Alexander embalmed!

[smittysmitty]

Loads of questions and no answers, hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts on Alexander body being embalmed at Babylon.
Chaldeans and Egyptians cleaned and prepared the body!Would Chaldeans participate in such things? Or is it the Magi, or are they one in the same? Was embalming a common practice amongst Persians/ Babylonians?Secondly, Egyptians in Babylon; would these Egyptians have joined Alexander's entourage whilst in Egypt in readiness for the day he passed away, suggesting Alexander had made his mind up way back in Egypt as to how he would be buried - or would these have been local Egyptians residing in Babylon, perhaps catering for a local Egyptian community? And if so, would the standard of embalming amongst them be of a standard deserving of a king? Given that several months earlier, Hephaestion was given a traditional Macedonian funeral (cremation),itseems rather peculiar that ATG should have decided in death,to be embalmed. Why was Hephaestion not also embalmed? For that matter,it has been suggested in some literature he wished to be buried in Egypt,why had he not wished similarly for Hephaestion?What of the Macedonian's! Why was this embalming process allowed to occur?Would it not have been foreign to them and disheartening to see their king treated in what undoubtedly appeared a barbaric process? What of their own religious beliefs and sacred rites?Irrespective of the king'swishes,he was dead!Why was it allowed to occur? What did his brother,or generals think,would they now not become the central figure behind their own Macedonian religion as Alexander was before. Would it not affect their position as religious leader/s? What of his mother/sisterGÇÖs/wives thoughts,religious beliefs. Would this embalming not have also dramatically affected them? It is said, he'sbody was to be buried in Macedon but was hijacked by Ptolemy and taken to Egypt. What place had an embalmed king in Macedon? If the story is true that he wished to be buried in Siwah, it never eventuated. He was initially entombed at Memphis later at Alexandria. So many questions ahhh!

[Taphoi]

These are interesting questions. I will try to outline some of the answers. Firstly, Hephaistion's corpse must have been preserved in some way, because he died in November in Ecbatana and his funeral was in early May in Babylon. There are other cases where the Greeks used preservation methods on corpses of senior men in order to get their body to a distant funeral site (usually their homeland). Preservation in honey is attested, for example. Perdiccas probably authorised the preservation of Alexander's corpse simply in order to get it either to Egypt or to Aigai for a conventional pyre funeral. The sources do not say Alexander asked to be buried at "Siwah", but rather taken to "Ammon" or to the temple of Ammon. Siwah was called Ammonion by the Greeks, because Ammon's oracle was there, but there were temples of Ammon in every large Egyptian city and the centre of the cult lay at Thebes. It is ambiguous in Curtius and Diodorus whether Alexander wanted to be taken to Siwah or just to a temple of the god Ammon. Justin is also unclear, but he seems to assume that Siwah is meant. However, he also assumes other incorrect things, e.g. that Arrhidaeus the commander of the body's escort was the same as Arrhidaeus the king. Lucian makes Alexander's ghost say that Ptolemy had vowed to take his body to Egypt and this is probably close to the truth. Ptolemy may have been Alexander's half-brother (three ancient sources say so independently) and Alexander had personally saved his life. If Alexander made him promise, then Ptolemy would have been bound by a debt of honour. It is difficult otherwise to explain the madness of the hijacking of Alexander's body, which incited a furious Perdiccas to attack the Egypt with the Grand Army.
There are indications that Perdiccas and the Macedonian Assembly initially voted to respect Alexander's wishes, but that the influence of Olympias and Perdiccas' distrust of Ptolemy caused the Regent to change his mind and order a funeral at Aigai. There are detailed analyses of these issues in my new book, which has now been printed and is about to be distributed. Best wishes, Andrew

[jona]

"Would Chaldeans participate in such things? Or is it the Magi, or are they one in the same? Was embalming a common practice amongst Persians/ Babylonians?"Picking up the third question first: Magi and Chaldaeans are not the same. Magi are the keepers of the oral religious traditions of ancient Iran. When one had to sacrifice, one asked a specialist to recite the correct prayers. See http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/magians/m ... Chaldaeans are, essentially, astronomers from Babylon. In their own language, they were called tupsar Enuma Anu Enlil (something like "writers of the heavenly chronicles"); the name Chaldaean is Greek. http://www.livius.org/k/kidinnu/kidinnu.htmThe Alexander historians usually make the correct distinction, but later sources don't. In the first century C.E., words like Magian, Astronomer, Chaldaean, and Mathematician all mean "eastern sage". The most famous example are the Magi of the gospel of Matthew. If they followed a star, they would (probably) have been Chaldaeans.Embalming is not well-known from Babylonia; to the best of my knowledge, there is no connection with astronomy at all. Persia is another story, although the Magi did not embalm people; they exposed their dead, not wanting to pollute either the earth or the sacred fire with a corpse. Yet, there is evidence that royal persons were embalmed (e.g., Cyrus the Great) and that the Magi were responsible.In interesting detail is the mummy that appeared on the market of Peshawar in 1999 (?), which was said to be that of a daughter of Xerxes. It was immediately called a fake because embalming was believed to be not practiced by the ancient Persians, but I have always thought that this particular argument was not convincing.Jona

[marcus]

Hi Andrew,Glad to hear your book is imminent - I've been looking forward to it. It will make a nice early Christmas present :-)All the bestMarcus

[amyntoros]

I can't offer any further comments on the whos, hows and whys of Alexander's emabalming, but I've always thought it curious. It certainly seems an uncommon tradition amongst the Macedonians, and an immediate funeral would have been the norm in their culture. Aelian has a comment on this.Aelian, Book 13.30"When Alexander's mother Olympias learned that her son lay unburied for a long time, she groaned deeply and cried in a high-pitched voice: "My child," she said, 'you wanted to reach heaven and made it your aim, but now you do not enjoy even what are surely common rights shared by all men, the right to earth and to burial." Thus she lamented her own fate and criticised her son's arrogance."Best regards,Linda Ann

[smittysmitty]

Hi all,Thanks, some great information amongst the responses, much appreciated. :)Andrew, I know the Spartan king Agesilaus's body was enclosed in melted wax - due to the unavailability of honey in Libya GÇôthen taken to Sparta for burial; I was hoping you may be able to cite some other occasions where this preservation of deceased persons occurred. I find the whole process totally fascinating. Is their any literature you may recommend relating to such occasions? By the way, as much as I disagree with you on the Achilles/Alexander emulation discussion, I look forward to one day purchasing your book as I would if Jona's book was one day to be published in English. I think this forum and myself can consider ourselves very lucky to have the likes of yourself and Jona, as well as others from time to time, drop by and participate. Many thanks!

[Taphoi]

Actually the Armenian Alexander Romance has: "And then Ptlomeos took [Alexander] to Egypt and made a leaden slab for him and poured upon him mnesiotas honey and hipatic aloe; and the body was embalmed with incense and oil and put upon a mule cart and taken to Egypt." So, yes, Alexander the Great is another example! Best wishes & hope you like my book, Andrew