Missing guests at Medios'/Medius' Banquet

[adisciplus]

The longer list of guests at Medios' (Medius') Banquet is from the Alexander Romance, and thus suspect in terms of accuracy. There are various translations, which do not completely agree on attendees. However, assuming that the pamphlet was written as propaganda, then there should have been a reason for including/excluding various important successors.

List_1:
* Cassander, son of Antipater
* Eumenes, son of Hieronymus of Cardia in the Thracian Chersonese
* Perdiccas, son of Orontes from Orestis, who obtained Hephaestion hipparchy and one of the Somatophylakes
* Ptolemy, son of Lagus of Eordaea, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Lysimachus, son of Agathocles, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Holcias of Illyria

List_2:
* Eumenes, son of Hieronymus of Cardia in the Thracian Chersonese
* Perdiccas, son of Orontes from Orestis, who obtained Hephaestion hipparchy and one of the Somatophylakes
* Ptolemy, son of Lagus of Eordaea, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Lysimachus, son of Agathocles, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Holcias of Illyria
* Leonnatus, son of Anteas (a relative of Eurydice, mother of Philip II) hence a member of the Lyncestian royality
* Meleager, son of Neoptolemus of Epirus
* Asander, son of Agathon of Beroea
* Philip of Acarnania, the physician
* Philip the engineer
* Nearchus, son of Androtimus, born in Lato, Crete but lately of Amphipolis
* Stasanor of Soli in Cyprus, whose may have replaced the command of his cousin the trierarch Nicocles son of Pasicrates of Soli
* Heracleides the Thracian
* Polydorus of Pharsalus, the father of Ariston
* Menander son of Menodorus of Magnesia
* Python son of Crateuas of Alcomenae in Deuriopus, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Peucestas, son of Alexander of Mieza, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Ariston of Pharsalus
* Philotas of Macedonia, taxiarch and later satrap of Cilicia
+ /Europius/
+ /erat teon/
+ /Theoclus/

List_3
* Cassander, son of Antipater
* Eumenes, son of Hieronymus of Cardia in the Thracian Chersonese
* Perdiccas, son of Orontes from Orestis, who obtained Hephaestion hipparchy and one of the Somatophylakes
* Ptolemy, son of Lagus of Eordaea, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Lysimachus, son of Agathocles, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Holcias of Illyria
* Leonnatus, son of Anteas (a relative of Eurydice, mother of Philip II) hence a member of the Lyncestian royality
* Melandros [instead of Meleager]
* Asander, son of Agathon of Beroea
* Philip of Acarnania, the physician
* Philip the engineer
* Nearchus, son of Androtimus, born in Lato, Crete but lately of Amphipolis
* Heracleides the Thracian
* Philip [instaed of Polydorus?]
* Python son of Crateuas of Alcomenae in Deuriopus, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Peucestas, son of Alexander of Mieza, and one of the Somatophylakes
* Ariston of Pharsalus
* Phasalios [probably the town of a prior listed guest]
* Philotas of Macedonia, taxiarch and later satrap of Cilicia
* Europpeos
it then adds
+ Dardana

List_4 (citing Arrian)
* Proteas, nephew to Cleitus the Black

Despite the over long list of attendees (which was supposed to be a small gathering) compiled from these four lists, there seem to be at least three guests missing (although the first two are included by P. Doherty's The Death of Alexander the Great, part 4, citing Armenian version):

+ Antigonus son of Philip of Elimeia

+ Attalus, son of Andromenes of Tymphae (who was like many of the guests, had been a trierarch at the Hydaspes)

+ Aristonous, son of Peisaeus of Eordea, and one of the Somatophylakes [perhaps substitute for Ariston of Pharsalus]?

Can anyone offer suggestsions why these three would be intentionally singled out for omission?

Sources:
A) list of trierarchs - http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/a ... r_t57.html
B) Alexander Romance guest list -
List_1 = The Greek Alexander Romance By Pseudo-Callisthenes, Richard Stoneman
List_2 = Alexander the Great: historical texts in translation By Waldemar Heckel, John Yardley
List_3 = The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great By Andrew Chugg also citing Armenian version
List_4 = Alexander the Great: the invisible enemy: a biography By John Maxwell O'Brien

[Paralus]

Antigonus was satrap of Greater Phrygia and was neither in Babylon at the time nor was he after Alexander's death. Propaganda, if it is to work, has to be rooted in some truth. Those who were the target of such propaganda will have known that Antigonus was not at this revel. It will have been a known fact that Antigonus - like Craterus and Polyperchon - was not in Babylon at the time.

[Taphoi]

Hi Adisciplus,

Nice that you are quoting me for List 3, which is indeed from the Armenian Alexander Romance.

You definitely need to read the following to answer your questions on this matter:

The Last Days and Testament of Alexander the Great. Historia-Einzelschriften (56) (ISBN: 9783515050920) by Waldemar Heckel

It is available at an affordable price on ABEbooks. It has an entire chapter on "The Conspirators" at Medius' party. It cites the lists of names from the 3 important sources: 1) manuscript A of the Alexander Romance (Pseudo-Callisthenes), 2) The Liber de Morte section of the Metz Epitome and 3) The Armenian Alexander Romance. Heckel then discusses most of the names individually.

P. Doherty is a remarkably unreliable source on these questions

Best wishes,

Andrew

[marcus]

P. Doherty is a remarkably unreliable source on these questions

Blimey, Andrew, that's putting it more generously than I would have done!

ATB

[Taphoi]

Hi Marcus,

Joking aside, some restraint is indicated by the fact that I don't think that I can prove that Antigonus was not in Babylon in late May of 323BC. If I were to play devil's advocate, then there are some signs that Antigonus was close to Nearchus, so he might have been invited to the banquet in celebration of Nearchus' voyage. On the other hand, Babylon is at least a month's journey from Celaenae in Phrygia and none of the key sources for Medius' guests have a name that could reasonably be a corruption of Antigonus. It therefore looks like pure speculation.

It is however valid to point out that a significant subset of the named conspirators among Medius' guests had links with Antigonus. Heckel thinks this is because Holkias' original pamphlet (the ultimate source of this list) may have been hostile propaganda against Antigonus in 317BC.

Best wishes,

Andrew