Spin and Cassander

[susan]

I've been looking at the latest postings about Cassander, and I wonder if his problem was that he wasn't very good at spin, in the New Labour sense - I don't know how this translates into the US political scene but it's a big issue here in the UK . I think that Cassander drew the short straw when it came to the split-up of Alexander's empire, although he probably thought it was the biggest prize. He had all the problems to deal with - Olympias, Alexander IV, Cleopatra. He also had seriously depleted resources - the Diadochi diverted gold and troops for their own use. I don't see him as a pantomime villain, rather as a second-ranker who somehow found himself in power once the first-rank had cancelled each other out - Craterus, Perdiccas, or had taken the rich pickings like Ptolemy or Seleucus. They didn't want Macedonia anyway, they knew the focus of empire had moved elsewhere and only the problems remained.

I imagine him having a bit of a chip on his shoulder about the other generals - they'd been on campaign, done the glamorous bits, 'riding in glory through Persepolis' etc and he'd stayed at home. There's some story about him not killing his wolf - an essential coming-of-age test for Macedonians - until he was 35. Imagine all the other generals laughing about that.On his last visit to Babylon, if the story of Alexander banging his head is true, he must have realised that there was no way that he could rise under the current regime, and with Antipater's removal he'd be gone too. Alexander's death was his last chance to get some power and prove himself.Then, when it came, there were nasty things to be done - removal of rivals was a perfectly normal course for Argead rulers - and somehow it all ended up with Cassander taking the blame each time. Susan

[agesilaos]

I think Kassander's main problem is that his history was written by his enemies. Hieronymos of Kardia was an Antigonid protege and the enemies of Antigonos/Demetrios can expect rough treatment. Acase in point is Kassander's lifelong ally Lysimachos, the only alliance that was never broken during the Diadoch period; Hieronymos has Lysimachos captured by the Getai, Pausanias says it was only his son the hapless Agathokles.I see Kassander more like Britain during the Napoleonic War, not over-blessed with resources but the moving force behind each coalition an implacable enimosity for which his reputation has suffered since it was his line that was extinguished.Good to see more Diadoch discussion this is a fascinating period.