Rough justice?

[chris]

Am I right in thinking ATG had Hephaistions doctor crucified, and this only a few weeks before ATG himself died? I imagine ATG would have had his own doctor, or would they perhaps have shared? Rough justice maybe?

[justme]

I believe there were about eight months between Hephaestion's and Alexander's deaths. Alexander's doctor was Philip. Hephaestion was treated by Glaucus, who was executed. If I remember correctly, Philip wasn't in camp when Hephaestion was sick. Am I right on that?

[nick]

Our sources differ: some say he was crucified, some say he was hanged.Regards ---Nick

[xxx]

There is some question as to whether Philip was dead by that time. He did not treat Alexander for the chest wound he took from the Mallians, but it is believed he is the Philip referred to in a list of those at the drinking party where Alexander was said to have gotten sick.

[agesilaos]

Arrian VII 14 iv and Plut 72 are the sources, Arrian says Glaukias was hanged for either giving the wrong drug or preventing Hephaistion from drinking Plutarch follows the latter version, adding that Glaukos, as he calls the unhappy doctor, was away at the theatre and Hephaistion also gorged himself; he has him crucified. Neither tradition seems to stem from Arrian's main authorities and may instead derive from the pamphlet by Ephippos of Olynthos (destroyed by Philip II) 'Concerning the Deaths of Alexander and Hephaistion' the known fragments are strongly anti-pathetic to Alexander and are written to incite a Greek audience to support the Athenians in the Lamian War. His fragments also show a concern with gluttony and in my opinion makes this whole scenario rather unlikely. Another source found the story in Ephippos changed the justification, incidentally making it more conspiratorial, and got the name wrong whilst making the punishment harsher (although in Greek the difference between 'hanging' and 'crucifixtion' is not always patent as the verb 'to hang' may actually mean 'to hang on a cross or beam'); the second source was not Kleitarchos, as Diodoros who follows him for book XVII says of Hephaistion's death, 'In the course of these [dramatic entertainments] Hephaistion drank very much, fell ill and died.' 110 vii. The reference to drink being the killer exculpating him, the reference to the doctor may have dropped out in abbreviation as all mention of causes has in Justin.