Did Alexander kill Memnon?

[aleksandros]

What chances do you give for Alexander having ordered the murder of Memnon? (if there was a murder at all)

[marcus]

What changes to you give for Alexander having ordered the murder of Memnon? (if there was a murder at all)

I don't think there's any suggestion that Memnon was murdered, is there?

ATB

[agesilaos]

'No suggestion of murder' need not mean that murder has not been committed, merely that it has been done subtely. However, Memnon's death seems to have come as a surprise to both Alexander and Darius, it would seem more likely that he died of illness; there was no change in strategy which might suggest a Persian murder, and his fellow commanders seem to have been on good terms with him. Cui bono? Pharnabazos, who gained his command, was his nephew and Memnon appointed him, there is really no reason to suspect murder.

[marcus]

'No suggestion of murder' need not mean that murder has not been committed, merely that it has been done subtely. However, Memnon's death seems to have come as a surprise to both Alexander and Darius, it would seem more likely that he died of illness; there was no change in strategy which might suggest a Persian murder, and his fellow commanders seem to have been on good terms with him. Cui bono? Pharnabazos, who gained his command, was his nephew and Memnon appointed him, there is really no reason to suspect murder.

True - but where did this come from in the first place?

ATB

[ScottOden]

I'm not 100% certain but I think this is a modern conspiracy theory. The first mention I ever found of Memnon's end possibly being murder (with the suspects being the rival satraps of Persia) was in this article: McCoy, W. J. “Memnon of Rhodes at the Granicus.” American Journal of Philology, vol. 110, 1989, pp. 413-433. I honestly don't know if the notion reaches back into antiquity or not.

Best,

Scott

[marcus]

I'm not 100% certain but I think this is a modern conspiracy theory. The first mention I ever found of Memnon's end possibly being murder (with the suspects being the rival satraps of Persia) was in this article: McCoy, W. J. “Memnon of Rhodes at the Granicus.” American Journal of Philology, vol. 110, 1989, pp. 413-433. I honestly don't know if the notion reaches back into antiquity or not.

Best,

Scott

Hi Scott,

Indeed. The first I ever heard of the "possibility" that Memnon was murdered was in one of the execrable Paul Doherty books. There was no thought of it in antiquity.

Still, some people can't accept that people could have died before their time of natural causes, so have to invent murder to explain it ...

ATB