Why did the mutiny at Opis happen?

[agesilaos]

Diodoros' use of somatophylax and doryphoros is standard Greek and they both just mean bodyguard in no special sense as you say.

The passage in book I describes the hypaspists (somatophlakes) double mounting with Companion cavalry (hetairoi) - it is a bit of a confusion as it implies that the cavalry had shields and the hypaspists horses! I will have to dig the Greek out on the weekend ( I have only loeb vol II with me doh!).

Neoptolemos and Leonnatos along with many others throughout Arrian are termed 'hetairos' in the broader sense of the general nobility as is Seleukos crossing the Hydaspes.

I see three ways 'hetairos is used
a) in the common sense of 'someone you are with
b) as a title awarded to the nobility of Macedon, some of whom provided with their followers 'the cavalry of the companions
c) occaisionally one of the Seven frequently but not always qualified with the adjective 'attendant'

In Arrian the majority fall into b.

The hypaspists (probably but not necessarily the foot agema/hypaspistai basilikoi) were sometimes termed somatophylakes as they were by other Greek authors, the agema is also called the pezhetairoi - foot companions as has been argued elsewhere and it is possible for the term to be fudged into a simple 'hetairos' but there is no reason to suspect any lapse if a-c above could apply.

The translation you were using is not fuller it was just that mine translates your bridges as gangways and that threw my addled mind. Found an interesting point about Tyre though which I will post when I get back to my books. chaire

[Paralus]

Yes, all the above makes sense. I agree with the use of the term “hetairos” as you’ve defined it.

The use of doryphoroi and somatophylake in Diodorus indeed relates to “bodyguard” and, as I’d argue, to the hypaspistae basilikoi. There is a passage in Curtius (thank you Marcus) which clearly describes Amyntas, giving evidence to the king, asking that the accoutrement of a “guard” be returned to him. This is the uniform of the hypaspistae basilikoi – the uniform “we wear when in attendance upon you” – Amyntas evidently feels that his testimony will be bolstered by being so attired.

The case of Leonnatus is interesting. Yes he is being referred to as a noble but, is he still of the hypaspistae basilikoi or the companion cavalry? Seleucus is referred to in this fashion so as to clearly indicate that he was not of the Seven – as those immediately named before him just as clearly are.

The terms for the hypaspists (and the hypaspistae basilikoi) seem, at times, damn near interchangeable. As we’ve agreed in the past, this likely relates to misunderstandings by later writers of the early sources. These sources (Ptolemy, Aritobulos et al) evidently felt no great need to explain the (to them) obvious.

Look forward to the Greek when you get it.

[agesilaos]

Arrian I 6 v-vi Alexandros de lophen tinas katachontas idon ou pollous ton polemion, par'hon autoi he parados egigneto, parengeile tois somatophylaxi kai tois amph'auoton hetairois, analabontas tas aspidas anabainein epi tous hippous kai elaunein epi ton gelophon.... entha de katalabon Alexandros ton gelophon syn tois hetairois tous Agrianas metapemptai kai tois toxotas, ontas es dichilious. tous hypaspistas diabanein ton potamon ekeleuse kai epi toutois tas taxeis ton Makedonon.'

Brunt : Alexander saw that a few of the enemy were holding a hill on his line off march, and ordered his bodyguards and the Companions with him to take their shields, mountand charge the hill...So after occupying the hill with his Companions, Alexander sent for the Agrianians and the archers, up to the number of two thousand; the hypaspists were ordred to cross the river, and the battalions of the Macedonian phalanx to follow them.'

The mounted action by troops associated with the infantry is no problem if as Paralus says one considers the case of Amyntas VII 1 22 ish whom he describes as 'armiger' which usually means 'armour bearer' 'squire' ie the equivalent of 'hypaspist'. One of the charges against him was the failure to surrender his horses to the remount secretary Antiphanes and he states that he had a string of ten when he crossed into Asia. So hypaspists with horses is not so strange after all.
I 6 vii 'autos de en prophylakei on apo tou lophou apheora ton polemion ten hormen... ho de pelozonton ede autous ekthei syn tois amph'auton...'

'He himself was in an advanced covering position, watching the enemy's movements from the hill...When they were already close he himself with the troops he had with him ran out...'

We can see here that contra all the footnotes 'somatophylax' here cannot mean the hypaspists as they are mentioned later in a different position; it could mean the agema but then the 'amph'auton hetairoi' would be left meaning the somatophylakes! So despite my earlier interpretation I think Paralus has it right that the amph'auton hetairoi are indeed the chiliarchy assigned guard duty, viz the agema or pezhetairoi. Somatophylax here does mean the Seven.

In the later passage it would seem that the 'hetairoi' has dropped out for there is the phrase 'tois amph'auton' and these are the troops he had on the hill.

[Paralus]

So hypaspists with horses is not so strange after all...

...We can see here that contra all the footnotes 'somatophylax' here cannot mean the hypaspists as they are mentioned later in a different position; it could mean the agema but then the 'amph'auton hetairoi' would be left meaning the somatophylakes! So despite my earlier interpretation I think Paralus has it right that the amph'auton hetairoi are indeed the chiliarchy assigned guard duty, viz the agema or pezhetairoi. Somatophylax here does mean the Seven.

Hypaspists with horses is no surprise I think. That is, royal hypaspists, the sons of the nobility. For these men horses will be the norm. It makes further sense in that it is likely that these - unlike the companion cavalry - will have had shields to take when they mounted these horses. The argument continues as to whether the Macedonian Companion Cavalry was sometimes fitted out for battle with a shield. The iconography and artistic evidence would be in the negative. Here then the hypaspistae basilikoi are asked to ride to the hill - with shield - and then dismount and fight amonst those still mounted.

There is another passage - in Curtius I think - where Alexander pursues Darius or Persian troops (not at home and no Curtius here) where he mounts the "infantry" ("those normally in his retinue" or some such) with their "normal arms" to make the pursuit. These too would certainly be the hypaspistae baslikoi. It is unlikely that the average sarisa armed foot will have been so well off as to be comfortably familiar with horses and the riding of same. Particularly armed.