Demaratus, 'hetaroi' or 'agema'?

[smittysmitty]

Sorry to raise this point once again, but I was glossing through Heckles 'Alexander the Great' and came accross a passage re: Demaratus the Corinthian at the battle of Granicuss. Heckle in his translation uses the word 'hetaroi'; is that the correct reading?Would appreciate if anyone that can read ancient Greek could qualify that for me, perhaps Karl may.In our previous discussion on this matter, it was suggested Demaratus was never part of ATG's bodyguard, just wanting to confirm that was the case!
cheers!

[marcus]

The problem is, it depends on what you mean by 'bodyguard'.The 'hetairoi' were the companions, but it could mean either one of Alexander's friends/council, or the elite cavalry (the two weren't necessarily the same thing)The 'agema' was the royal squadron of the cavalry, which were a sort of bodyguard. (There was also an 'agema' of hypaspists, which is what is often referred to as the 'guards battalion').Then there were the somatophylakes, who were the seven personal bodyguards of the king. Pausanias, the murderer of Philip, was one of these. Demaratus of Corinth was not. Ptolemy became one in 330, after Demetrius was stripped of his privilege following the Philotas affair.All the bestMarcus

[smittysmitty]

Marcus your right!sorry, I got my hetaroi mixed up with my somatophylakes some how lol! Not a bad book Herckles sources, was tempted to buy it, but, bahh! too expensive.I guess what was interesting for me is some of the quotes not from our five main sources, like Polayaenus, Aelian etc. But the bulk of it is based on the 'big five', obviously!
AnyhowCheers!(Moderators are welcome to delete this thread if they like, its going nowhere fast)!

[Jeanne]

Marcus already answered this pretty well. The literal translation of "hetairoi" is "companion." The Greek *hetaira* is, therefore, "female companion" -- a geisha. But used in the masculine, it's found as early as Homer for the circle of intimates around a prince or king, and like many Greek terms, it can have various meanings, depending on context. This creates a problem for us as translators, since the Greeks didn't conveniently capitalize titles (well, actually, the capitalized EVERYthing, but there's not formatting distinction). To make it WORSE, the term "Philos," at least in Macedonia, appears also to have had a formal and informal usage. Most often, "philos" means just a friend, but sometimes, it seems to refer to a semi-formalized group of personal advisors to the king, ala Augustus' "amici." So when is a friend a Friend? And when is a "buddy" (companion) a Hetairos (circle of appointed advisors)?Getting back to hetairoi, the term has three possible uses in Macedonia. It can be "buddy" (hetairos), it can be a member of the Hetairoi, a class of landed elite "eupatrids" that was as close as ancient Macedonia got to an aristocracy, or it could be a member of the foot companions or the cavalry companions, hence a military desigation. Furthermore, within the Hetairoi, we have another group of exceptionally close advisors to the king that I mentioned before, the Philoi. E.g., both Hephaistion and Ptolmy were Hetairoi and Philoi, but they're also Alexander's buddies/friends, as well as members of the foot companions or cavalry companions.Are you confused yet? LOL!

[marcus]

Jeanne,
Sorry, could you try to obfuscate things a bit more? I found that all made far too much sense...

I don't recall, but do the Greek sources also use the word 'synedron' in relation to all these chaps?
All the best
Marcus

[smittysmitty]

Hi Jeanne and Marcus,
what I find still odd, is the translation by Aubrey De Selincourt (Penguin) of Arrian, he refers to Demaratus as a member of Alexanders personal bodyguard. Does the original text then use the word 'somatophylakes'? or 'hetaroi'(as Heckle does), perhaps 'agema' or 'philo'? etc.To put this to rest, I'd appreciate if someone could clarify which word/s were used and why we come to the assumption that Demaratus was not part of the personal bodyguard.An exercise in translation perhaps, for those able, unlike me
cheers!

[marcus]

Hi Smitty,So, no wonder you're confused.I take it this is the section on the battle of the Granicus, when Alexander's spear breaks and Demaritus is unable to provide a spare? If it is, then I will check in my Loeb edition this weekend and will let you know next week... unless anyone can check a Loeb more quickly.All the bestMarcus

[Jeanne]

Demaratos was never part of the Bodyguard (Somatophylakes).While I won't make an *absolute* statement, as far as I know, members of the Bodyguard were only Macedonians. But Hetairoi were made by the king, and therefore, there ARE examples from Alexander and Philip's reign -- and I'd argue from Archelaos', as well -- of non-Macedonian Hetairoi.I've actually done some work on this, and it's a topic I'm interested in, research-wise ... formal and informal power at the (Argead) Macedonian court. While I do Alexander, I really view myself as a historian of Argead political and social history. I wind up talking a lot about Alexander because it's his reign we have the most information on. But I'm very interested in *continuity* between previous reigns and his. How much did he change and how much did he retain?Okay, terms ...Macedonia had what we call a "service aristocracy," rather than a hereditary aristocracy, although it's somewhat a mix. Hereditary aristocracy is what we associate with aristocracy from medieval Europe. But Macedonia's aristocracy actually looked more like that found in the ANE, especially Assyria and also Persia. In an hereditary aristocracy, one can earn -- or lose -- status. It's in the gift of the king. As such, foreigners CAN be appointed to high-status positions. As with Demaratos or -- IMO -- with Euripides under Archelaos. (I'm of the opinion he was a Hetairos fo the king.) Philip had them as well. I think that, for the Macedonians, they were similar to/the equivalent of the proxenoi status of the Greek poleis.Now, *pragmatically* speaking, the status of most Hetairoi was probably a "rubber stamp" deal 80% of the time. If your father was an Hetairos, then at least the eldest son could also expect to become one in turn. These will have been the "eupatrids" of Macedonia society ... the wealthy land-owners. The king depended on their support. BUT one *could* lose the status, and for lesser things than treason. (Philip famously humiliated a Prince of Lynkestis for bringing flute girls into camp without permission. It's not about the flute girls. It's a power stuggle. That's the root of the assumption that his three sons [or at least the 2 younger] may have been involved in the plot to murder Philip.)Also, of course, one could GAIN that status through special service, so we have a "permeable elite." I'd even go so far as to suggest that Hephaistion's ancestors may have been ennobled Greek immig

[Jeanne]

Cutting me off again!
---...Also, of course, one could GAIN that status through special service, so we have a "permeable elite." I'd even go so far as to suggest that Hephaistion's ancestors may have been ennobled Greek immigrants (probably arriving in the north during Archelaos' reign). ;>This is a quasi-political, quasi-hereditary status. But it's the ONLY aristocratic rank I can discern. All other terms are related either to warfare or are restricted to the Argead clan. (Macedonia was rule by a clan, much like Achaemenid Persia.)Beyond that rank are more "intimate" offices/roles that appear open only to Macedonians: Philoi and the 7 Somatophylakes, or Bodyguards. Now, with the Bodyguard, don't think CIA. They're more like glorified gofers, from what I can tell. It's as much an honorary position as one of protecting the king, although of course, they *did* protect the king.The Philoi are that group I mentioned before that seems to have been an informal group of advisors.Cheers!
Dr. Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman;
287-K ASH, Dept. of History;
University of Nebraska at Omaha;
Omaha, NE 68182, 402/554-2489

[agesilaos]

What you say about the macedonian social structure is fine but I don't see that it excludes the possibility that Demaratos was a somatophylax. Arrian describes him as 'auton hetairon' I 15 vi. One of his Companions, it would be otiose to describe him thus unless the term 'hetairos' implies something more than being a normal cavalryman. Surely Demaratos was one of the seven somatophlakes inherited by Alexander from Philip, we know from Plutarch that he was close to Philip and it does not seem unreasonable to place him in that rank.

[Jeanne]

I think maybe you got a bit confused about some of what I said, which is easy enough because the terms aren't always clear."hetairos" has three possible meanings:
1) army unit (either cavalry of infantry)
2) political-honorary position appointed by king, usually to wealthy Macedonian land-owners but open to a handful of non-Macedonians, rather like the proxenoi of Greek poleis
3) a companion or "buddy" (generic meaning)"philos" has two possible meanings:
1) a member of the king's personal inner circle of advisors, informal
2) a friend (generic meaning)"somatophylax" has two possible meanings:
1) seven-man bodyguard unit
2) Hypaspists, who were sometimes called the "bodyguard" in battle because Philip had fought among them. But the use of this term applies only to battle situations. When a man is named one of the bodyguard off the field, it refers to the Seven.At no point do I know of the term "hetairos" being a substitute for "somatophylax." There were only 7 somatophylax, but about 100 hetairoi. "auton hetairoi" would refer to "his Companion-advisors." IOW, the 100ish, not the 7.When dealing with terminology, we have to consider how it's used in the texts. I myself find it highly UNlikely that Demaratos would ever have been appointed to the seven.For a more complete discussion of the Somatophylax with citations, see Waldemar Heckel's "The Somatophylakes of Alexander the Great: Some Thoughts," HISTORIA 27 (1978) 224-8. Much of that same material has been repeated in his MARSHALS OF ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. :-)Cheers!
Dr. Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman;
287-K ASH, Dept. of History;
University of Nebraska at Omaha;
Omaha, NE 68182, 402/554-2489

[susan]

I was trying to think of a modern analogy, and I wondered if, in the UK, a rough equivalent would be the term 'councillor'. As a general noun, the term "councillor" refers to an elected local official at all ranks, but at the senior level you have "Privy Councillor" - a group of about 500 of the great & the good - generally senior government ministers, whose role is to offer advice to the monarch; and "Queen's Counsel", meaning barristers who are "at the top of their profession as a practising advocate". Plus, at a more informal level, there's also the term "war council", and the Prime Minister's "inner council" of trusted advisers, who may or may not be elected.So, the same word is used for a variety of roles at all levels of government; and 2000 years later, these would be difficult to define & differentiate.Susan

[marcus]

I agree totally with Jeanne.For the record, as someone has already stated, at the Granicus Demaratus is referred to as a 'hetairos', not a somatophylax. As far as I can tell from my reading of Heckel's 'Marshals' (and I spent many lonely hours poring through it when I should have been getting on with my life), we have the names of all of the seven somatophylakes for the whole of Alexander's reign (I know, because I drew a nice little chart). So Demaratus can't have been one, anyway... :-)All the bestMarcus

[smittysmitty]

Hi Jeanne,Diodorus (17.65.1) states that 50 sons brought from Macedon part of the 'philoi'friends back home , arrive in asia as 'somataphylakes', bodyguard?, not sure how that fits in with what your saying, perhaps he ( Diodorus )is anticipating the role they play when they actually are on the battle field in the ranks as hypaspists, assuming thats the body they were enroled into.I've never made the effort to examine this point, but would the usage of words such as somatophylakes/hataroi/philoi/agema vary from writer to writer. i.e, would arrian have a preferance to usage of a word say over Diodorus, or Plutarch Justin etc. Seems to me the words are used indiscriminantly by various writers, let alone those who then attempt to translate.I wish I could read ancient Greek,... one day!cheers!

[smittysmitty]

Hi Marcus,I 'm baffled as to how Heckle manages to know who the 'magnificent seven'( bodyguard i.e.) were at any one time. The only instance that I've ever come accross is in Arrian when he mentions the persons when they become eight!I'm still a little suspicious of the term 'auton hetaroi' meaning some sort of civil servant,friend advisor role. As has been mentioned, it needs to be put in context to the passage its describing, and by all accounts they are in the middle of a battle. Seems odd the necessity to spell out that Demaratus the 'personal advisor' handed Al his spear, or as Karl mentions, rather otios of Arrian depicting him simply as a cavalryman. Bahh! thats it, I'm going to make an effort to learn ancient Greek!
cheers!