Classical Studies 2902B
Major topics: Death, Barsine and Deification
[This class
is billed on the Lecture Schedule as “Deification” only; however, as announced
last Thursday, we shall start by returning the in-class essays, and then we
shall have a general discussion of the topics that were prescribed for the
in-class essay, and finally we shall consider Deification.]
- Death of A.: there are really
only two options here. Did he die a natural death? or
was he murdered? I shall present a
brief report which will focus on poisons (what was Greek “strychnos” and how does it differ from what we know as
“strychnine”?) and also on the most persuasive presentation of the idea of
removal by a “junta” of senior officers. Everyone in the class must have
some sort of view of this question; and this will, accordingly, be the
main topic in today’s discussion.
- Barsine, daughter of Artabazos (the wife of Darius III was almost certainly
NOT called Barsine, a misconception which causes confusion
with regard to Parmenion’s actions not long
after the battle of Issus). There are two elements here: Barsine’s long-duration friendship with A. and its
development; and the mysterious “Heracles”, who turns up around 310 BC aged 17 or so (therefore born in 327). Can these two
items be separated? This is not perhaps quite as complex an issue as the “Death
Question”; however, everyone should have an opinion about this topic…
- Deification: we have touched
briefly on this topic already. Today we shall dsicuss
the visit to Siwah, the proskynesis
episode, and the strange Dionysian romps that occur on two occasions while
A. is in the East (also the concepts of “ecstatis”
and “enthousiasmos” in Greek religion). The
question of the “demand” for deification should also engender some
discussion.