To what extent can a historical character be detached from its context, era, and origins? Alexander the Great, a Macedonian general who lived in the 4th century BCE, has been portrayed in many different ways throughout his life. He is seen, in particular, as a figure who has been reimagined in European literature.
At the Olympic games of 380 BCE, Isocrates distributed his Panegyricus, calling for a pan-Hellenic conquest of Persia... with Athens at the helm, of course.
His plans never quite reached fruition until the the years just after his death--accomplished not by Athens or another Greek polis, but rather by Philip II and his son Alexander.
To my knowledge, there are NO audiobook recordings of the Panegyricus. Hopefully this will fill that niche. I also performed a couple of his short letters (to Philip and Alexander).
I recently obtained an Azilises tetradrachm to reunite with his Azes peers. As often discussed in this forum, the relative chronology of Indo-Scythian kings is still a matter of debate as so little is known about them. What is known however, is that Scythians were among the first to field fully armored (which in Greek translates to kataphraktos) heavy cavalry as shock units in battles. This is something that was destined to have a long-lasting influence all through to the Parthian and Byzantine empires, and something they must have been very proud of since Indo-Scythian kings are depicted as such on their coins. There is more variation on the reverses. Here, Azilises chose a goddess who might be Tyche (equivalent of the Roman Fortuna), holding a lamp or some other light source and a palm. There are also group pictures with two Azes tets (upper and lower), where Athena is shown on the reverses.
Whitehead 319(i), Mitchiner 6/801d, Senior type 56.522T
Type : Tétradrachme bilingue
Date : c. 55-35 AC
Nom de l'atelier/ville : Taxila
Métal : argent
Diamètre : 26,5 mm
Axe des coins : 1 h.
Poids : 9,51 g.
Description avers : Le roi à cheval passant à droite, tenant une couronne de la main droite et un étendard de la main gauche ; devant le cheval, un monogramme.
Légende avers : BASILEWS BASILEWN MEGALOU// AZOU
Description revers : Nike debout à gauche tenant une couronne et une palme.
Titulature revers : LÉGENDE KHAROSHTHI .
This papyrus gives an interesting picture of how gold circulated within the Ptolemaic monetary system. Demetrios tells Apollonios that he has followed his instructions concerning the gold he received and processed, but then turns to a problem involving local and trichrysa gold coins brought by outsiders, merchants, and others dealing with money. Old and worn (ἀποτετριμμένωι) gold was apparently no longer being accepted, leaving people with gold that remained “idle” (ἀργὸν) and causing them financial losses.
Demetrios also points out that this was not only a problem for individuals: if gold could not be brought into circulation, the king’s revenues could suffer as well. He asks whom he should report the matter to and refers to an anaphora and a prostagma, giving us a glimpse of the administrative process behind these monetary decisions. His suggestion that more gold should be brought in from outside, and that the king’s money should remain “good and new” (καλὸν καὶ καινὸν), is especially interesting in the context of the Ptolemaic state’s efforts to regulate the quality and circulation of money. The letter also shows how much of this business depended on ordinary communication between officials: some matters, Demetrios says, he does not put into writing and will explain when Apollonios arrives. It is a small document, but it shows quite clearly how questions of gold, allage, royal revenue, and everyday administration could meet in practice.