Philip II and Alexander the Great: Father and Son ... - Historia Antigua

126 AFTER PHILIP AND ALEXANDER
Successor. Additionally, as the Hellenic-Macedonian immigrants of
Alexandria, most of whom had either served under him as soldiers, or
were familiar with his career, constituted the primary audience for
Ptolemy’s legitimating claims, he could not afford to disregard their
expectations regarding his right to rule. 20
Alexander penetrated the everyday lives of the ordinary citizens of
Alexandria from early on. To begin with, a founder cult in honor of
Alexander as Ktistēs (the Founder) was inaugurated in Alexandria
possibly even during Alexander’s lifetime and persisted until well
into the Christian era. 21 Distinct from the state cult instituted by
Ptolemy I around the turn of the fourth century B.C., 22 the founder
cult in Alexandria seems to have echoed the traditions of founder
worship that were a typical feature of Hellenic colonial foundations.
The founder cult was very closely integrated with the formation of
the civic identity of new settlements. It provided a common “past” for
the new city of which Alexander, as the founder, was to hold center
place. 23 If one accepts Pseudo-Callisthenes, Alexander was worshipped
as Ktistēs in especially dedicated sanctuaries but also in
a household environment. 24 The cult legend of the foundation of
Alexandria is important in this context as it provides the setting
through which Alexander’s presence penetrated the domestic cultic
life of the Alexandrians. According to the legend, after the slaying of
the great serpent Agathos Daimon (“Good Fortune/Spirit”) that
appeared during the foundation of the city, Alexander built a shrine
to commemorate his feat. Out of the shrine doors, however, there
emerged myriads of other serpents which each found their way into
the newly-built houses of the Alexandrians. The soothsayers present
decreed that these should be worshipped as good spirits ( ἀγαθοὶ
δαίμονες). 25 Through this association with Agathos Daimon, the fi gure
of Alexander became intertwined with the good fortune and spirit
of the city and as such assumed duties of protection. According to
the description of Ammianus Marcellinus, the temple to the Agathos
Daimon in Alexandria was still standing at the crossroads of the two
main avenues of the city in the fourth century A.D. This same
account testifi es that even at this late date the Alexandrians were very
protective toward it. 26 In addition, the large number of statuettes
representing Alexander wearing the aegis (the so-called Alexander
Aigiochos type) recovered from Alexandria, Ptolemais, and elsewhere
in the Egyptian chora, and which date from throughout the Hellenic-
Roman period, seem to support the possibility that a domestic cult of
Alexander as the founder of Alexandria was prominent. 27 Although
this view has been challenged by Stewart, who favors a dynastic cult
context for these statuettes as opposed to a domestic one, their small