About the King of Sidon

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system1988
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About the King of Sidon

Post by system1988 »

I would like to report to all of you about the existence of an bilingual inscription from Kos island (Aegean Sea). I do not know whether this has been posted already or if some of you may already know about what I am going to say. Its rarity made it impossible for me to resist posting it here. I unfortunately could not send you a photo of the inscription itself due to the 256 kib limitation of the site.

The inscription was found by accident at Kos island in 1982. It is a marble rectangular plaque of a 0.56 cm length, 0.15 cm width, 0.30 cm height. On one side a Greek inscription lies and below it (20 cm) a phoenician inscription follows.

The greek part is translated as: ....TIMOS (Theotimos ?) SON OF ABDALONIMUS, KING OF SIDON FOR THE ONES TRAVELLING BY SEA

The phoenician part is translated as: TO MY LADY, ASTARTE, I MADE THIS OFFERING (ME) SON OF ABDALONIMUS, KING OF SIDONIANS, FOR THE HEALTH (OF THE ONES TRAVELLING BY SEA) WHO ... FOR ? ALL OF THE ...

The ... parts stand for the destoyed parts of the inscription which are inevitably indesciferable.
It is an offering inscritpion dedicated to Aphrodite- Astarte main godess of Sidon. The inscription is important because it is the first (and only as far as I can tell) proof of King Abdalonimus's existence, who was only known only by literal sources. His son was completely uknown. The inscription was written not on the Doric dialect that was spoken on the island but rather in the common one since the one doing the offering is also a foreigner. The son's name could have been Theotimos, Protimos, Diotimos, Epitimos and so on. The inscritpion is date back to the 4th quarter of the 4th century. Very few are known about King Abdalonimus who was put in charge of the throne by Alexander after he was proprosed as a candidate by Hephaestion. The name Abdalonimus means "The servant of god" in ancient Phoenician. He is mentioned by some historians but with a rather changed name. Curtius and Diodorus give us most of the details as well as Polydeukes who says that Abdalonimus sent a perfume from cypros and lilies to Alexander (!)
It is believed that Abdalonimus's son was killed along with his father during the battle of Gaza. He may have visited Kos island in 314 BC as a fleet captain and built a building as an offering putting the inscription there as well.

I found all the above in the Archaeological Deltion of 1980,35.The writter of the greek text is the late archeologist Charis Kantzia.The writter of the french text in which the phoinician inscription is translated is the French historian of inscriptions Maurice Sznyger.

I acutally made a resume of the entire original text for any more info contact me in the forum.
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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by Alexias »

I didn't know that about the perfume of cyprus and lilies - Abdaloymus must have retained his interest in gardening.
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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by system1988 »

Well, Alexander seems to have had an international fame as an extremely elegant man. I imagine a table of his full of perfumes and him applying the perfumes of the king Abdalonymus and thinking "hmm excelent, this fits for my drinking party tonight!"
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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by marcus »

system1988 wrote:He is mentioned by some historians but with a rather changed name. Curtius and Diodorus give us most of the details as well as Polydeukes who says that Abdalonimus sent a perfume from cypros and lilies to Alexander (!)
It is believed that Abdalonimus's son was killed along with his father during the battle of Gaza. He may have visited Kos island in 314 BC as a fleet captain and built a building as an offering putting the inscription there as well.
This is very interesting, many thanks.

I'd be very intrigued to get some source references for the Polydeukes story, and also for the idea that Abdalonymus and his son were killed at Gaza. I haven't come across these before and would like to read them.

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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by amyntoros »

marcus wrote:
I'd be very intrigued to get some source references for the Polydeukes story, and also for the idea that Abdalonymus and his son were killed at Gaza. I haven't come across these before and would like to read them.
Can't find anything about the death of Abdalonymus. Heckel's Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great says:
He was succeeded in the kingship by a son whose name ended in (...)timus, but the length of his reign cannot be determined. The accession of Philocles son of Apollodorus would, however, signal the end of Abdalonymus' line (see Grainger 1991:63 and Billows 444-5 no. 129).
He does, however, confirm the story about the perfume and lilies:
On his activities during Alexander's liftime, we hear only that Abdalonymus sent Alexander a gift of perfume from henna and lilies (Pollux 6.105), Sidon being famed in antiquity for the former (Ath 15.688f).
There seems to be no English translation of Pollux online, although there are several versions of the Latin available.
Oh, and Heckel does give mention to the bilingual inscription from Cos. Have to be honest though, I only found the above info because of a hit on Google, otherwise I would never have thought to check Heckel's book. And the entry for Abdalonymus is the first in the book! Shame on me. :oops:

Best regards,

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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by marcus »

amyntoros wrote:
marcus wrote:
I'd be very intrigued to get some source references for the Polydeukes story, and also for the idea that Abdalonymus and his son were killed at Gaza. I haven't come across these before and would like to read them.
Can't find anything about the death of Abdalonymus. Heckel's Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great says:
He was succeeded in the kingship by a son whose name ended in (...)timus, but the length of his reign cannot be determined. The accession of Philocles son of Apollodorus would, however, signal the end of Abdalonymus' line (see Grainger 1991:63 and Billows 444-5 no. 129).
He does, however, confirm the story about the perfume and lilies:
On his activities during Alexander's liftime, we hear only that Abdalonymus sent Alexander a gift of perfume from henna and lilies (Pollux 6.105), Sidon being famed in antiquity for the former (Ath 15.688f).
There seems to be no English translation of Pollux online, although there are several versions of the Latin available.
Oh, and Heckel does give mention to the bilingual inscription from Cos. Have to be honest though, I only found the above info because of a hit on Google, otherwise I would never have thought to check Heckel's book. And the entry for Abdalonymus is the first in the book! Shame on me. :oops:

Best regards,

Best regards,
That's very helpful. Of course, I am kicking myself as well, because I should have thought to look in Heckel, as well. I mean, what is the point of having all these books if one doesn't think to use them! Doh! :shock:

I shall look up the Pollux quote - even if I can only get it in Latin, that's better than not at all. (And there's a new bit for the Concordance!) ... :)

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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by agesilaos »

Ek de kyprou kai krinon myron Abdelonymos ho Sikyonios Alexandroi epempse.sphydra d’en eudokimon to basileion myron
Abdelonymos the Sikyonian sent Alexander some henna (kypros) and lily perfume (krinon myron). A most pleasing perfume for the ankles of the king.

The slip Sikyonian for Sidonian seems odd; a delta changing to kappa-upsilon but the Merovingians wrote like doctors and Abdelonymos is attested as Sidonian and it is not a Greek name so the amendment seems sound. Ankles :shock:
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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by spitamenes »

I always make sure my ankles smell like lilies.
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Re: About the King of Sidon

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spitamenes wrote:I always make sure my ankles smell like lilies.
Glad to hear it. I would have been most disappointed otherwise ... :shock:

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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by amyntoros »

There could be a reason that the quote refers to "ankles". Perfumed oils and ungents were also used for medicinal purposes. According to Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy & Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt:
On Cyprinum (Henna perfume), Page 74: It was a light perfume suited to men, it had a delicate scent was agreeable to the skin, and it was useful in aromatherapy against lassitude because of its heat and lightness. The disadvantage was that it was volatile and tended to evaporate.

On Henna oil (Page 118): Henna oil, according to Dioscorides, is warming and mollifying, opens the vessels and is useful in treating ailments in the female parts, for the nerves, and for fracture. It is also added to mollifying medicines, and remedies against weariness.

On Lily oil (Page 120): Oil of Lilies (Lilium candidum L.) have in the past been used as a painkiller. Such oil was produced by maceration or similar, since no fragrant essential oil can be derived from the flowers.
So ... it could be that the "perfume" was a lightly scented combination of essential oils sent to Alexander because Abdalonymus knew he had pain and/or problems in the ankles - something which wouldn't surprise me given the hardships of the campaign.

Just a suggestion on my part 'cause, yes, it's a little weird that ankles are specified. :)

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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by the_accursed »

Makes sense that Alexander would want perfume for his ankles, as he was the man - "god" - who introduced the custom of having people grovel before him.
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Re: About the King of Sidon

Post by marcus »

the_accursed wrote:Makes sense that Alexander would want perfume for his ankles, as he was the man - "god" - who introduced the custom of having people grovel before him.
Except that he abandoned the custom as soon as he tried to introduce it, because of the opposition from his people.

Assuming, however, that the Persians at court did continue to perform proskynesis, perhaps the Sidonians had previously supplied the perfume to the Great King. I imagine that those who performed full obeisance, however, never got close enough to the Great King to smell his non-cheesy feet ...

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Re: About the King of Sidon

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the_accursed wrote:Makes sense that Alexander would want perfume for his ankles, as he was the man - "god" - who introduced the custom of having people grovel before him.
Alexander introduced proskynesis? I could have sworn it was a Persian custom long before Alexander came around.
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Re: About the King of Sidon

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amyntoros wrote: So ... it could be that the "perfume" was a lightly scented combination of essential oils sent to Alexander because Abdalonymus knew he had pain and/or problems in the ankles - something which wouldn't surprise me given the hardships of the campaign.

Just a suggestion on my part 'cause, yes, it's a little weird that ankles are specified. :)
Important as it undeniably is to have nice-smelling ankles, I agree with you. If I were to translate the sentence above, I would put "salve" for "μυρον", and interpret eudokimon to mean either 1) that when the king uses the myron, it pleases him in the sense of soothing his aches and pains, or 2) it pleases the king that this particular myron smells of lilies as opposed to the ointment he would normally use, which smells of off animal fat. (Animal fat was a common ingredient in all kinds of salves ... I don't know about Greece specifically, but in Olden Day Scandinavia, a strong or foul smell was a sign that the salve was good stuff).

Have a nice weekend,

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Re: About the King of Sidon

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marcus wrote:Except that he abandoned the custom as soon as he tried to introduce it, because of the opposition from his people.

Assuming, however, that the Persians at court did continue to perform proskynesis, perhaps the Sidonians had previously supplied the perfume to the Great King. I imagine that those who performed full obeisance, however, never got close enough to the Great King to smell his non-cheesy feet ...

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I'm well aware that he, against his will, had to abandon it among the Macedonians. But he did introduce proskynesis. And according to Plutarch, laughing at people groveling before Alexander was why Cassander got his head smashed against a wall. So It would seem Alexander still appreciated the groveling, and that it continued among those too accustomed to it to protest against it. While the idea of perfume for one's ankles is itself a ridiculous one, Alexander is one of few people in antiquity (or ever) who would have had any use for it (or could have thought he did).
spitamenes wrote:Alexander introduced proskynesis? I could have sworn it was a Persian custom long before Alexander came around.
He introduced it at the Macedonian court. But I'm guessing you knew that...
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