Culture and Ideology under the Seleukids: Unframing a Dynasty

Published by De Gruyter 2022

Culture and Ideology under the Seleukids

Unframing a Dynasty

Edited by: Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides and Stefan Pfeiffer

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110755626

Overview
Contents

About this book

The volume offers a timely (re-)appraisal of Seleukid cultural dynamics. While the engagement of Seleukid kings with local populations and the issue of “Hellenization” are still debated, a movement away from the Greco-centric approach to the study of the sources has gained pace. Increasingly textual sources are read alongside archaeological and numismatic evidence, and relevant near-eastern records are consulted.
Our study of Seleukid kingship adheres to two game-changing principles: 1. We are not interested in judging the Seleukids as “strong” or “weak” whether in their interactions with other Hellenistic kingdoms or with the populations they ruled. 2. While appreciating the value of the social imaginaries approach (Stavrianopoulou, 2013), we argue that the use of ethnic identity in antiquity remains problematic.
Through a pluralistic approach, in line with the complex cultural considerations that informed Seleukid royal agendas, we examine the concept of kingship and its gender aspects; tensions between centre and periphery; the level of “acculturation” intended and achieved under the Seleukids; the Seleukid-Ptolemaic interrelations. As rulers of a multi-cultural empire, the Seleukids were deeply aware of cultural politics.

Author / Editor information

Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides, Macquarie University, Australia; Stefan Pfeiffer, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Introduction Un-Framing Seleukid Ideology Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides and Stefan Pfeiffer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I Representations and Perceptions: Ideology and the Beginnings of a Monarchy
The Seleukid Royal Family as a Reigning Triad Alex McAuley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
Alexander vs. Soter vs. Nikator. Die Rolle Alexanders, Ptolemaios’ I. und Seleukos’ I. in der politischen Legitimation ihrer Nachfolger Gunnar R. Dumke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
Coinage and the Creation of the Seleukid Kingdom Matthew Trundle and Christopher de Lisle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
Seleucus and the Typology of Heracles Daniel Ogden Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
Memory and Ideology of the First Successors of Alexander the Great as inscribed on Roman Mosaics from Apameia of Syria Marek T. Olszewski Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
II Political Culture: A Contested Monarchy
Wars of the Brothers: the Contested Coalescence of Seleukid Statehood in mid-Third-Century Asia Minor Paul McKechnie Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
The Reception of Seleukid Ideology in Second-Century BCE Judaea Altay Coşkun Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Popular Resistance to Seleukid Claims of Hegemony Richard Wenghofer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
III Local Ideology: The Babylonian Tradition and Greek Culture
How to understand Seleukids as Babylonian “Great Kings” Andreas Mehl Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Au sujet de la puissance symbolique des vêtements du souverain en Babylonie et dans l’Orient grec hellénistiques Patrick M. Michel and Marie Widmer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Flexing Mythologies in Babylon and Antioch-on-the-Orontes: Divine Champions and their Aquatic Enemies under the Early Seleukids Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
The Death of Antiochos IV in the Context of Babylonian Hellenistic Historiography Paul-Alain Beaulieu Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
IV Cultural Interdependencies: Empires and Ideologies in Dialogue
The Influence of Seleukid Coinage upon the Bithynian and Pontic Monarchies to the Reign of Mithridates VI Daniel Hunter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	269
Kingship and Ruler Cult in Hellenistic Bactria: Beyond the Numismatic Sources Rachel Mairs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
Great King Ptolemy III and Great King Antiochos III: Remarks on the Significance of a “Persian” Title in their Representation Stefan Pfeiffer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
Mehr als Schall und Rauch? Das Seleukidenreich und seine antiken Namen Thomas Brüggemann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	331
Notes on Contributors (in alphabetical order) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	351
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	355

(Deutsch)

Languages: English, German
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Students and scholars of Classics/Ancient History, Classical Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies
Pages
- Front matter: 12
- Main content: 360
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 5
- Coloured Illustrations: 49
- Tables: 1
Keywords: Seleukid kingship; Seleukid Ideology; cultural interface under the Seleukids; Hellenism

eBook

Published: January 19, 2022
ISBN: 9783110755626

Hardcover

Published: January 31, 2022
ISBN: 9783110755572