Olympias Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Looks at Philip II and Olympias, but also at Adea Eurydice and Philip II Arrhidaeus

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- Philip II of Macedonia, Argead Dynasty, Olympias, Philip III Arrhidaeus

Phillip II and his son Alexander the Great created the Macedonian empire that stretched from the Danube to the Indus. After Alexander's death, his generals dismantled the empire and established their own rule over certain territories. Their names and deeds are preserved in the sources together with a few mentions of their wives, mothers, sisters, or daughters. In the background of it all, women played important roles that are frequently overlooked by the sources due to their gender. They were mostly used by men to ensure alliances, but some were ambitious enough to strive for leadership. This article will portray the lives of these notable women who used their influence to gain power, or were used by others to secure their own position. Most influential are Olympias, Kleopatra, Antipater's daughters, Kynane, Adaia-Eurydike, Thessalonike, Barsine, Roxane, Apama, Amastris, Stratonice, Berenike, Arsinoe II, and the hetairai. The article will determine the importance of these women and the role they played in the world of ambitious men.

- by Aleksandar Simić and +1
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- Ancient History, Hellenistic History, Women, Alexander the Great

The ancient monument known as the Kasta Mound lying just outside the ancient Macedonian city of Amphipolis has been subject to continual excavation since the 1960s, but in August of 2014, the site came to extraordinary prominence when its archaeologists announced the discovery of chambers beneath the mound, which have become known as the Amphipolis Tomb. This monument is of interest to the study of ancient history, because it is the largest and most magnificently decorated tomb ever discovered in Greece and because it appears to date to the immediate aftermath of the reign of Alexander the Great. However, a particular focus of interest is the question of the identity of the person for whom this complex was constructed, because it must have been an individual of exceptional importance. Yet the solution that has been proposed by the archaeologists is quite at odds with our understanding of the history of events after Alexander’s death as portrayed by the written sources and all other evidence to date.

- by Andrew Chugg
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- History, Ancient History, Archaeology, Classical Archaeology

Επαναφέροντας στη μνήμη ένα χαμένο σήμερα ενεπίγραφο βάθρο της λατρείας των Καβείρων στην Αμφίπολη, μέσα από 3 παλαιές δημοσιεύσεις, ερμηνεύοντας την επιγραφή και αναλύοντας την σχέση της Αθηνάς και του Ηφαίστου, με τους μεταλλοτεχνίτες,... more

- by Konstantinos Kottis
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Homer

Discussion of two unpublished portrait heads in private collections.

- by Hans-Christoph von Mosch
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- Portraiture, Alexander the Great, Olympias

Until the twentieth century, there has been no period in history in which women were so powerful in monarchical states on so regular a basis as the Hellenistic period: Olympias, Arsinoe Philadelphus, Laodice, Cleopatra Thea, Cleopatra VII, Dynamis, and many many more. This lavishly illustrated online article reviews several possible explanations for the preponderance of women in the Macedonian empires. The author concludes that Hellenistic queenship came into being mainly because of traditional inheritance practices of the Macedonians in combination with the purely coincidental absence of competent royal men after the death of Alexander -- and the abundance of highly intelligent and ambitious royal women. [In Dutch]