrightson, eds, Colloquia Antiqua 44, 2024peeters-leuven.be/detail.php?search_key=9789042953147&series_number_str=44&lang=en*Frank Holt, Alexander the Great and Bactria, 3rd ed., Brill, 1993amazon.com/Alexander-Great-Bactria-Bibliotheca-Supplementum/dp/9004086129*Hugh Bowden, "On Kissing and Making Up: Court Protocol and Historiography in Alexander the Great’s "Experiment with Proskynesis,"' Bulletin of Classical Studies 56 (2013): 55-77.https://www.academia.edu/10464293/Bowden_H_2013_On_Kissing_and_Making_Up_Court_Protocol_and_Historiography_in_Alexander_the_Great_s_Experiment_with_Proskynesis_Bulletin_of_Classical_Studies_56_55_77*Krzysztof Nawotka, "Alexander the Great and the Macedonian and Persian Elite: The Mass-marriages in Susa in Context." In, Legacy of the East and Legacy of Alexander, Agnieszka Wojciechowska and Krzysztof Nawotka, eds. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2024.https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/title_7432.ahtml*W.W. Tarn, Alexander the Great, 2 vols., Cambridge, 1948. (expanded version of his original chapters on Alexander in the 1st edition of the Cambridge Ancient History, v. 6, 1927). [In the video, I think I called it the Cambridge History of the Ancient world. My bad.]*Ernst Badian, "The Eunuch Bagoas," Classical Quarterly 8 (1958): 144-52 (available reprinted in the collection linked here: https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781136449352_A23846957/preview-9781136449352_A23846957.pdf )*A. B. Bosworth, "Alexander and the Iranians," Journal of Hellenic Studies 100 (1980): 1–21.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-hellenic-studies/article/abs/alexander-and-the-iranians/AFDAE44A2972D97AC2957960DE455644
Alexander & Hephaistion in the Getty Villa Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-07-08 | A quick video about the two marble heads held by the Getty Villa Museum, depicting Alexander and Hephaistion from a fragmentary group. While the authenticity of the heads has been questioned (legitimately), if real, they date to the very early Hellenistic period not long after Alexander's death (c. 320-300 BCE). Both are highly idealized (e.g., ancient Photoshop), and the head often called Hephaistion cannot be confidently identified as him (e.g. it was not labeled). It's VERY generic, in line with the aesthetic canons of male beauty for the era. We have only one surviving labeled statue of Hephaistion (a dedicatory plaque housed in the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum), but it may not reflect what he actually *looked* like either, due to the way such dedicatory plaques were typically created for sale in the ancient world.In order to ID otherwise unlabeled statues, we must have enough of them that *are* labeled in order to create a canon for that individual--as we have for Alexander (or Caesar, or Augustus, or Hadrian, etc.). For figures with few/no surviving labeled sculptures, it's all educated guesses. Ergo, in the Getty, the Hephaistion head is labeled "of a youth"--which is as it should be. ;-)Individuals mentioned: art historians Olga Palagia and Andrew Stewart.Stewart's massive book on Alexander's image:Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politicshttps://www.ucpress.edu/books/faces-of-power/hardcoverThe article mentioned on the youth of Macedonian kings in artwork:A. I. Molina Marín. 2020: “Forever Young. The strange youth of the Macedonian Kings”, Karanos 3: 39-57
Alexander the Great and the site of the Battle of the Granicus Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-27 | With Reyhan Korpe, archaeologist for the battle siteFebruary 12, 2025.https://comu.academia.edu/ReyhanK%C3%B6rpeParticipants: Guendalina Taietti, cvc, Giustina Monti, Graham Wrightson, maryw, Tim Howe, lee brice, Wojciech M., Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Kessler, Malcolm Lowe, Adm, Nicholas Sekunda, Luise Marion Frenkel, COMU, Jenn Finn, Frances Pownall, Christopher Lillington Martin, Michael Metcalfe, Roel Konijnendijk, Joshua Nudell, Margarita, Adolfo Domínguez, jsroisma, Justin Steven Miller, David Karunanithy, Joe Grimwade, Johannes Engels, Nicholson, Emma
Argead Kings in Love Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-27 | With Borja Antela-Benárdez, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaNovember 6, 2024https://uab.academia.edu/BorjaAntelaBernardezParticipants: Sofia Robson, Giustina Monti, Kenjiro Moro, Stanley Burstein, Graham Wrightson, Jenn, Paul Johstono, Carolyn Willekes, Florian Feil, Borja Antela-Bernardez
Mining for Silver, Mining for Men Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-27 | With William Greenwalt, professor emeritus, Santa Clara UniversityDecember 11, 2024https://www.scu.edu/cas/classics/faculty-and-staff/william-greenwalt/Participants: Edward Anson, Kenjiro Moro, caroljking, jsroisma, Stanley Burstein, Bill, Graham Wrightson, Rabbi Scolnic, Joshua Nudell, Lee L. Brice, Giustina Monti, Elizabeth Carney, Florian Feil, Jenn Finn, Guendalina Taietti
Many Faces of War Conference: Consequences of Conquest Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-27 | Panel from the Many Faces of War Conference, Alexander the GreatMarch 7, 2025Paper 1: Conquest and Cultural Property in the Wars of Philip II and Alexander III -- Sabine MüllerPaper 2: Alexander the Great's conquests from Anatolia to Apulia: sketches, connections, codes -- Carlo Lualdi Participants: Luise Marion Frenkel, Justin Bulado, Rabbi Ben Scolnic, Ryan Walker, Carlo Lualdi, Graham Wrightson, Sean M, Marek Olbrycht, Marco Ferrario, Carol King, Lawrence Cortez, Sabine Müller, Jennifer Finn
Ancient Horsemanship, Cavalry, and Alexanders Bucephalas with Dr. Carolyn Willekes Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-25 | Dr. Carolyn Willekes joins me for Pony Talk! A wide-ranging discussion of ancient horsemanship, ancient cavalry, Xenophon, Alexander the Great and Bucephalas (Boukephalas). See a medieval image of Alexander's famous horse with a unicorn horn and peacock tail! Dr. Willekes is not only the leading expert on Macedonian cavalry, but ancient horses generally. She's studied the ancient sources *and* tested those sources with experimental archaeology on horseback herself. If her face looks familiar, she's been interviewed on other YouTube videos and several documentaries, including the recent Netflix docudrama, "Alexander: the Making of a God."Her first book, The Horse in the Ancient World: from Bucephalas to the Hippodrome, is available from Bloomsbury.bloomsbury.com/us/horse-in-the-ancient-world-9781784533663Her publications on academia.edu:https://mtroyal.academia.edu/CarolynWillekesHer Mount Royal faculty page:mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/Arts/Departments/Humanities/Faculty/Carolyn-Willekes.htm
The Argead Network is Coming to This Channel Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-25 | Quick announcement of an upcoming expansion of offerings on the channel.
Indiscipline and Revolt in Alexanders Army Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-19 | Alexander twice faced revolt among his troops. There was anger and grumbling at other points, but on two occasions the army registered their displeasure in no uncertain terms. The first was in India, what's sometimes referred to as the officer's rebellion. The second time was at Opis outside Babylon, where the rank-and-file objected, and specifically objected to the introduction of a unit called the Epigoni, made up of young Persian boys trained and armed in Macedonian fashion. The troops were upset at this apparent "replacement" of them with "those dirty Persian foreigners," who they'd just defeated. In the first instance, one could say the officers (and men) won--if it wasn't outright staged to provide Alexander with an excuse to turn back. (See cited article #2 below.) But in the second, Alexander was able to bring the men to heel, if you will.Secondary literature mentioned:Elizabeth Carney, "Macedonians and Mutiny: Discipline and Indiscipline in the Army of Philip and Alexander." CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY 91.1 (1996): 19-44.https://www.academia.edu/50820983/Macedonians_and_Mutiny_Discipline_and_Indiscipline_in_the_Army_of_Philip_and_AlexanderTim Howe and Sabine Müller, "Mission Accomplished: Alexander at the Hyphasis." Ancient History Bulletin 26 (2012): 21-38.https://www.academia.edu/3522601/Howe_M%C3%BCller_Mission_Accomplished_Alexander_at_the_Hyphasis_
Alexander Would Have Wanted a Star in Hollywood Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-06-07 | Alexander was a master of marketing. In this short little clip, I talk a bit about the role of Kallisthenes (Aristotle's nephew) as his court "historian," or really, his court publicist. This wasn't a position Philip had employed at his court but seems to have been invented by Alexander for his Asian Campaign, to send home (to Greece) "Dispatches from the Front."Yet that was only one way Alexander looked after his image. He also controlled who was allowed to make official paintings and sculptures. This is one of the first examples (at least in Greece) where we find of this sort of extensive, deliberate marketing/narrative-control by a ruler...although it will be far from the last.For more on Kallisthenes' and his history, check my earlier video "Lost Historians of Alexander the Great" youtube.com/watch?v=13r2ztkwtssSmall correction: I say I'm on Sunset Boulevard, but I had moved on to Hollywood Boulevard at that point.
Olympias, Eurydike & Macedonian Royal Women with Dr. Elizabeth D. Carney Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-05-23 | What about the WOMEN at the Macedonian court? For decades, Beth Carney has been the Doña of studies on royal Macedonian women (and the court itself). Here, we sat down to talk about one of her recent books on Eurydice/Eurydike, Philip II's mother, but wandered all over the place including the court more broadly, women in our sources (who have a woman problem), and of course, Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great.Books mentioned:Eurydice and the Birth of Macedonian Power, Elizabeth Donnelly Carney, Oxford, 2019academic.oup.com/book/34911Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great, Elizabeth Carney, Taylor & Francis, 2006taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203412787/olympias-elizabeth-carneyWomen and Monarchy in Macedonia, Elizabeth Donnelly Carney, Oklahoma Univ. Press, 2000oupress.com/9780806132129/women-and-monarchy-in-macedoniaKing and Court in Ancient Macedonia: Rivalry, Treason and Conspiracy , Elizabeth Carney, Classical Press of Wales, 2015classicalpressofwales.co.uk/king.htm(This is her edited collection of prior articles on the court.)Dr Carney's academia.edu page with many of her publications:https://clemson.academia.edu/ElizabethCarneyDr. Carney's Wikipedia page:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_D._Carney
Perdikkas II, with Dr. Sabine Müller Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-05-14 | I talk with Sabine Müller about Perdikkas II. He's the most underrated of the Argead kings prior to Philip II and Alexander the Great. Here, she discusses his masterful balancing act during the Peloponnesian War in order to keep Macedon free and independent of Athens (or Sparta). We cover the sources, including Thucydides, and why he had it out for Perdikkas, all covered in her book.Sabine is one of the most prolific scholars on ancient Macedonia, a full professor at Die Philipps-Universität Marburg, with monographs, book chapters, and articles well into the double-digits. While about half her work (including several important monographs) are in German, quite a lot is also available in English.Her academia.edu page, with a number of articles and book chapters available to the public, quite a few in English:https://uni-marburg.academia.edu/SabineM%C3%BCllerThe featured book, PERDIKKAS II. – RETTER MAKEDONIENS (Perdiccas II -- King of the Macedonians) is available here:https://www.frank-timme.de/de/programm/produkt/perdikkas_ii-retter_makedoniensYou can read more about her here (both in German):* https://www.uni-marburg.de/de/fb06/ag/seminar/personen/prof-dr-sabine-mueller* de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_M%C3%BCller_(Althistorikerin)Her other books (also in German):DIE ARGEADEN:brill.com/display/title/51383?language=deALEXANDER DER GROSSE:https://shop.kohlhammer.de/alexander-der-grosse-31346.html#147=9Ancient Authors mentioned:Thucydides, Herodotus
Who Killed Philip of Macedon? (Part 3) Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-05-04 | The final installment in the series on Philip's assassination, wherein I discuss the suspects--other than the obvious, Pausanias himself. Was anyone else involved? It's important not just to consider who benefited, but who *might* have benefited, and for whom the timing was better...or worse. There are sound reasons Alexander (and Olympias) probably weren't involved.Part 1: youtube.com/watch?v=V2eaI5iJ8XQ&tPart 2: youtube.com/watch?v=X1hPymee8KAArticles mentioned in the videos:Elizabeth D. Carney “Regicide in Macedonia,” Parola del Passato 211 (1983) 260-72._____. "The Politics of Polygamy: Olympias, Alexander, and the Murder of Philip," Historia 40.2 (1992) 169-189.J.R. Ellis, "Amyntas Perdikka, Philip II, and Alexander the Great: a Study in Conspiracy," Journal of Hellenic Studies (1971) 15-24.Timothy Howe, "Cleopatra-Eurydice, Olympias, and a ‘Weak’ Alexander," in East and West in the World of Alexander the Great. Essays in Honour of Brian Bosworth (Oxford, 2015), 133-46.
Who Killed Philip of Macedon? (Part 2) Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-04-28 | Second of three videos that detail the complex final year of Philip's life. This is my take on the complicated mess.In this second video, I detail Philip's final months, the whole mess with Pausanias (his actual killer), and the assassination itself. So this is the "what happened" video (and a little of why). In the final video, we'll detail the various suspects and why this or that person might be more or less likely to be guilty.At 10:11, I accidentally called the elder Pausanias the younger Pausanias (the boy who died). This matters largely as all of this is confusing enough. But yes, just for clarity, Philip punished the older boy, obviously not the one already dead.Part 1: youtube.com/watch?v=V2eaI5iJ8XQPart 3: youtube.com/watch?v=MGv5djh-q-I
Who Killed Philip of Macedon? (Part 1) Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-04-24 | First of three videos that detail the complex final year of Philip's life. I'll release them across several days. This is my take on the complicated mess.In this first video, I cover the precipitating events. What would turn out to be Philip's final marriage (to Kleopatra, niece of Attalos); the insult to Alexander (and Olympias) that led them to depart Macedonia; and finally, the marriages that Philip arranged while Alexander was away in Illyria, including Alexander's ill-advised attempt to meddle and insert himself into negotiations with Pixodaros that landed him in the doghouse later.When looking at all these things, one point becomes crystal clear: we are missing some important parts of the story involving politics at the court in Philip's last year.Love me some royal court intrigue!Part 2: youtube.com/watch?v=X1hPymee8KAPart 3: youtube.com/watch?v=MGv5djh-q-I
The Macedonian Sarissa, with Dr. Graham Wrightson Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-04-11 | Our first guest is Dr. Graham Wrightson, from South Dakota State University, is the leading expert on the Macedonian sarissa, including reconstructing them and experimenting with how they might actually have functioned.https://www.sdstate.edu/directory/graham-wrightsonVIDEOS OF THE SARISSA IN ACTIONS: facebook.com/watch/?v=284609168631375My 2023 experimental history class and the public day at its end was featured in the local news: listen.sdpb.org/arts-life/2023-06-01/sdsu-history-class-brings-ancient-infantry-to-lifeyoutube.com/shorts/Yt1Jz9gEh20The recent deployment of them at UNO in September of 2024:SOME OF DR. WRIGHTSON'S PUBLICATIONS:The Third Macedonian War and Battle of Pydna: Perseus' Neglect of Combined-arms Tactics and the Real Reasons for the Roman Victory. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2023.penandswordbooks.com/9781526793508/the-third-macedonian-war-and-battle-of-pydna The Battles of Antiochus the Great: the failure of combined arms at Magnesia. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2022.penandswordbooks.com/9781526793461/the-battles-of-antiochus-the-great Combined Arms warfare in Ancient Greece: from Homer to Alexander the Great and his Successors. London and New York: Routledge, 2019.routledge.com/Combined-Arms-Warfare-in-Ancient-Greece-From-Homer-to-Alexander-the-Great-and-his-Successors/Wrightson/p/book/9781032093581“The nature of command in the Macedonian sarissa phalanx.” AHB 24 (2010): 71-92.ancienthistorybulletin.org/downloads/graham-wrightson-the-nature-of-command-in-the-macedonian-sarissa-phalanx“To use or not to use: The practical and historical reliability of Asclepiodotus’ ‘philosophical’ tactical manual.” In Ancient Warfare: Introducing Current Research (IAWC vol. 1) edited by G. Lee, H. Whittaker, & G. Wrightson, 65-93. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2015.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-7035-1“The Macedonian heavy infantry of Philip II and Alexander the Great: professionals in a world of amateurs.” In Brill's Companion to the Campaigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great, edited by Edward Anson. Leiden: Brill, 2024.brill.com/display/title/71317
Alexander the Great: Philosopher in Armor? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-04-10 | Alexander's personal tutor was none other than Aristotle. Yes, THAT Aristotle. And Alexander's uncle, Perdikkas (III), had employed a student of Plato (Euphraios) as his advisor. So philosophy was embedded at the Macedonian court before Alexander ever became king. But did Alexander then conceive of *himself* as the living embodiment of Plato's Philosopher (Warrior) King?OR was that the creation of Plutarch later, in his Life of Alexander, and pair of rhetorical essays, "On the Fortune or Virtue of Alexander" (Moralia)? It's in Plutarch that we find stories such as Alexander's famed meeting with Diogenes, and his "war of wits" with the Indian Naked Philosophers.In this video, we explore why Plato wanted his philosopher king to be a trained warrior, and how that (and Alexander as the model for it) might have been attractive to an author of the Second Sophistic under the Roman Empire.For more on Plato and the Philosopher Warrior King, explained by Dr. Steven Skultety, see this YouTube interview:youtube.com/watch?v=mO-jAgFvoc8Steven Skultety, PhD, university profile:https://philosophy.olemiss.edu/steven-c-skultety/Also mentioned:Sulochana R. Asirvatham, "Plutarch's Alexander." In, The Brill Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great, ed. K. Moore (Brill, 2018)https://www.academia.edu/35494000/Plutarch_s_Alexander_Sulochana R. Asirvatham, "Olympias' Snake and Callisthenes Stand: Religion and Politics in Plutarch's 'Life of Alexander.'" In, Between Magic and Religion: Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Mediterranean Religion and Society," eds. S. R. Asirvatham, C. Pache, J. Watrous (Lanham/Boulder/New York/Oxford, 2001)https://www.academia.edu/1161517/Olympias_Snake_and_Callisthenes_Stand_Religion_and_Politics_in_Plutarchs_Life_of_Alexander(Off-topic nationalist comments will be automatically deleted. Stick to the content or leave.)
Alexander the Great was ... a NERD? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-04-01 | Short little discussion of Alexander as a lover of books and knowledge. Also (maybe) where the idea for the Library of Alexandria came from (Ashurbanipal's Library), and how that eventually led to the first "public" library in the Library of Alexandria's offshoot, the Serapeum (temple), which held copies of the most popular texts from the Library of Alexandria.
Worshiping Alexander Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-03-27 | A follow-up on the video, "Did Alexander Think He Was a God?" Here, we look at religious cult (worship) for Alexander after he died. This is a different matter from what he thought. It served the Successors to promote posthumous cult for Alexander, and Ptolemy I instituted a full-blown state cult with a dedicated priest. So what did worship of heroes (demigods) and lesser gods look like?
What Philip Wrought Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-03-22 | It's rare that a great father produces an equally (more?) successful son. But that's what happened with Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. Here, I look at Philip's first 10-11 years, from his accession in 359 to the taking of Olynthos in 348, including the marriage of his first five wives in his first five-six years. His stunning initial achievements (including simply surviving!) can get lost in what came later, not least because Alexander had a more active role, and he tends to suck up all the air in the room. But in just 10 years, Philip doubled what he inherited.
Alexander Didnt Sleep with the Iliad under His Pillow! Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-03-18 | Plutarch claims, in his Life of Alexander (8), that the king slept with a dagger and a special, annotated copy of Homer's Iliad under his pillow. Logistically, that's impossible. Instead, a peculiar Persian idiom (The King's Pillow, Proskephalaion Basilikon) was misunderstood by later authors, giving us this still-popular misconception.Mentioned:Christopher Brunelle, "Alexander's Persian Pillow and Plutarch's Cultural Commander," The Classical Journal 112.3 (2017): 280-317.
How Writing Historical Fiction Makes Me a Better Historian Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-03-06 | In a change of pace, I talk about how writing historical fiction has actually improved my historical work by making me more conscious of the various levels of speculation in doing and writing history.I also talk about how historical fiction authors decide what to include or exclude, using some examples from my own novels--Dancing with the Lion: (1) Becoming and (2) Rise--and how they go about making choices. For instance, in my novels, I opted to use the actual Greek names, not Anglicized versions (Alexandros not Alexander). I had a reason for that.Last, I talk a bit about the novels themselves and tour folks around the associated website with material including videos of the Macedonian countryside, cut and extra scenes, glossary, and even a playlist. jeannereames.net/Dancing_with_the_Lion/DwtL.htmlThe novels are available in ebook form, as well as print-on-demand. Please purchase the ebooks direction from Riptide Publishers.riptidepublishing.com/collections/jeanne-reamesIf you'd like a paper copy, you'll have to go through Barnes and Noble (or Amazon).barnesandnoble.com/w/dancing-with-the-lion-jeanne-reames/1131987003?ean=9781626498976amazon.com/dp/B094GDMTC8?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tpbkThe Italian translation is available in Europe from Triskell Edizione.https://triskelledizioni.it/search?q=Reames
Alexander the Great Drunk? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-02-27 | Even in the ancient world, Alexander had a reputation as a heavy drinker. The picture isn't always pretty. But how much of that is real, and how much the story our ancient authors WANT you to believe? What problems get in the way of making an assessment, such as differences between drinking habits in south Greece and further north in Macedonia? How did ancient tropes about debauched tyrants color their writings? Let's dive in!Correction: at 9:50, I accidentally refer to the oinochoe (wine pitcher) as a rhyton (wine aerator), although earlier I used the right term. Just didn't want to confuse anybody. At 11:30, I explain what a rhyton is used for.
Who Was Alexanders Favorite Hero? (Not Achilles!) Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-02-20 | If Alexander the Great was Caesar's and Napoleon's and Patton's hero, who they most wanted to be ... who was *Alexander's* hero? Well, if you spend much time on the internet, you might think it was Achilles, and Alexander (and Hephaistion) were the first Patrochilles fans.That's wrong.Here we take a deep dive into the ancient sources themselves, written and visual, to discern who Alexander emulated most, in his own lifetime.Minor correction; late in the video (21:25), I refer to the silver wine pourer with the head of Herkales-Alexander as a rhyton. I misspoke; it's an oinokhoe. A rhyton is an aerator.(Siidnote: Not sure why the video quality is so poor initially. It improves at the one-minute mark.)
Did Alexander Go Crazy with Grief When Hephaistion Died? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-02-13 | Whether in books or online articles and videos, there's a tendency to cast Alexander's mourning behavior as abnormal and extreme. Yet this reflects both a general unfamiliarity with the realities of mourning, as well as overlooks Alexander's great wealth, authority, *and* isolation. Losing his childhood friend, probable lover, and the most emotionally significant person in his life--his alter-ego--would of course cause the most intense level of grief a human being can suffer. This video talks about Alexander's mourning not only from an historical view, but with an eye to bereavement studies, as well.Article mentioned in the video:Jeanne Reames, "The Mourning of Alexander the Great," SYLLECTA CLASSICA 12.1 (2001) 98-145.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/histfacpub/20/
Alexander the Tyrant![?] Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-02-06 | Inspired by a student question about Elon Musk's favored book "Twelve Against the Gods" (which includes Alexander) by W. Bolitho Ryall, published in 1929 (note the date). He wanted to know if Musk thinks he's Alexander on the way to tyranny?The real (perhaps more interesting) question is how Alexander has been used (and abused) from his own day to ours, depending on the needs of the moment and political environment. He provides a "reflective opacity" (Spencer) that mirrors ourselves (more than him), from megalomaniacal tyrant to colonial hero.I talk a bit about how his presentation has been reflected in modern scholarship (Tarn, Badian) depending on place and world events. Then I walk back to look at his use in Rome (briefly), before moving on to a discussion of what a "tyrant" (turranos) was in ancient Greece, and why that term doesn't fit Alexander (or Philip) even if Demosthenes threw it around a lot.What WAS "kingship" in Macedonia, and the importance of royal charisma? The blood of the gods and heroes, and the *religious* role that the king held?Books/articles mentioned:Ernst Badian, "The Eunuch Bagoas," Classical Quarterly 8.3-4 (1958), 144-57.Diana Spencer, THE ROMAN ALEXANDER: Reading a Cultural Myth, c2002.Daniel Ogden, THE LEGEND OF SELEUCUS: Kingship, Narrative, and Mythmaking in the Ancient World, c2017.Ancient Authors: Plutarch, Elder Seneca, Valerius Maximus
Did Alexander Think He Was a God? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-30 | Netflix subtitled their recent docudrama on Alexander the Great, "The Making of a God." It's a misleading title, even if it might have seemed like a sexy ones, or at least provocativeto bring in viewers. But when Alexander called himself the son of Zeus-Ammon, he didn't mean he was some Greek Jesus.We talk here about how the Greeks understood levels of divinity, from primordial and "concept" deities, to the Titans and Olympians (most familiar in myths), to Chthonic deities, lesser divinities, and daimones (little divine things). ALL were immortals as opposed mortals (human beings).But there was also this "between" category of HEROES--like Herakles--who received "cult" (worship), but who also DIED. This provided a kind of on-ramp for real people to put a toe on the cloak of divinity. From colony/city founders (after death) to Brasidas (after death) to Lysander (while alive) to Philip II (ATG's daddy) to Alexander himself. Not to mention the special role [Macedonian] kings had as possessors of "royal charisma" (which separated kings from mere tyrants).For longer discussion: "How to Become a Hero" tumblr.com/jeannereames/671883872002277376/did-alexander-post-siwah-really-think-himself-a
Alexander Never Said That! Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-26 | People love attributing pithy sayings (aphorisms) to famous people, both now and in antiquity too. Alexander attracted a lot of them. We look at some popular inspirational posters/pictures from the internet with things he never said. But we also discuss how ancient authors themselves moved around bon mots from one person to another, to suit their own purposes. And then look at a couple sayings in the ancient sources that maybe Alexander did say, or something close to it.Ancient sources mentioned: Plutarch's Moralia and Life of Alexander, also Diogenes Laertius.
Macedonian Archaeology: material sources Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-24 | Sources aren't just written. Here we talk about how archaeology both adds to and challenges what our written source tell us. I discuss some big recent discoveries that have altered our understanding of especially the Argead kingdom before Philip and Alexander. Classical era discoveries are mentioned, but the focus is on the Archaic age. This is by no means comprehensive; I simply want to give folks some idea of how important archaeology can be.Areas/digs mentioned include: Aigai, Archontiko, Agia Paraskevi, Sindos; Aiani; Tribenishte, Gorna Porta; Methone, Pydna, Chalkidiki (Chalcidice); Pella, Dion, Beroia, Lefkadia-Mieza.Scholars: for Archontiko, Vivi Saripanidi (researchgate.net/profile/Vivi-Saripanidi). For Methone, Yannis Tzifopoulos, Matthaios Bessios, and colleagues (https://www.academia.edu/34596967/Tzifopoulos_Y_M_Bessios_and_A_Kotsonas_2017_Panhellenes_at_Methone_Pieria_ca_700_BCE_New_inscriptions_graffiti_dipinti_and_trade_marks_In_C_Morgan_and_X_Charalambidou_eds_Interpreting_the_Seventh_Century_BC_Tradition_and_Innovation_Athens_British_School_at_Athens_364_374), also the UCLA research team (separate).Some sites with more info/images (this is just some of them!):The Warriors of Archontikopetersommer.com/blog/another-thing/archontiko-macedoniaArchaeological Museum of Thessalonikihttps://www.amth.gr/enAigai: the Royal Metropolis of Macedonhttps://www.aigai.gr/enKingdom of Macedon - The Palace of Pellahttps://www.palaceofpella.gr/archaeological-museum-of-pella/?lang=enAncient Mieza & Aristotle's Schoolhttps://visit-centralmacedonia.gr/en/miezaArchaeological Museum of Aianihttps://www.mouseioaianis.gr/en/#myGallery1-picture(2)Archaeological Museum of Ioanninahttps://archaeologicalmuseums.gr/en/museum/5df34af3deca5e2d79e8c125/archaeological-museum-of-ioanninaArchaeological Museum of Florinahttps://archaeologicalmuseums.gr/en/museum/5df34af3deca5e2d79e8c1b2/archaeological-museum-of-florina
Lost Historians of Alexander the Great Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-20 | Our surviving sources on Alexander were all written hundreds of years after he lived. Here, we discuss *their* sources, now lost to us in anything but fragmentary (very fragmentary) ways. For more on why sources *get* lost and the nature of fragments, see the previous video.Historians/sources discussed:Kallisthenes of OlynthosEphemerides & HyponemataNearchos of Crete/AmphipolisPtolemy Lagus (I) of EgyptAristoboulos of KassandreiaChares of MytileneMedios of LarissaMarsyas of PellaAntipatros, regent of MacedonOnesikritos of AstypalaiaEphippos of OlynthosKleitarchos of Kolophon/EgyptDuris of SamosHieronymos of KardiaTimagenes of AlexandriaPompeius TrogusAlso mention of Corinthian League oath, Decree of Philippi, some dedicatory plaques, Babylonian Chronicles, Babylonian tablets (36761 & 36390), the Alexander Romance and Shahmaneh, etc.
What IS a Lost Source Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-19 | When we talk about "lost" sources (on Alexander or anything else), what does that mean? It's not a conspiracy. These are simply ancient accounts that didn't survive the 2000+ years between then and now.I'll introduce you to "fragmenta" and "testimonia," and a man named Jacoby, who assembled the first collection of the lost Greek historians (FGrH). Now we have Brill's New Jacoby (BNJ), which is the current iteration; I'll show you a "fragment" from Kleitarchos and how these "fragments" show up in still-existing historians.Last, I explain a little about ancient manuscripts, and also spelling conventions between "Latin" and "Greek" (and Anglicized). So Kleitarchos = Cleitarchus.N.B. Small correction, Athenaeus is the author of the Supper Party. I accidentally said Athanasius in the video; he's an Early Church Father who I *also* happen to know a bit about and I have a bad habit of calling one by the other's name. Ha. Not worth redoing the video, so I note the correction here.
Other Primary Sources on Alexander the Great Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-17 | Besides the Big Five narrative histories of Alexander, a wide variety of other ancient sources talk about him and his campaign from stray mentions to more extended anecdotes and even essays. These run the gamut from contemporary Greek authors (Demosthenes, Aeschines, Hypereides ... Aristotle *kinda*), to later Greek and Latin authors: Strabo, Seneca, Plutarch, Aelian Tacitus, Athenaeus, Polyaenus, Lucian, Pausanias, Aelian, and Diogenes Laertus. Each at least mention him, and I introduce them all in brief. (There were some others I pass over in the interest of time.)At 18:00, I accidentally refer to Athenaeus as Athenasius, apologies. It's a mistake I make now and then, annoyingly, as I teach about both of them, so my tongue gets twisted. Just want to clarify, as they've very different!
Our Big Five Histories of Alexander Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-15 | Introducing Diodorus, Curtius Rufus, Plutarch, Arrian, and Justin, our chief, still-existing narrative historians of Alexander the Great: who they were, when they wrote, and some things about each to know before diving in, including their virtues and vices. Also, some suggested (English) translations.
Tips for Reading the Sources Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-15 | Short video with some general tips and guidelines on how to approach the ancient sources, things to beware of, and to be aware of when you tackle Arrian and Plutarch and Diodorus for yourself.
What IS a primary vs. secondary source? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-14 | A relatively short video going over some basic terminology regarding sources. Meant for folks just getting started in history and Alexander. Old hands can probably skip unless you'd like a refresher or aren't accustomed to terminology surrounding ancient history specifically.
Introduction: Who am I? Lets Talk Alexander the Great & Ancient Macedonia 2025-01-14 | Who am I and how do I know that (about Alexander)? The web is full of information about Alexander the Great--some good, some okay, but a lot bad, really bad, or plain weird. Instead of complain, I decided to do something myself. Here, I introduce myself to viewers, and why I'm a reliable resource on Alexander and ancient Macedonia.
