The Macedonian Olympieia from Archelaus to Philip II

Ὀλύμπια ἐποίει] ἐκ τῆς πανηγύρεως τὸ πάθος τῶν ἀκουόντων ἔτι μᾶλλον ηὔξησεν. αἱ γὰρ εὐπραγίαι τῶν πολεμίων λυποῦσι τοὺς ἡττωμένους. ὁ μὲν οὖν πανήγυριν ἤγαγεν ἐπὶ νίκῃ καὶ συμφορᾷ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἡ δὲ πόλις πληγεῖσα τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν ἔστενε τὰς συμφοράς. τὰ Ὀλύμπια δὲ πρῶτος Ἀρχέλαος ἐν Δίῳ τῆς Μακεδονίας κατέδειξεν. ἤγετο δ’ ἐπ’ ἐννέα, ὥς φασιν, ἡμέρας ἰσαρίθμους ταῖς Μούσαις. συνέζευξε δὲ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ὄλυνθον, ἵνα δοκῇ πανηγυρίζειν ἐπὶ τῇ ἁλώσει τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ συνεορτάζειν καὶ ὁ Αἰσχίνης, οἷον ‘ἐγὼ μὲν ἐθρήνουν, Φίλιππος δὲ ἐτέλει μετὰ Αἰσχίνου πανήγυριν’.

He (Philip) celebrated Olympieia: with the festival, he further intensified the pain of his listeners. For indeed, the successes of one’s enemies are a cause of grief for the vanquished. Thus, he held a celebration both for his victory and for the misfortune of the Greeks, while the city, bowed under the weight of events, was mourning its sufferings. Archelaus was the first to institute the Olympieia at Dion in Macedonia. It is said that they lasted nine days, corresponding to the number of the Muses. Demosthenes connected them to the events at Olynthus, so that it would appear as though Philip was rejoicing over the Greeks’ defeat, and that even Aeschines was taking part in the celebration—as in the phrase: “I was mourning, while Philip was holding a festival together with Aeschines.”

The scholion refers to a passage from Demosthenes’ On the False Embassy in which mention is made of the Olympieia celebrated by Philip II following the fall of Olynthus in 348 BC. These celebrations, as confirmed by Diodorus Siculus (16, 55, 1–2), included sacrifices, banquets, and contests (see the entry on Demosth. 19, 192-195 and the relevant commentary; for a detailed analysis of the ancient sources, see Mari 1998, 137-169; Mari 2002, 51-60; Csapo-Wilson, 590-597). The scholion underscores the polemical dimension of Demosthenes’ rhetoric, highlighting the tone of hostility with which the orator sought to arouse resentment toward Philip. The panēgyris, organized by the Macedonian king to celebrate his military victory is presented, in Demosthenes’ view, as a festival held at the expense of the Greeks’ misfortune (ὁ μὲν οὖν πανήγυριν ἤγαγεν ἐπὶ νίκῃ καὶ συμφορᾷ τῶν Ἑλλήνων). Within this context, Demosthenes contrasts his own patriotic commitment with the attitude of those, like Aeschines, who were willing to collaborate with the enemy (συνεορτάζειν καὶ ὁ Αἰσχίνης, οἷον “ἐγὼ μὲν ἐθρήνουν, Φίλιππος δὲ ἐτέλει μετὰ Αἰσχίνου πανήγυριν”). According to the scholion, the original institution of the Olympieia in the city of Dion, in Macedonia, is attributed to Archelaus (413–399 BC), who is described as philomousos by Aelian (Var. Hist. 2, 21) and is well known for having welcomed Greek poets and artists to his court (on Archelaus’ patronage, see Chapinal-Heras 2002). It is unlikely, as Badian (1982) proposed, that this initiative was motivated by a desire to create “counter-Olympics” to rival those held in Elis. More plausibly, as argued convincingly by Mari (1996), the institution should be seen as a strategic politico-cultural operation. Archelaus likely sought to initiate a dialogue with southern Greece—both to “bring Macedonia into Greece,” by promoting and disseminating local traditions, and to “bring Greece into Macedonia,” by attracting a large number of competitors and spectators from the wider Greek world. According to Diodorus (17, 16), dramatic contests (skēnikoi agōnes) held during the Olympieia date back to the reign of Archelaus, and may have provided a suitable context for the performance of new works by tragedians such as Euripides and Agathon, both of whom were active at the Macedonian court. These authors may have composed tragedies specifically for the occasion, such as Archelaus and The Bacchae, or revived plays that had been performed elsewhere. Further evidence suggests the inclusion of comic competitions. The Suda (α 1982) mentions the comic poet Anaxandrides as active in contests organized by Philip II, and Demosthenes (19, 192) reports that, following the capture of Olynthus, the king assembled “all the artists” for the Olympieia, among whom the comic actor Satyrus is listed as a victor. The presence of athletic events is attested by epigraphic evidence: notably, an inscription from the late third or early second century BC commemorates the victory of an athlete in a footrace at the Olympieia in Dion (Moretti 1953, 141-143, no. 54). The festival likely also featured musical competitions, as suggested by a third-century BC inscription honoring a multi-award-winning musician (IG IV 682), as well as by the festival’s dedication to the Nine Muses (Csapo-Wilson 2020, 596).

E. BADIAN, ‘Greeks and Macedonians’, in B. BARR-SHARRAR – E.N. BORZA (eds.), Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Times, Washington 1982, pp. 33-51; E. CSAPO – P. WILSON, A social and economic history of the theatre to 300 BC. Vol. II. Theatre beyond Athens: documents with translation and commentary, Cambridge 2020; M. MARI, ‘Le Olimpie macedoni di Dion tra Archelao e l’età romana’, Riv. Fil. Istr. Cl. 126, 1998, 137-169; M. MARI, Al di là dell’Olimpo, Atene 2002; L. MORETTI, Iscrizioni agonistiche greche, 1953.

Archelaus, Demosthenes, Macedon, Philip II, Olympieia, musical contests

[Alessandra Manieri]