Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia
The death of Perdiccas, son of Orontes, during his invasion of Egypt is a fact hardly understandable, so that we can find different explanations for this event. The main goal of this paper is to establish a connection between Perdiccas’ death and the importance, meaning of rivers and its crossing fo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | ell |
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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Karanos |
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| Online Access: | https://revistes.uab.cat/karanos/article/view/6 |
| _version_ | 1797723673623265280 |
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| author | Ignacio Molina |
| author_facet | Ignacio Molina |
| author_sort | Ignacio Molina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The death of Perdiccas, son of Orontes, during his invasion of Egypt is a fact hardly understandable, so that we can find different explanations for this event. The main goal of this paper is to establish a connection between Perdiccas’ death and the importance, meaning of rivers and its crossing for the ancient Macedonians. Indeed, rivers were related to kingship. This fact is reflected in its relationship with kings of the Balkan geographical area (Polyaen. 4.12.3). Thus, we can find passages in which some of most important mythical characters were begotten by a god-river (Asteropaios, Rhesus, Orpheus, etc). Besides, sometimes even the majesty comes from the river, because the kings were crowned into the river or near one (App. Syr. 56; Justin 15. 4.2-7). In fact, the founder of the Argead royal house, Perdiccas I, became king after being saved by a river (Hdt. 8. 138). The strong connection between kings and rivers can be perceived during the crossing, because the Macedonian monarchs, especially Alexander the Great, were responsible of this act. In other words, a true king was able to protect his soldiers during the crossing, given his close link with the water. Perdiccas son of Orontes wanted to become king, therefore the disaster of Nile could be understood like ordeal which showed the will of the river. Perdiccas was not considered a true king, while Ptolemy should become one. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:06:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-322aad883054477c8d41fe5a1ec1731d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2604-6199 2604-3521 |
| language | ell |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:06:08Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Karanos |
| spelling | doaj.art-322aad883054477c8d41fe5a1ec1731d2023-09-02T11:16:15ZellUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaKaranos2604-61992604-35212018-11-0112Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient MacedoniaIgnacio Molina0Universidad de AlcaláThe death of Perdiccas, son of Orontes, during his invasion of Egypt is a fact hardly understandable, so that we can find different explanations for this event. The main goal of this paper is to establish a connection between Perdiccas’ death and the importance, meaning of rivers and its crossing for the ancient Macedonians. Indeed, rivers were related to kingship. This fact is reflected in its relationship with kings of the Balkan geographical area (Polyaen. 4.12.3). Thus, we can find passages in which some of most important mythical characters were begotten by a god-river (Asteropaios, Rhesus, Orpheus, etc). Besides, sometimes even the majesty comes from the river, because the kings were crowned into the river or near one (App. Syr. 56; Justin 15. 4.2-7). In fact, the founder of the Argead royal house, Perdiccas I, became king after being saved by a river (Hdt. 8. 138). The strong connection between kings and rivers can be perceived during the crossing, because the Macedonian monarchs, especially Alexander the Great, were responsible of this act. In other words, a true king was able to protect his soldiers during the crossing, given his close link with the water. Perdiccas son of Orontes wanted to become king, therefore the disaster of Nile could be understood like ordeal which showed the will of the river. Perdiccas was not considered a true king, while Ptolemy should become one.https://revistes.uab.cat/karanos/article/view/6PerdiccasNileAlexander the GreatDiadochoiAncient Macedonian mythsAncient religion |
| spellingShingle | Ignacio Molina Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia Karanos Perdiccas Nile Alexander the Great Diadochoi Ancient Macedonian myths Ancient religion |
| title | Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia |
| title_full | Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia |
| title_fullStr | Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia |
| title_short | Death on the Nile . The murder of Perdiccas and the river crossing in Ancient Macedonia |
| title_sort | death on the nile the murder of perdiccas and the river crossing in ancient macedonia |
| topic | Perdiccas Nile Alexander the Great Diadochoi Ancient Macedonian myths Ancient religion |
| url | https://revistes.uab.cat/karanos/article/view/6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ignaciomolina deathonthenilethemurderofperdiccasandtherivercrossinginancientmacedonia |