Today, Eagles and Dragons Publishing is thrilled to announce the launch of an all new title and series set during one of the most exciting periods in ancient history: the campaigns of Alexander the Great.
This book is unlike any other work that we’ve previously released. It’s the first book that Adam has written from a first person perspective, and it is in the form of a fictional memoir that gives readers an intimate look at one of the most epic journeys in history.
It is the story of an assassin, the son of a god, and an epic journey into the unknown…
Would you kill a god to save your family?
On the fringes of the great necropolis of Saqqara, Hanbal, son of Akil, has always lived a life of peace and plenty on his family’s horse farm. That is, until the hordes of King Darius’ Persian army arrive and the people of Egypt find themselves persecuted and enslaved, and their ancient gods disrespected.
When Hanbal’s family and fortune are destroyed by the invaders, he takes up the mantle of an assassin, one who fights from the shadows for the people of Egypt.
Then, one day, hope springs out of the west at the coming of Alexander of Macedon and his army. The land of Egypt is liberated and the people welcome their new pharaoh with open arms.
That hope, however, turns to bitter disappointment for Hanbal the day that two Athenian spies appear at his door with an ultimatum…
He must kill Alexander of Macedon or else lose his wife and children to pain and death.
Can Hanbal save his family? Can he bring himself to kill the king who has liberated his homeland? Or will he be swept away in a river of blood to the ends of the Earth?
Only the Gods know…
We are thrilled to release this latest novel, and we hope that you all enjoy it!
The Asp of Saqqara is now available in ebook, paperback, and deluxe hardcover editions from all major online retailers, independent bookstores, brick and mortar chains, and your local public library.
It is available for a limited time for the special launch price of 1.99!
CLICK HERE to buy a copy, get ISBN# information for the edition of your choice, and check out all new merchandise related to this epic new release!
You can also purchase the ebook directly from Eagles and Dragons Publishing by clicking HERE.
We’re so excited to share this exciting new adventure in the ancient world with you!
We’ve got something special for you this week on Writing the Past!
Eagles and Dragons Publishing is thrilled to welcome back historical fiction author, Zenobia Neil, to talk about her latest epic, The Queen of Warriors.
Some of you may remember Zenobia from her previous post here, ‘Love is a Monster’, about the Cupid and Psyche myth and her novel, Psyche Unbound. If you missed that, you can check it out HERE.
In her newest novel, Zenobia takes us into the Hellenistic world for an amazing, epic journey. We’ve read this book, and it’s fantastic.
So, without further ado, let Zenobia take you into the world of The Queen of Warriors.
Discovering The Queen of Warriors
When I started writing The Queen of Warriors over seven years ago, my characters, a Xena: Warrior Princess type Greek warrior woman and a royal Persian rebel, came to me fully formed. However, I had no idea where and when the story took place. In the beginning, I was content with a kind of Xena fanfiction (without knowing what fanfiction was.) I began writing the story in a pseudo Greco-Roman world. That was fun, but I wanted to write real historical fiction. After re-reading Mary Renault’s The Persian Boy(a novel about Alexander the Great told by his eunuch Persian lover, Bagoas) I decided to set my story in the war-torn remains of Alexander the Great’s Empire.
My first serious research for this book yielded a lot of information about Alexander the Great’s life. I read about the Diadochi, the war of his generals. An early timeline I looked at made it seem that the important events that occurred were the conquests of Alexander, the death of Alexander, the War of Succession and then centuries later, Rome. (Sorry, Parthian Empire.) I wondered what life was like for people living in the former empire of Alexander. Ancient history might be recorded in centuries, but people live in decades, in years and days.
What was this period after the death of Alexander like? Alexander’s generals Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus divided his empire and fought with each other, while struggling to maintain their claims to rule at all. What would this have been like for Persians and Egyptians at this time? Ptolemy was able to condense his power in Egypt, a fairly easy transition compared to the other generals. His line lasted for generations and ended with Cleopatra. But Seleucus attempted to keep the lands Alexander had conquered in Persia—a vast expanse of diverse countries.
Before Alexander came, the Persian Empire created a vast network of satrapies—local governors who ruled over each local kingdom and sent taxes and intel back to the king. The Persian Empire had provided infrastructure. Alexander the Great had largely continued this practice, and he had brought some perks as well. Those who were his friends prospered; those who fought against him risked being killed, enslaved, or crucified.
But what did Seleucus have to offer? Why would any Persian, Mede, Bactrian, or Babylonian bow to him? Who would fight for him and why? These are the questions I wondered while trying to decide where in the former Persian empire my story would take place.
I had a National Geographic map that showed Alexander’s route, which I stared at every day. I tried to imagine where in this great expanse my story could take place. Eventually, it became clear that the story was set in Rhagae, a city near the Caspian Sea in what is now Tehran. I could clearly picture this fortress, the crenelated walls set against the backdrop of the snowy Elburz Mountains. Even before I knew his name, I knew my character Artaxerxes’s personality. As a Persian royal, he had grown up rich. He had golden armbands decorated with lynxes with ruby eyes. He had also learned to ride and shoot a bow as a child. He had trained for war since childhood, and he held truth and integrity above all else.
Writing the character of Alexandra of Sparta was a bit more of a challenge. Although originally inspired by Xena, Alexandra had her own demons, ones that would not be acceptable for daytime TV.
Zenobia with the statue of Leonidas in Sparta
I needed to know Alexandra’s history and how she became a warrior. When I started brushing up on my ancient Greek history, the most recorded information came from Athens. It seemed impossible for an Athenian woman to learn to fight. I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the idea of Sparta, especially in juxtaposition with Persia. The classical age of Sparta was around 500 BCE. This made me wonder the same thing I did about Alexander’s empire after his death—what happened after?
There’s a tendency to think of Sparta as frozen in time, in the height of her power, with Leonidas as one of her two kings and every Spartan citizen a muscular warrior (Thanks, 300!). But that was just one period of time. History is many things, but it is always dynamic. We remember the highlights, but that doesn’t make up the time period of people’s everyday lives.
So what happened to Sparta? After the battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, they lost their slave population, and with it their power. When he came to power, Alexander the Great forced them to join the League of Corinth. Later, some Spartans, like other Greeks, were offered land in Alexander’s former empire to help the Hellenistic culture continue. This, was how my main character, Alexandra and her friend Nicandor, the Little Red Fox came from Sparta to Asia Minor.
Sparta continued as a polis, though she lost her status as a major fighting force. Decades later when Sparta, like all of Greece and much of the ancient world was a part of the Roman Empire, Sparta became a tourist destination. Wealthy Romans came to watch a famous coming of age ceremony where boys were whipped at the temple of Artemis Orthia. What had once been a real rite of passage became a symbol of entertainment, and Sparta herself became a symbol of a classical strength that had once existed and then become nothing more than an idea of bravery and power.
The world of Sparta
This idea of Spartan hype stayed with me. Even if Sparta didn’t have the power it once did, being a Spartan carried weight and expectations. In The Queen of Warriors, Nicandor, The Little Red Fox, is Alexandra’s general, strategist, and advisor. He helps influence her power by spreading conflicting rumors that she’s an Amazon, a Spartan warrior, the Terror of the East. Being a woman warrior, a woman leader, she knows if she’s ever captured, terrible things will be done to her for daring to venture into a man’s world. So Nicandor makes her into a monster, too cruel to be crossed.
Once I figured out the time and place, I was able to let my characters really come through. I knew Alexandra of Sparta was a cursed warrior woman who wanted to atone for her crimes—I did not initially know what her crimes were—but it’s not hard to imagine a mercenary leader who hasn’t done terrible things. Using the Spartan angle, her advisor the Little Red Fox spreads rumors that she’s ripped out men’s tongues—when he actually finds people who’ve already lost their tongues.
There are no recorded documents of Spartan women warriors, only of the Spartans teaching girls as well as boys. Like any good ancient Greek education, this included physical activities. Unlike Athenian women, Spartan women knew how to manage their lands as well as households since Spartan men were often away. In certain situations, Spartan women could own land.
There have always been women warriors. Queen Tomyris of the Massaegetae, Artemisia I of Caria who fought for Xerxes, and Alexander the Great’s half-sister Cynane grew up in Illyria and was a warrior herself. And there have always been women who entered and competed in roles that were traditionally reserved for men. Readers of Adam Alexander Haviaras’s Heart of Fire will remember Kyniska, the Spartan princess who made Olympic history by winning a chariot race.
We’ve heard stories of women warriors from history, but there are also countless lives that were never recorded or whose positions were changed from leader to wife or concubine, or those whose histories were completely erased.
Alexandra of Sparta is not based on a real known person in history, but that doesn’t mean that someone like her never existed. In addition to learning about the past, imagining what could have been is one of my favorite aspects of writing historical fiction. More and more discoveries are being made showing how women were involved in roles that were traditionally thought of belonging solely to men. I’m delighted my characters came to me and demanded their story be told.
We’d like to thank Zenobia for a fascinating look at the history of this period and for sharing the inspiration behind The Queen of Warriors with us.
If you have any questions for her, please post them in the comments below.
We highly recommend this book, so if you would like to learn more and get a copy, just CLICK HERE.
Be sure to visit Zenobia’s website, and watch the book trailer at the bottom of this post as well.
Thank you, Zenobia!
Historical Fiction Author, Zenobia Neil
Zenobia Neil was named after an ancient warrior queen who fought against the Romans. She writes about the mythic past and Greek and Roman gods having too much fun. The Queen of Warriors is her third book. Visit her at ZenobiaNeil.com
Praise for The Queen of Warriors
“The Queen of Warriors is a full-blooded adventure into the ancient and mythological world of the warrior queen, Alexandra of Sparta. Imaginative, exciting, and alluring!” – Margaret George, author of Helen of Troy
“A sizzling epic that will tempt you into the Hellenistic age. Neil’s writing is smooth, and anyone would be hard-pressed not to fall in love with her kick-ass heroine, Alexandra of Sparta!” – Adam Alexander Haviaras, Eagles and Dragons Publishing
“Bold, unexpected, and immensely satisfying. The Queen of Warriors is a game changer.” – Jessica Cale, editor of Dirty, Sexy History
“A surprising tale of retribution but also of redemption. Sexy yet thoughtful . . . unexpectedly moving.” – L.J. Trafford, author of The Four Emperor Series
In this fifth and final part of The World of A Dragon among the Eagles, we’re going to take a brief look at a city that has perhaps captured history-lovers’ imaginations more than any other – Alexandria.
There were, of course, many Alexandrias in the world, stretching from Greece to India, but the one we are going to discuss, and which provides the setting for the final third of A Dragon among the Eagles, is Alexandria in Egypt.
Statue of Alexander in downtown Alexandria
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in about 331 B.C., near the westernmost branch of the Nile Delta. From a few scattered fishing villages, it grew to become one of the world’s great metropolises, a centre for trade, religion and learning the world had not really seen to that point.
There are many origin stories to the foundation of Alexandria, but the one I often refer to is that given by Arrian who says the following:
From Memphis he sailed down the river again with his Guards and archers, the Agrianes, and the Royal Cavalry Squadron of the Companions, to Canobus, when he proceeded round Lake Mareotis and finally came ashore at the spot where Alexandria, the city which bears his name, now stands. He was at once struck by the excellence of the site, and convinced that if a city were built upon it, it would prosper. Such was his enthusiasm that he could not wait to begin the work; he himself designed the general layout of the new down, indicating the position of the market square, the number of temples to be built, and what gods they should serve – the gods of Greece and the Egyptian Isis – and the precise limits of its outer defences. He offered sacrifice for a blessing on the work; and the sacrifice proved favourable.
A story is told – and I do not see why one should disbelieve it – that Alexander wished to leave his workmen the plan of the city’s outer defences, but there were no available means of marking out the ground. One of the men, however, had the happy idea of collecting the meal from the soldiers’ packs and sprinkling it on the ground behind the King as he led the way; and it was by this means that Alexander’s design for the outer wall was actually transferred to the ground.
(Arrian; The Campaigns of Alexander, Book III)
There is no real way to know whether this is true or not, but it is not impossible. Alexander was a man of vision, and learned in architecture, planning and much more. As a conqueror of the world, as many saw him, it was to be expected that he create one he hoped would have been a perfect city at the centre of the known world.
The Egyptians had welcomed Alexander as a liberator against the Persians who had disrespected their gods. Alexander, on the other hand, respected Egypt’s ancient gods, and was even declared the son of Zeus Ammon by the famous Oracle at Siwa in the western desert.
Egypt’s new pharaoh had great plans for the city, but he died long before it could be completed. That task fell to Alexander’s friend and general, Ptolemy I, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the last dynasty of Egypt before Rome took over.
Alexandria quickly became a destination that thrived under the Ptolemies, and as the resting place of Alexander the Great’s body, a major tourist destination. It was the greatest of the Hellenistic cities, dwarfing all others.
As time marched on, so did Rome.
Ancient Alexandria in the years after Severus
Alexandria came under Roman jurisdiction in the will of Ptolemy Alexander in 80 B.C. Then, when a domestic dispute broke out between Ptolemy’s children, Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Rome, under Gaius Julius Caesar, stepped in to settle the dispute.
Most of you probably know this part of the story, how Caesar threw his weight behind Cleopatra, making her sole Queen of Egypt in about 47 B.C. They had a son, Caesarion, and the rest is history.
With the death of Caesar, Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra joined forces with the hopes of creating a new, greater Hellenistic world with Alexandria at the centre. But those hopes were dashed by Rome at the Battle of Actium where Octavian came out victorious and as a result, brought Alexandria under the control of Rome.
This is probably one of the most famous periods in Roman history, but it took place two hundred years before A Dragon among the Eagles.
What happened to Alexandria after the Battle of Actium? What did things look like for the city of Alexander?
Even though Rome remained the centre of the Empire, and basically the Mediterranean world, Egypt lost little importance. In fact, it gained, being as it was the granary of the Roman Empire, before the North Africa provinces came to the fore. Alexandria was so important that Octavian kept it under direct imperial control, making it so that Alexandria had no governor, and therefore, no one powerful enough to hold Rome’s grain hostage.
Fertile land of the Nile
Alexandria was beautiful and learned, but it was also tumultuous .
In A.D. 115 it was destroyed during the Greek-Jewish civil war. Luckily, that great phil-Hellene emperor, Hadrian, decided to rebuild the city so that it could continue to thrive.
By the time of A Dragon among the Eagles, when Emperor Septimius Severus and his legions came into Egypt at the conclusion of the Parthian campaign around A.D. 199, Alexandria was once again a metropolis to rival Rome.
Alexandria was always well placed at the crossroads of the world, beside the waters of the Nile Delta, at the edge of the Silk Road, and with free access to the rest of the Mediterranean Sea.
It was built on a narrow strip of land which was sandwiched between the Mediterranean to the north, and the fresh waters of Lake Mareotis to the south.
Alexandrian street scene in movie Agora
To the east of the city was the Eleusis Plain which contained an underground complex where the Eleusinian Mysteries, that major ritual of Ancient Greece, were presumably carried out. Closer to the sea on that side of the city were the Jewish and Christian sepulchers, as well as temples and Roman cemeteries beyond the Grove of Nemesis.
On the western side of the city, beyond the Draco River which ran along the south of the city and into the Fluvius Novus, the Great Canal of Alexandria, was the western necropolis which also contained Christian catacombs.
Alexandrian catacombs with mixture of Egyptian, Hellenistic and Roman styles
If you have seen the movie Agora, with Rachel Weiss, you will have seen a later, dirtier recreation of Alexandria from the time of this particular story.
At the heart of Alexandria were the temples and palaces, and the Cema destrict where the tomb of Alexander the Great was located. Through it all ran the great city street known as the Canopic Way.
Alexandria’s Canopic Way (artist impression by Egyptologist Jean-Claude Golvin)
The Canopic Way, with the Sun Gate in the East, and the Moon Gate to the West, was ancient Alexandria’s main artery. It was the place to see and be seen, where giant litters carrying perfumed ladies went back and forth in the shadow of luxurious villas and temples. There were huge fountains running down the middle of the thoroughfare. Perhaps the Canopic Way was a sort of ancient version of Rodeo Drive, or 5th Avenue?
The success and livelihood of Alexandria did not necessarily stem from the richness of the street, nor the number of its temples, but rather from the Great Harbour which was faced by the royal palaces, agora, and the Great Library.
Across the man-made mole known as the Heptastadion, a bridge of about seven stades long, was the island of Pharos, and the structure that beckoned all the world to Alexandria – the Lighthouse.
The City of Alexander today
As one of the wonders of the ancient world, the great lighthouse of Alexandria set this city apart, and if that was the beacon, the library, for many, was what awaited them. It has been said that the previous library, that which stood during the reign of Cleopatra, burned down, and all the treasures it contained with it.
However, there are some theories that say the great library was never fully destroyed, that many of the works survived and that the library continued to send people out into the world to collect copies of every book or work ever created.
Library of Alexandria
I wonder if Alexandria would have lived up to the Conqueror’s expectations as he was laying out the city with his men’s rations, prior to his defeat of the Persian Empire?
It is ironic that the body of Alexander also became a big draw in Alexandria, for people came from around the ancient world to see this titan among men.
Augustus himself stopped to see Alexander’s body after the Battle of Actium, and successive emperors did likewise, including Septimius Severus who, for some strange reason, closed Alexander’s tomb to the public prior to going on a Nile cruise with his wife, Julia Domna.
Writing about this ancient city was no easy feat. First of all, I had to discover which structures were actually there during this time, and which I could not include.
It was also fun writing about Alexandria, in comparison to Rome, for it was generally believed that Alexandrian morals were much looser than those of Rome, making it something of a brilliant, seedy, learned metropolis.
When Lucius Metellus Anguis arrives in Alexandria, a city he has dreamed of visiting for a long time, he is torn between two worlds.
Can’t really blame the Emperor and Empress for taking a Nile cruise!
This made for some interesting and fun storytelling.
But it seems to me, after the research I’ve done, and after having written in that world, that Alexandria was anything but uniform, despite its logical grid of streets laid out by Alexander.
Alexandria was a world of contrasts, of perhaps the worst and the best that life had to offer. It preserved culture, and destroyed it, but it always rose from the ashes.
Riotous Alexandrians in the movie Agora
The glory days of its early Hellenistic existence were long gone, but perhaps under Rome, it experienced a revival that may not have been possible under the drunken ancestors of Cleopatra? I’m not sure, but if Cleopatra’s father saw the need to have Rome care for it after his death, there must have been a reason for it.
Antony and Cleopatra
Well, that’s the end of this blog series about The World of A Dragon among the Eagles.
I hope you’ve enjoyed it and found it informative, even though I have only but scratched the surface of some of these topics. If you missed any of the posts, or if you would like to re-read them, you can see them all by CLICKING HERE TO READ THE FULL SERIES.
Over the past months, the on-line world has been set ablaze with Greek fire.
By that, I mean that the talk in ancient history and archaeology circles has been dominated by one of the most exciting discoveries in recent memory – The Amphipolis Tomb.
You may have heard about this ‘Alexander the Great era’ tomb in media around the world. The Rumours and theories about what it contains are as thick and the sarrissae of a Macedonian phalanx.
Before we get into the finds, we should look at where Amphipolis is.
Amphipolis is located 100 kms east of the northern Greek city of Thassaloniki, along the river Strymon. This is the region of Thrace.
The settlement was founded by the Athenians circa 437 B.C. near some gold and silver mines in the hills. It was conquered by Philip of Macedon in the year 357 B.C. and then, during the reign of Alexander the Great, was a major naval base.
The first major excavations at Amphipolis were undertaken in 1964, but it is the current excavation of the tomb, begun in 2012, that has grabbed the attention of the world by getting into the mound and revealing some of its treasures.
The Amphipolis tomb dates to the late 4th century B.C., the Hellenistic era, and is about 2,300 years old.
This is the largest burial monument ever discovered in Greece, and archaeologists have only just scratched the surface.
What have they found? Let’s make our way into the tomb in the order of discoveries.
The Lion of Amphipolis
Lion of Amphipolis (Wikimedia Commons)
The first discovery was actually not within the tomb, but nearby, and was discovered in 1912.
The Lion of Amphipolis is a 4th century B.C. sculpture that was first found by Greek soldiers around Amphipolis during the Second Balkan War, with more pieces of the lion being found by British troops during World War I.
For some time, archaeologists believed this was a tomb sculpture or monument to Alexander the Great’s admiral, Laomedon of Mytilene.
It is now believed that the Lion was actually located on top of the Amphipolis tomb which would have looked impressive and been seen from miles around, including from the sea.
The lion is over 4 meters tall, but with the base it sits on, it reaches over 8 meters in height.
The question is, what lay beneath the muscular body of this titanic lion?
The Wall
Amphipolis wall close-up
One of the most amazing things about the tomb is the sheer size of it. This monument was meant to impress!
The tomb itself has a circular wall that is 500 meters all the way around, and 3 meters high. It’s made of marble and limestone which is in remarkably excellent condition.
The archaeologists have excavated the earth around the entire monument, and from the pictures in the trench it is possible to get a sense of the size of this place.
Amphipolis intact wall section
Next, the entrance to the tomb was discovered where a wide staircase leads down to the next exciting discovery.
The Sphinxes
Meeting the Sphinxes at the entrance to the tomb
Above the entrance to the tomb stand two Sphinxes facing each other. To me this is a truly haunting image. Imagine entering this subterranean world beneath the gaze of these two guardians? It would be something to send a chill down one’s spine as you entered the realm of the dead.
The Sphinxes are both 2 meters tall, and seem to have been very detailed in their rendering. You can see the heavily-muscled bodies of these ancient creatures, whose heads and wings are sadly broken off.
Amphipolis – Sphinx Head found on floor
They stand above a frescoed entrance that is 1.67 meters wide, and without a door.
Amphipolis – first chamber wall detail
Once you pass beneath the guardians, you find yourself in the first chamber which has a unique floor, barrel-vaulted roof, and smooth marble panelling on the walls either side.
But as archaeologists moved forward, ever-so-carefully, they found even more wonders…
The Caryatids
Amphipolis – The Caryatids
A caryatid is a sculpture of a female body that is used as an architectural support, a more ornate version of a regular column. The most famous are probably the caryatids from the Erechtheion on the Acropolis in Athens, sometimes called the ‘porch of the maidens’.
As excavators removed the dirt from the rest of the first chamber they were met by two tall, beautiful, skillfully-carved Caryatids flanking the entrance to the second chamber.
When I say they are beautiful, I mean it. These maids are lovely, solemn, and awe-inspiring, from their carved platform sandals, to their flowing robes, the wonderfully ornate braids of their long hair, and the serene beauty of their faces.
Caryatid face
It must have been amazing to uncover these!
And they are not small, either. The Caryatids at Amphipolis are 2.27 meters (7.5 feet) tall, but if you include the bases on which they stand, they tower over visitors at about 3.66 meters (12 feet).
As we move into the second chamber, we come to even more ornamentation, and this time, it is something that hints at who the tomb might belong to.
The Mosaic
Amphipolis Mosaic
As the dirt from the second chamber was painstakingly removed, and the floor reached, archaeologists were confronted with a thing of beauty.
As it turned out, the entire floor of the second chamber is covered by a mosaic that is 3 meters wide and 4.5 meters long.
As you can see from the picture, it is a work of magnificent craftsmanship. The colours, even thousands of years later, are still brilliant.
The scene depicts the abduction of Persephone by Hades (Pluto), the Lord of the Underworld. He carries the reluctant girl away in his chariot for her annual sojourn in his realm beneath the earth. Leading the way is the god Hermes, whose traditional role was to lead souls to the Underworld. You can see the caduceus in Hermes’ left hand. The entire scene is surrounded by a Greek Key (meander) and wave motif.
Now, the exciting thing about this mosaic is related to one of the theories we will discuss shortly. A hint however, is in the rendering of the faces of the three people represented.
Another discovery in chamber two can be found on the walls.
As you can see, there are faint hints of frescoes portraying a man, a woman, and what appears to be a bull. Perhaps a sacrifice scene?
Amphipolis – second chamber – architrave frescoes
Let’s hope the restoration teams can give us a clearer glimpse someday soon.
And now, let us have a brief look at the most recent discovery in the Amphipolis tomb.
The Human Remains
Amphipolis remains
Who is buried in the Amphipolis tomb? Who was it built for?
These are the questions that dominate, and when archaeologists moved into the third chamber they came one step closer to possible answers.
Beyond what were a pair of marble doors (fallen) on tracks in the floor, they have found a chamber with a burial in the floor with human bones. However, to complicate things, there were more bones and cremated remains in the soil on top of the burial.
Amphipolis – broken marble door – chamber 3
Due to earthquakes, and early grave robbers, the remains, and perhaps any grave goods that were present have been scattered or looted.
Putting the pieces of this particular puzzle together is a painstaking process that will take a lot of time and patience.
For the moment, it seems that in chamber 3 of the Amphipolis tomb, there are the remains of five individuals: a woman over 60 years of age (buried in the sarcophagus beneath the floor), two men between the ages of 35 and 45, a newborn child, and a cremated adult.
In total, mixed up in over 8 feet of soil, archaeologists have recovered 550 pieces of human bone. The question of who the bones belong to is something we will have to wait a long time to answer.
Amphipolis burial sarcophagus
The Theories
There have been a lot of wild theories about who this tomb was intended for. Obviously, it was not for just one person.
Many trigger-happy theorists and philhellenes have immediately jumped to the conclusion that the Amphipolis tomb could only belong to Alexander the Great.
One reason for this guess (or hope?) is the immense size of the monument; remember, this is the biggest burial in Greece. What better monument for one of the greatest generals and conquerors the world has ever known?
Another reason is that the Amphipolis tomb is thought to have been designed by Alexander’s personal architect, the man who helped build Alexandria, and who used Egyptian measurements for Amphipolis: Dinocrates of Rhodes.
Dinocrates helped Alexander plan Alexandria, the ideal city, and designed the reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. For some people, this is further proof that Amphipolis was meant for Alexander himself. Who else but his favourite architect would design his tomb?
Amphipolis tomb artist impression (illustrated by Gerasimos Gerolymatos – Creative Commons)
The problem with this theory is that Alexander the Great was buried in Alexandria, in Egypt, the city that he had designed. It is pretty well-documented that his body was taken there to be entombed, under the care of Ptolemy who ruled in Egypt after Alexander’s death.
Now, if there were plans to move the body, or steal it, who can say? (That’s the author in me throwing a log on the fire!) Which of the Companions would not want to be the custodian of the immortal conqueror’s remains?
As for Dinocrates, he would have needed to find work after the death of his patron. If he was Alexander’s favoured architect, he would have been in high demand, no? Perhaps he was engaged by someone in Macedonia to build Amphipolis and brought with him his knowledge from Egypt.
However much people wish it, at this point, it seems doubtful that Amphipolis holds the remains of Alexander the Great.
The next theory may be more plausible, and this is where the mosaic comes in.
If you look at the mosaic, the faces of Hermes, Hades, and Persephone do look a little familiar.
Some people believe that in looking at this mosaic, we are in fact looking at likenesses of a young Alexander (Hermes), Philip of Macedon (Hades), and Alexander’s mother, Olympias (Persephone). Is this a royal family portrait?
We know that Philip was buried in the royal tombs at Vergina, and recently his remains were positively identified.
When the mosaic was discovered, some scholars began exploring the possibility then that Amphipolis may have been the tomb of either Olympias, or Roxana, Alexander’s Bactrian wife and mother of his son.
Could the Persephone in the mosaic be either Olympias or Roxana?
It is a tantalizing theory, to be sure. And when this theory came about, they had not yet discovered the remains in chamber 3, those of the woman in her sixties, and an infant child.
Still, it’s hard to say. Roxana and her son did return to Greece under the ‘protection’ of Cassander, one of Alexander’s generals, and certainly, Olympias would have had an interest in being close to and protecting her grandson and daughter-in-law.
Unfortunately, Cassander was not the kindest person and, according to the sources, he had Olympias executed in 316 B.C., and later ordered the murder of Roxana and her son in 310 B.C.
Amphipolis 3D Reconstruction (Wikimedia Commons)
Now, the remains of the woman in chamber 3 are too old to be those of Roxana, and those of the infant are perhaps too young to be Alexander’s son. However, it remains plausible that the woman who was buried in the sarcophagus beneath the floor could be Olympias herself.
It will take some time before we know, but the mosaic and the age of the female skeleton (about 60 years), which was about Olympias’ age at her death, are the best leads thus far.
But there are arguments against even that – Would the Macedonians build such a monument to a woman? Would Cassander so honour a woman whom he had had murdered, with such a monument?
Confusing the theories further is one that the two male skeletons may in fact be Cassander’s sons. Analysis will need to be done to see if they are related, but if they are, why would they be buried with Olympias? Were the bones all separate and then dumped all together by the ancient looters?
For me, one telling thing is also the size of the three excavated chambers compared to the rest of the monument. When you look at the area these initial excavations have covered, it is but a small portion of the entire tomb.
With some initial geophysical survey results showing other possibly man-made areas within the hill, one has to wonder if the main occupant of the Amphipolis tomb has even been found yet. Perhaps Cassander himself is buried in some grand chamber filled with art and riches from the East, an afterlife monument to match the ego and ambition which he was apparently in possession of? Perhaps he did bury Olympias, a descendant of Achilles, out of duty to Alexander? Who knows…
Unfortunately, there are far more questions and dead ends than there are answers.
Isn’t that exciting?
Only the archaeology can tell us what we need with any certainty, but that takes time and patience if it is to be done properly.
Amphipolis – pictorial synopsis
Those proponents of sensationalist theories on the Web might not like this waiting game, but for me, as an historian and archaeologist, it is well worth the wait. When the answers finally do come, the author in me will be ready and waiting.
What do you think about the Amphipolis tomb? Tell us your own theories and ideas in the comments below!
Janus, the two-faced god of doorways. Give him a thought as we step from one year into another.
Happy New Year to all of you!
Yes, 2015 is here. For an historian especially, I think the passage of time is all the more acute. Maybe that’s because we are a bit more aware of dates and periods in history.
We’ve had a very enjoyable holiday in my house. Lots of food and drink, family and friends, movies, music and of course, reading. The Wassail and mulled wine were especially big hits with the adults! There was definitely a lingering feeling of magic in the air.
Wassail Feast Wassail!
However, New Year to me is always a mix of excitement and melancholy. I find it bitter-sweet to let another year go by, but then there is so much more that I want to do, that I look forward to doing, personally and professionally.
For this first post of 2015, I thought I would go over some of the big things I have on my ‘To Write and Publish’ list.
First of all, I’m just about finished the first draft of Thanatos, Carpathian Interlude Part III. This will be the last part of the trilogy and it has definitely taken some unexpected turns, thrusting Gaius Justus Vitalis into realms of darkness and despair.
Secondly, I want to write a prequel novella to the Eagles and Dragons series. This will take readers through Lucius Metellus Anguis’ first years in the Legions and the Parthian campaign in which Emperor Septimius Severus conquered the Parthian Empire and sacked Ctesiphon. It is in this campaign that Lucius comes to the Emperor’s attention and this story will show how Lucius came to be in Alexandria and what led him to be made a tribune in charge of the patrol across Roman North Africa which is where Children of Apollo begins. I’m really looking forward to going back to Lucius’ early, idealistic days.
Third, I’m in the middle of working on the second draft of Warriors of Epona (Eagles and Dragons Book III). This book will be out, I hope, for next summer at the latest. Because I write my first drafts long-hand, I need to type the manuscripts out. This is good for revision but it does slow the process down. So, related to that, I want to try and type directly onto the computer if I can work something out as far as technology. I do most of my writing away from my computer, so, we’ll see how that goes. Writing long-hand, I find, helps me to think and formulate my thoughts as I go. Change is good, however, so here’s to improved processes in 2015!
Salve 2015!
Fourth, I now have an idea for the second instalment in the Mythologia series. I’m not letting that beast of the bag just yet, suffice it to say it will be full of intrigue and an epic battle that only a great hero can come out of alive. It will not be something you will expect.
Fifth, my research for the tentatively titled ‘Heart of Fire – A story of the Ancient Olympics‘ has begun, but I want to get even more stuck into it. I probably won’t finish writing this book in 2015, but I do want start it. I’ve got a great story idea for this stand-alone novel!
Sixth, after having let it languish for over a year, I’m determined to get back into the Killing a God series about Alexander the Great. With the Amphipolis discovery in Greece over the past several months, the time certainly is ripe for this story. Of course the series is not finished, but I have a few hundred pages which I will probably serialize. This is going to take a good deal of planning, but it will be well-worth the wait as I think I’ve developed a great storyline and take on the Alexander story from a very different point of view.
Seventh, once Warriors of Epona is out, I’m going to jump right into book IV of the Eagles and Dragons series. I’m developing the story more precisely and doing a bit more research, but I do know that it’s going to be a beautiful and intense follow-up to book III.
Those are my writing goals at the moment. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t daunted by all this work, but in truth my biggest challenge is not writing. After all, I love writing about the past, and it’s always a great joy to me that (Thank the Muses!) comes relatively easily. Time, and my lack thereof, is where I need to strategize. Hopefully 2015 sees an abundance of Roman Legion efficiency for my part.
Time to get down to some serious writing!
I’m curious about your own goals for 2015. Do you have any places you would like to travel to this year? What are your reading goals? Do you have your own writing or research goals? Are there any historical films you’re looking forward to this year? Please do share in the comments below!
Whatever you do, or aim to do, I hope that 2015 is a brilliant year for all of us!
I’d like to close this post by saying Thank You to all of you for the e-mails and various other interactions in 2014. I love sharing the past with you all, and look forward to writing more of it.
