Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

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tei
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Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

Post by tei »

So, while I was looking for something else, I came across this article: https://www.historynet.com/alexander-the-monster.htm

Obviously, a lot of the rhetoric here is a matter of interpretation or opinion: to what extent would Alexander fit the modern category of "alcoholic," to what extent was his violence socially justified, etc. Some things in it struck me as definitely too much of a reach: the assumption that he had killed neither a boar nor a man by the time he was put in charge of an entire wing at Chaeronea strikes me as much more far-fetched than the idea that, like much of his young life, those events simply weren't recorded or haven't survived. Likewise, I cannot for the life of me figure out what the charge of "necrophilia" refers to, as it's never brought up again. The only thing I can think is maybe it refers to his refusing to let embalmers take Hephaestion's body away? Which, although I suppose technically linguistically accurate, "necrophilia" does seem like a grossly unfair way to characterize "crying over your dead friend."

Okay, anyway, with that out of the way, I am curious about the insinuation in this article that Alexander essentially "skipped" a long-established tradition of schooling for Macedonian boys. It says,

The sons of Macedonian nobles attended the Royal Page School, the Macedonian West Point. Cadets entered at age 14 and graduated at 18; about 200 were enrolled at any one time. Besides receiving a typical Greek liberal arts education, the students were put through rigorous military training. Rough living, horsemanship, fasting, endurance training, hunting, and weapons proficiency were required.
Instead, he was sent at 14 from the court at Pella, the capital, to a private academy set up by Aristotle at Mieza, several miles away. There, Alexander studied poetry, philosophy, literature, and learned to play the lyre—a skill his father belittled because the lyre was an instrument of the Athenian aristocracy. Military studies at the academy were limited to a reading of the Iliad; the historian Plutarch tells us that Alexander carried a copy of the work with him throughout his campaigns. [...]

By attending Aristotle’s academy, Alexander missed the opportunity to mix with the young warriors and royal princes who would become Macedonia’s military elite. Students at the Royal Page School typically formed bonds of comradeship, trust, and loyalty with their classmates—bonds that later served them well in war. When Alexander assumed command of the Macedonian army in 336, he was in essence an outsider, a soldier as unknown to his officer corps as they were to him.
I was under the impression, though admittedly a very general impression and not something I've looked too deeply into, that the royal pages were a much more informal institution than this; that Phillip had noble Macedonians send him their sons both for training but also for safekeeping, so that they would grow up loyal to him instead of to their own clans. In that light, there would be no good reason to expect Alexander to participate. Which is closer to the truth, and which ancient sources actually discuss the pages at Pella?
Alexias
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Re: Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

Post by Alexias »

That article is nonsense and I wouldn't pay any attention to it as it is inaccurate. I didn't read all of it but Alexander did not kill Philip' slast wife and child; Olympias did while he was away from court.
The sons of Macedonian nobles attended the Royal Page School, the Macedonian West Point. Cadets entered at age 14 and graduated at 18; about 200 were enrolled at any one time. Besides receiving a typical Greek liberal arts education, the students were put through rigorous military training. Rough living, horsemanship, fasting, endurance training, hunting, and weapons proficiency were required.
It is entirely inaccurate to think of the Royal Pages as being anything akin to a modern American military academy. They were essentially hostages for their families' loyalties, and in return the king gave them an education, and Philip probably made it the first step on a military career in his expanding army and empire. For a more accurate picture of the Royal Pages' position you need to look at the three years Philip spent as boy (about 15-18) as a hostage in Thebes. He was treated well and lived in the house of the famous general Epaminondas' father and obviously had the freedom to learn military tactics. However he was still a hostage and could have been executed at any time.

The Royal Pages was not an institution that you just rolled up and demanded to be enrolled into like a modern school. Alexander also would never have been a Royal Page: he was of far too high a rank and the king would have wanted the very best education for his potential heir. In this respect Dr Reames' novel Dancing with the Lion is entirely misleading. Alexander would have been made aware of his rank and importance from a very early age and he had numerous tutors in music, literature as well as military matters.

The question of Mieza depriving Alexander of a standard Macedonia education is therefore entirely erroneous. Aristotle wanted to set up a school (he would not have been the sole teacher), which continued long after Alexander left, and it is assumed that this was meant to be away from the distractions of Pella, and temptations for truancy. Sending Alexander there has usually been interpreted as a means of separating him from Olympias's influence as well. However, Alexander was wilful according to Plutarch and sending him to Mieza may have been a way of forcing him to expand his education. It is highly improbable though that he spent all his time at Mieza especially as he got older or he would not have been prepared for acting as Regent at 16 when Philip went to Byzantium. He would also have needed to learn a lot from his father and his generals on commanding an army as well as politics, and in all likelihood Alexander would have spent the summers campaigning with his father.

Plutarch gives the largest description of Alexander's early years https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/ ... er*/3.html

And you might find this article by Elizabeth Carney useful https://www.academia.edu/50864969/The_r ... gead_Court
tei
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Re: Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

Post by tei »

Thank you! That's definitely a lot closer to what I had assumed about the page situation, and that article looks great!

Hilariously, I came across this while trying to find out what sources the claim about the boar+man rite of passage originally came from. Still haven't found that, but I did force myself to read this whole thing just to see if there was a bout of necrophilia I'd somehow missed in my reading... :roll:
Alexias
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Re: Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

Post by Alexias »

I have no idea where the idea that Alexander had neither killed a boar or a man by the time of Chaeronea has come from - probably someone's half-baked novel. Clearly the writer has no knowledge of the campaign he led against the Maedi in 340 BC two years before Chaeronea. He probably would have been capable of going into battle the previous year at 15, for it was claimed Philip had many sons, some of whom were killed in war.

Macedonian males were not permitted to wear a belt until they had killed a man, nor recline at supper until they had killed a boar. Cassander didn't recline at supper as he had not killed his boar, but there is no indication whatsoever that Alexander was late in achieving either of these badges of manhood.

And it is nonsense to think that he was isolated from forming bonds with the men who became his officers and with the rank and file of the army. Alexander was deeply involved with the world of his father from a very young age. This was the boy who entertained Persian ambassadors in the king's absence and questioned them about roads, distances and the nature of the Great King. There was no innocent, protected childhood for Alexander or his peers.
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Jeanne Reames
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Re: Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

Post by Jeanne Reames »

If you can lay hands on it, let me recommend two articles from Beth Carney, out of her 2015 King and Court in Ancient Macedonia: Rivalry, Treason, and Conspiracy. The book is a collection of her various articles pertaining to the Macedonian court (as the title suggests). Not only are they neatened up reprints, but they also include an Afterword from Beth, in which she both comments on the original article and some updated bibliography from articles published since that bear on the topic.

If you can afford to buy the book, I highly recommend it, as it really does contain some of Beth's most important articles about the Argead period from her long career. (I just introduced her at a conference and for snorts and giggles counted up all her articles, somewhere north of 100, and I think something like 15+ books.)

Anyway, the two you want are from Part III: Life at Court, Chpt. 10, "Elite Education and High Culture" in Macedonia, and Chpt. 11, "The Role of the Basilikoi Paides at the Argead Court."

These talk about how boys were raised, and the educational path the elite took--which would have included Alexander. Princes received syntrophoi, who were raised and educated with them.

Ignore the article. There's a lot of very bad material on Alexander on the web.

I've been answering a lot of "asks" on matters about the court over on Tumblr: questions submitted by others. I think I'm up to over 200 asks at this point! The topics range on all sorts of matters, many but not all on Macedonia, but they're written for a non-specialist audience (although do assume at least a modicrum of knowledge about Alexander). I've talked there a bit about the Royal Pages, Hetairoi, Macedonian army, etc.

If you're interested, you can find my account under Jeanne Reames. The page is searchable via tags. So if you want posts on Olympias, enter "Olympias," posts on the Companions, enter "Hetairoi" or "Royal Companions"...etc.
----
Dr. Jeanne Reames
Director, Ancient Mediterranean Studies
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University of Nebraska, Omaha
287 ASH; 6001 Dodge Street
Omaha NE 68182
http://jeannereames.net/cv.html
tei
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Re: Schooling of Macedonian boys at Pella

Post by tei »

Thank you very much Jeanne, that's super helpful! That's an expensive book, but I'm technically a part-time student at my local university, mostly so I can do things like request inter-library loans, which I have done :D Your tumblr looks great, perhaps I should dust off my own account.

There certainly is a lot of dreck written about Alexander online, haha. One of the things I find most interesting is how he still inspires such passionate feelings of ownership, both from individuals and nations. "Alexander was a lazy uneducated necrophiliac ne'er-do-well" was a new one to me, though 😂
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