Musical competitions (2) of Alexander the Great at Memphis, Egypt (Flavius Arrianus)

III 5.1. Εἰς Μέμφιν δὲ αὐτῷ πρεσβεῖαί τε πολλαὶ ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἧκον, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅντινα ἀτυχήσαντα ὧν ἐδεῖτο ἀπέπεμψε, καὶ στρατιὰ παραγίγνεται παρὰ μὲν Ἀντιπάτρου μισθοφόροι Ἕλληνες ἐς τετρακοσίους, ὧν ἡγεῖτο Μενοίτας ὁ Ἡγησάνδρου, ἐκ Θρᾴκης δὲ ἱππεῖς ἐς πεντακοσίους, ὧν ἦρχεν Ἀσκληπιόδωρος ὁ Εὐνίκου. 2. ἐνταῦθα θύει τῷ Διῒ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πομπεύει ξὺν τῇ στρατιᾷ ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις καὶ ἀγῶνα ποιεῖ γυμνικὸν καὶ μουσικόν. καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐνταῦθα ἐκόσμησε· δύο μὲν νομάρχας Αἰγύπτου κατέστησεν Αἰγυπτίους, Δολόασπιν καὶ Πέτισιν, καὶ τούτοις διένειμε τὴν χώραν τὴν Αἰγυπτίαν.

III 5.1. At Memphis many embassies reached him from Greece, and he sent way no one disappointed in his request. He was also joined by a force sent by Antipater, Greek mercenaries four hundred strong, under the command of Menoetas son of Hegesander, and about five hundred Thracian horse, under command of Asclepiodorus son of Eunicus. 2. Then Alexander sacrificed to Zeus the King and held a procession with the force under arms and celebrated athletic and musical games. He then made his arrangements for Egypt; he appointed two Egyptians, Doloaspis and Petisis as monarchs dividing the whole country of Egypt between them. [transl. by P. A. Brunt, 233]

While still in Egypt, Alexander returned to Memphis (331 BC, March) after visiting the sanctuary of the god Ammon at the Siwah Oasis (Arrianus, Alex. Anab. III 3-4). Upon his arrival, he held for the second time in the city a series of celebrations: sacrificial rites in honour of Zeus the King, a military parade, and both athletic and musical competitions. He then focused on reorganizing Egypt’s administration. The country was divided into several regions, each overseen by a governor and secured by a military garrison. He also established a local army under the command of Peucestas and created a fleet led by Polemon.

So, by the spring of 331 BC (Arrianus, Alex. Anab. III 6) Alexander could leave Egypt and march toward Syria to suppress a revolt in Samaria against the governor he had appointed. From there, he would then move on to Tyre in Phoenicia. The celebration of the competitions for the second time in Memphis marks thus the conclusion of Alexander’s prolonged and quiet residence in Egypt, a period during which he also received delegations from Greece. After these games, he resumed his military campaign against the Persians.

For these new games in Memphis is again employed the concise and cumulative narrative previously seen in the accounts of the competition at Soli (Arrian, Alex. Anabasis II 5.5, see entry) and the one previous in Memphis (Arrian, Alex. Anabasis III 1.4, see entry). Arrian’s source for this must likely have been an annalistic record, such as the ἐφημερίδες—the so-called “Diaries of Alexander’s military campaign”.

Therefore, although the four events (sacrifice to Zeus Basileus, military parade, athletic contests, and musical contests) are listed sequentially, they most likely represent a single celebration, religiously centred on the sacrifice to the gods but, from a civic perspective, on the parade and the contests. Furthermore, the term “gymnast contests” should be interpreted as athletic competitions, while the “musical contests” refer to artistic, musical and theatrical competitions (aulos players, aulodoi, etc.).

This time, the games were part of a religious ceremony held in honour of Zeus Basileus. Zeus was chosen because the games were organized upon returning to Memphis from the sanctuary of Ammon in the Siwah Oasis. There were several reasons why Alexander went there—one of them being that Ammon, both in Egypt and in Greece, was traditionally identified with Zeus, and the second one that he wanted ask the oracle for confirmation of his divine descent from Zeus. So, before departing once again for war, he made sacrifices to the Zeus recognized by the Ammon oracle as his father, seeking his protection directly. See: Bosworth 1977, 54-59, 67-73; Collins 2014, 62-64, 70, 73.

Editions and commentaries: P. A. BRUNT (transl.), Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander. Books I-IV, Cambridge, Mass. 1976, 232-236; A. B. BOSWORTH, A Historical Commentary on Arrian’s History of Alexander. Vol. I: Commentary on Books I-III, Oxford 1980 (rist. 1998), 272-275; F. SISTI (ed.), Arriano, Anabasi di Alessandro. Vol. I: Libri I-III, Milano 2004³ (2001¹), 212-214 (text), 473-476 (commentary).

Studies (besides those already mentioned for Arrian, Alex. Anabasis III 1.4, see entry): A. B. BOSWORTH, ‘Alexander and Ammon’, in K. H. Kinzl (ed.), Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean in Ancient History and Prehistory. Studies Presented to Fritz Schachermeyr on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, Berlin-New York 1977, 51-75; A. COLLINS, ‘Alexander’s Visit to Siwah: A New Analysis’, Phoenix 68/1-2, 2014, 62-77.

Alexander the Great, musical competitions, athletic competitions, military parade, Zeus king, Ammon

[Saulo Delle Donne]