pothos.org

Taphoi wrote:If our sources had wanted to suggest separate tumuli, then they should have used the Greek word sema, which is literally used as the equivalent of tumulus in Latin.

I note that Aelian also used the word taphoi (actually taphon) and that N.G. Wilson in the Loeb edition translates it as tomb, but I think we have little reason to argue about the use and translation of specific Greek words in this instance. The words tomb, grave, or burial all identify the place where a body lies, and the use of any of these words does not negate the presence of a tumulus. And, as you have now established, the use of the word sema does not necessarily indicate that there was a tumulus. However, Homer specifically states that burials of the Greeks at Troy were done in such a manner, and visitors to the Troad certainly expected to see tumuli and to have them identified accordingly. (As is stated in the article, Caracalla had his freeman Festus cremated at the Troad and a great tumulus constructed over the bones, in imitation of the burial of Patroklos.)

Anyone who viewed Homer as “historical” would surely not have accepted a mausoleum-like structure as the “grave” of Achilles, but I don’t deny the feasibility of there being one mound identified (at the time) with two steles – one for Achilles and one close by on the same mound for Patroklos, as you said. The idea of Alexander stepping up to place a wreath by the stele for Achilles whilst, close by, Hephaistion placed one next to the stele of Patroklos is still an incredibly strong statement about their own relationship, IMO.

However, right or wrong, the interpretation of the Alexander sources to mean that there were two separate tumuli seems to be longstanding. From the article:

On the late eighteenth-century map by Lechevalier [Figure A], the largest one is labeled Achilles' tomb, while a smaller mound a few hundred meters inland is labeled Patroklos' [Figure B]. The identification of these two tumuli as Achilles' and Patroklos' became common thereafter. These mounds can be seen in several of the early nineteenth-century watercolors of Troad by Gell, including both the Sigeion tumuli from the sea [Figure C], a close-up of the larger Sigeion one identified as Achilles' [Figure D], and both Sigeion tumuli from the perspective of the plain [Figure E]. [50] The Sigeion Cape as a location for the tumulus of Achilles is consistent with the Homeric portrayal of the tomb as being by the Hellespont and visible from the sea, though Lechevalier was apparently content, like Alexander before him, to identify two separate tombs for Achilles and Patroklos in contradiction to the Homeric account.

dean wrote:I find this observation quite intersting that it was never mentioned in the sources that Alexander never ran round the grave of Achilles. . . . I have to be honest that I also have read in novels too this idea of running around the graves- in Manfredi for example.

Hi Dean. Plutarch does record that Alexander anointed the gravestone of Achilles with oil – proof of the existence of at least one stele bearing the name of Achiles – and that Alexander “ran a race by it with his companions, naked, as is the custom, and then crowned it with garlands, pronouncing the hero happy in having, while he lived, a faithful friend, and after death, a great herald of his fame.” There’s nothing in the sources, however, that says Alexander and Hephaistion ran separate races around two separate tombs.

Is there anything of tradition in this running around the graves of heroes ???

I don’t know if there’s any record of a similar historical event before Alexander. I believe though that he was emulating the funeral games performed for Patroklus - there was a footrace included in said games. And although I can't recall mention of it in Homer, I think it’s safe to assume that similar games took place after the death of Achilles.

Efstathios wrote: In Achilles situation it probably was just a normal grave, as no mausoleums have been found , or tumuli in that area. (At least i think so).

Efstathios, you might want to read the article and not just this thread – it is ALL about the tumuli.

Best regards,

amyntoros wrote:I don’t know if there’s any record of a similar historical event before Alexander. I believe though that he was emulating the funeral games performed for Patroklus - there was a footrace included in said games. And although I can't recall mention of it in Homer, I think it’s safe to assume that similar games took place after the death of Achilles.

The races were almost certainly to emulate the funeral games - although, of course, athletics formed part of any large religious festival, so it would be a typical way of honouring an ancestor, even without the Homeric reference. I think you're quite right to assume similar games for Achilles, when the time came - Odysseus does meet Achilles' shade in the Odyssey, so there might be a reference there. I ain't going to look for it, though, not today, at least ...

ATB