Table Of ContentALEXANDER
THE GREAT
in his world
carol g. thomas
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Alexander the Great in his World
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Blackwell Ancient Lives
At a time when much scholarly writing on the ancient world is
abstract and analytical, this series presents engaging, accessible
accounts of the most influential figures of antiquity. It re-peoples
the ancient landscape; and while never losing sight of the vast
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Published
Alexander the Great in his World
Carol G. Thomas
Nero
Jürgen Malitz
Tiberius
Robin Seager
King Hammurabi of Babylon
Marc Van De Mieroop
Pompey the Great
Robin Seager
Age of Augustus
Werner Eck
Hannibal
Serge Lancel
In Preparation
Cleopatra
Sally Ann-Ashton
Constantine the Great
Timothy Barnes
Pericles
Charles Hamilton
Julius Caesar
W. Jeffrey Tatum
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Alexander the Great
in his World
Carol G. Thomas
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© 2007 by Carol G. Thomas
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First published 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
1 2007
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thomas, Carol G., 1938–
Alexander the Great in his world / Carol G. Thomas.
p. cm. — (Blackwell ancient lives)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-631-23245-2 (hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-631-23245-1 (hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-631-23246-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-631-23246-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Alexander, the Great, 356–323 b.c. 2. Greece—History—Macedonian
Expansion, 359–323 b.c. 3. Greece—Kings and rulers—Biography.
4. Generals—Greece—Biography. I. Title. II. Series.
DF234.T47 2007
938′.07092—dc22
2006006914
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
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Contents
List of Figures vi
List of Maps viii
Preface ix
Introduction 1
1 Basic Facts, Generally Uncontested, of Alexander’s Life 9
2 Being Macedonian 22
3 Being an Argead 55
4 Being a Neighbor of Greece 98
5 Surviving by Might 132
6 Meeting the Distant Threat 159
7 Reconstructing Alexander 191
Bibliography 224
Index 237
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Figures
1.1 Ivory head, thought to be Alexander III 14
2.1 Upper reaches of the Haliakmon River 25
2.2 Upper Macedonia 26
2.3 Deer still haunting upper Macedonia 27
2.4 Looking west across the Pindos Range 29
2.5 The Pydna coast along the Thermaic Gulf 30
2.6 Throne of Zeus atop Olympos 31
2.7 Herding is a continuing occupation 49
2.8 Mineral wealth: gold ivy wreath from a male burial 51
3.1 Argead genealogy 58
3.2 Herakles, paternal ancestor of the Argeads 63
3.3 Achilles, Alexander’s ancestor in his mother’s line 64
3.4 Ivory head, believed to be Amyntas III 69
3.5 Ivory head, believed to be Philip II 73
3.6 Ivory head, believed to be Olympias 89
4.1 Coin of Alexander I 105
4.2 Northern Thessaly 114
4.3 Plan of the theater at Vergina 122
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Figures vii
4.4 Modern statue of Aristotle 125
4.5 Site of the Nymphaion at Mieza 128
6.1 Cylinder seal of Dareios 166
7.1 Reconstruction of the Hunt Fresco 196
7.2 The Petra Pass 206
7.3 Battle of the Granikos 210
7.4 Battle of Issos 210
7.5 Indos River at the junction of Indos and Gilgit rivers 211
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Maps
2.1 Regions, Natural Features and Sites of Macedonia 37
4.1 Major Regions and Sites in the Greek Sphere 100
5.1 Expansion of the Macedonian Core under Philip II 151
6.1 Achaemenid Persia 162
7.1 Alexander’s empire 219
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Preface
Teachers and writers of ancient Mediterranean history are drawn,
if not willingly then by the interests of their students and readers,
to the subject of Alexander III of Macedon. People have an ardent
desire to know as much as possible about this man who altered the
course of history in his brief lifetime. He has held a prominent place
in courses of mine and I admit to two minor publications examin-
ing particular aspects of his career. However, I do not belong to the
cadre of Alexander specialists nor was it my intent to write an
account of his career and nature. That is, it was not even a latent
plan until serendipity intervened.
A few years ago, I made the acquaintance of Al Bertrand,now senior
commissioning editor at Blackwell Publishing, in the course of
appraising several proposals for possible publications. Some dealt with
Macedonian matters, which eventually provoked a question from Al
to me. Might I think of an interesting new approach for a biography
of Alexander for the Blackwell biography series? His question asked
for suggestions not authors. A fascinating orientation would be the
examination of Alexander’s career from the Persian perspective, but
since sources for this approach were even more limited than Greek
and Roman sources for Alexander, that avenue was not pursued.
Having exhausted more traditional possibilities, I mentioned a
direction that I regularly follow in my own area of research,
