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

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Argead Dunasteia during the Reigns
of Philip II and Alexander III
Aristotle Reconsidered
William S. Greenwalt
A lexander’s astonishing reign riveted his contemporaries and has
fascinated ever expanding audiences from the moment of his
death. The king, clearly understanding the utility of propaganda and
extremely covetous of public acclaim, fanned this fascination by engineering
chronicles of his conquests. 1 Moreover, very soon after
Alexander’s passing, the offi cial account of his anabasis was joined
by others, authored initially by lieutenants who had been in his
entourage, men who tended to hype their own roles as Alexander’s
lieutenants whenever possible. 2 Personal associations with Alexander
quickly garnered great popularity among the Macedonians and other
sympathizers; they revered his memory seemingly even more than
they did his person when he was alive. 3 Magnifi cations of the trials
and tribulations faced by all as the king and hoard moved east proved
extremely popular in these posthumous accounts of Alexander’s
career. Perhaps even more importantly, amid the rapidly shifting
political sands of the immediate post-Alexander world, many established
and furthered claims of legitimacy and authority by any association
with his memory. 4 So impossible did Alexander’s deeds
suddenly appear (especially after he was gone), and so fabulous were
the lands that he traversed (especially to those living around or near
the eastern Mediterranean), that he spawned a genre of historical fi ction
that included more than a dollop of fantasy. 5 Over centuries,
components of romance literature took on different colorations
depending upon the interests of new audiences. Over all that time,
Alexander’s reputation grew. 6 Alexander’s father, Philip, in a similar
if lesser way, also attracted the attention of many far beyond his native
land, because he too accomplished things that no one before him
had accomplished. 7 Macedonia itself, however, had generated but
little interest among (inevitably, foreign) readers before the rise of its
two greatest monarchs: the land, its people, and their ways appeared
only sporadically when other interests encroached upon Macedonia
proper. 8 The wider world learned of Macedonia and its customs only
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