Macedonia History

A podcast published on Bavarian state run Radio "Bayrischer Rundfunk" talks about Alexander the Great. "The Macedonian who conquered the world" is the title of the podcast. The podcast was part of the series called "Radiowissen" (Radio Knowledge) and was broadcasted online and via the broadcasters radio channel "Bayern 2" in october 2018. Part of the podcast is German historian Dr. Alexander Free from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. First of all he explains in the introduction, that authentic sources are hard to find, when we talk about the "Great Macedonian King". As Free says:  The main reason why the world-storming Macedonian king is so difficult to grasp is that unfortunately not a single authentic source has been preserved from the days of Alexander. All ancient evidence of his life and work dates from the Roman Empire. Historians like Arrian, Plutarch, Diodor, Curtius Rufus or Iustin used original sources that were st...

(One in a series of conversations between historians James Romm[JR] and Paul A. Cartledge [PAC], editor and introduction-author, respectively, of the new Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, published by Pantheon under series editor Robert Strassler. This discussion was created by the Reading Odyssey, a non-profit that aims to reignite curiosity and lifelong learning for adults.) Alexander’s Fusion of European and Asian Monarchic Traditions JAMES ROMM: Paul, in our last segment we agreed to discuss what is sometimes called Alexander’s “fusion” policies — Principally, his attempt to hybridize Greco-Macedonian and Persian styles of monarchy in his own person. I wrote the appendix in the Landmark Arrian on fusion, and I said there that the difficulty for historians lies in distinguishing Alexander’s policy choices from his personal predilections. The decision to sport royal purples, for example — an affectation of Asian monarchies, seen as arrogant and autocratic by...

Second in a series of weekly conversations between historians James Romm [JR] and Paul A. Cartledge [PC], editor and introduction-author, respectively, of the new Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, just published by Pantheon under series editor Robert Strassler. This discussion was created by the Reading Odyssey, a non-profit that aims to reignite curiosity and lifelong learning for adults through lectures, reading groups and webcasts.) Week one’s dialogue is here . Did Alexander take part in a plot to murder his father? JR: Paul, it’s surprising to me how many historians in recent years have expressed suspicions that Alexander the Great was guilty of conspiracy to commit patricide. The stabbing of Alexander’s father Philip in 336 B.C. was done by Pausanias, a resentful courtier and jilted lover, but he may of course have been put up to the job by others, and he was killed before he could be questioned. In antiquity there were rumors that Olympias, Philip’s thi...

What was Alexander's sexual orientation? PAUL CARTLEDGE Jamie, one aspect of Alexander's life that still arouses huge controversy is what nowadays we'd call his sexuality or sexual identity. I remember that a rather conservative Greek lawyer, convinced that his ancient Greek hero must have been as red-bloodedly heterosexual as he, actually threatened to bring an injunction against Oliver Stone's movie for portraying Alexander as engaging in sex with males. Personally, I think any attempt to categorise Alexander in terms of modern sexual identity is grossly anachronistic, but am I not right that Alexander probably did have sex with at least one male as well as with at least two females? JAMES ROMM Well, I'm not sure whom you mean by the one male -- Bagoas or Hephaestion? I'm guessing the former as the evidence for a sexual relationship is firmer than in the case of Hephaestion (where there is no real evidence, but plenty of assumptions). Even in th...

(First in a series of weekly conversations between historians James Romm [JR] and Paul A. Cartledge [PAC], editor and introduction-author, respectively, of the new Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, just published by Pantheon under series editor Robert Strassler. This discussion was created by the Reading Odyssey, a non-profit that aims to reignite curiosity and lifelong learning for adults through lectures, reading groups and webcasts.) JR: Paul, there are only a few people in history who are universally known as “the Great,” and Alexander of Macedon, who reigned and conquered much of the known world between 336 and 323 B.C., probably tops the list. The word “great” in this context, to my mind, is always positive — implying both that Alexander’s achievements were huge in scale, and that his nature was heroic and awe-inspiring. The question many in the modern world might ask, however, is: Do these two things go hand in hand? Perhaps in the scale of his achieve...

How religious was Alexander the Great? PAUL CARTLEDGE Jamie, it's very hard indeed to penetrate the psychology of any prominent ancient (Greek or Roman) figure, I find, apart perhaps from Cicero and Augustine, because we usually lack the right sort of intimate auto/biographical sources - but in the case of Alexander I wonder whether you agree that one way in from the outside as it were is by considering his religious attitudes and practice. I'm not thinking here of the vexed question of whether he thought of himself as in some sense divine - or at any rate possibly ordered others to behave towards him as if he were! I mean, rather, do you agree that he seems to have been quite exceptionally pious, even superstitious - especially in the offering of animal sacrifice to various gods and heroes, and in his constant recourse to divination? The index entries in The Landmark Arrian under 'Aristandros of Telmessos' (Alexander's favourite soothsayer) and 'sacrifi...

Fourth in a series of weekly conversations between historians James Romm [JR] and Paul A. Cartledge [PC], editor and introduction-author, respectively, of the new Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, just published by Pantheon under series editor Robert Strassler. This discussion was created by the Reading Odyssey, a non-profit that aims to reignite curiosity and lifelong learning for adults through lectures, reading groups and webcasts.) In this episode, Romm and Cartledge try to answer the question: What was the Greek attitude toward Alexander? JAMES ROMM Paul, the attitude of the Greeks toward Alexander seems to me to have been conflicted in the extreme. I’ll cite the example of the city I know best, Athens. When Alexander first took the throne in 336, Athens rejected him as regional hegemon and celebrated the death of his father, Philip; but then as soon as Alexander approached with his army, they sent envoys to hail him as leader and heap honors on him. The...

Third in a series of weekly conversations between historians James Romm [JR] and Paul A. Cartledge [PC], editor and introduction-author, respectively, of the new Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander , just published by Pantheon under series editor Robert Strassler. This discussion was created by the Reading Odyssey, a non-profit that aims to reignite curiosity and lifelong learning for adults through lectures, reading groups and webcasts.) PC: Jamie, I’ve been reading the latest book publication by Pierre Briant, probably the world’s leading ancient Persologist (if there’s such a word) – technically he’s ‘Professor of the History and Civilization of the Achaemenid World and the Empire of Alexander the Great’ at the stellar College de France (founded in 1530 in Paris by Francois I). The book’s called Alexander the Great and his Empire, and has been translated for Princeton University Press by another leading Persologist, emeritus London Professor Amelie Kuhrt. What...

The first Constitution of Macedonia by The Macedonian Rebel Committee, translated by Filip Korzenski  The Prescripts of the Macedonian Rebel Committee were formulated, it is believed, at the beginning of the second phase of the Macedonian uprising in Kresna. The commander of headquarters, Dimitar Pop Georgiev, was again among the rebel ranks when the capital document was drawn up. They proclaimed the social, national, and philosophical aims of the uprising. They represented the expectations of the harvest of war, and they envisaged the open spaces to come. The ultimate aim was to create in independent Macedonian state in which social rights would be respected, and all residents would be equal before the law regardless of faith and nationality. In their international relations, they sought enduring equality, peace, and loving cooperation. The framers of the Prescripts expected, and rightly so, that the creation of a Macedonian state would be a positive factor toward eli...