WAR IN THE HELLENISTIC WORLD

AESTHETICS OF WAR
majority of the Abydenes fulfilled their oath, killing the women, children,
and themselves:
When he [Philip] saw the number and the fury of those who were killing
themselves and the children and the women, by cutting throats, burning,
hanging, throwing into wells and off the roofs, he was amazed and sad at
what was happening; he announced that he granted a respite of three days to
those who wished to hang themselves and cut their throats. The Abydenes,
remaining faithful to their original decision and regarding themselves as almost
traitors to those who had fought and died for their country, by no means
accepted to live, except those whose hands had been stayed by fetters or
similar forcible means; all the rest of them rushed without hesitation in whole
families to their death.
(16.34.9–12; trans. W. R. Paton)
Polybios adds that this incident of desperate heroism was not unique: on
earlier occassions (early fifth century) the Phokians and the Akarnanians had
resolved to take similar measures, which they, however, had not been forced
to carry out, since they had defended themselves successfully. The historian
does not fail to observe the tragic quality of the daring courage shown by
the Abydenes – as a matter of fact he uses in this context the word peripeteia,
which describes sudden changes of fortune in ancient drama:
In the case of the sudden change of fortune [peripeteia] of the Abydenes
one feels inclined to blame Fortune [Tyche] at the most, who, as if in pity, set
right at one the misfortunes of the aforementioned peoples [i.e., the Phokians
and Akarnanians], by granting both victory and safety to those who had lost
hope; in the case of the Abydenes, however, she chose to do the opposite. For
the men were killed, the city was taken, and the children together with their
mothers fell into the enemy’s hands.
(16.32.5–6; trans. W. R. Paton)
The description of the siege of Abydos and the tragic fate of its population
finds close parallels in the description of the sack of Xanthos in 42 BC
(App. b. civ. 4.76–82; Plut., Brutus 30–1; Cassius Dio 47.34; Schaps 1982:
200–2).
The visual qualities in battle scenes narrated in Hellenistic historiography
are quite evident in the few texts quoted here. We find references to dust
and fire, to sudden movements, to the color of clothes. We have also seen
that the scene in which Philipoimen kills Machanidas with his spear corresponds
to contemporary representations of single combat. The mention
of blood in Theokritos’ poetry is matched by the images of fallen warriors
with bleeding wounds, painted red, in sculpture. In this respect, textual and
visual narratives are close to each other. We observe an analogous convergence
in the representation of cruel scenes of violence. Of course, direct
199