Ancient Macedonia - (Trends in Classics - Key Perspectives on Classical Research) by Miltiades B Hatzopoulos (Paperback)

About the Book

Offering an in depth critical reappraisal of a selected topics especially prominent in Macedonian studies, this book aims at providing up-to-date answers to questions concerning both the foundation and expansion of the Macedonian kingdom, as well as

Book Synopsis

Nearly two centuries have passed since K. O. Müller published the first "scientific" study "on the habitat, the origin and the early history of the Macedonian people". An ever growing number of publications appearing each year has rendered urgent a critical appraisal of this exuberant production, the more so that many aspects of ancient Macedonia remain controversial, if not problematic. Yet after seventy years of large-scale systematic excavations the activity of Greek archaeologists, as well as the labour of scholars from all over the world, have revealed a heretofore terra incognita and given a consistency to the people that Alexander led to the end of the known world. Now more than ever before we can tackle the "main problems" that have been contested without conclusion: Where exactly was Macedonia? Which were its limits? Where did the Macedonians come from? What language did they speak? What cults did they practice? Did they believe in an afterlife? What political and social institutions did they have? What was Alexander's role in his father's death? What were his aims? To what extent can we trust ancient historians? Alexander failed to provide a stable successor to the Achaemenid multiethnic empire, and the sands of Egypt have effaced even the traces of his last abode, yet if he returned to life, he could still boast in the words of Cavafy, a modern Alexandrian in every sense, "a new Hellenic world, a great one, came to be ... with the extended dominions, with the various attempts at judicious adaptations. And the Greek koine language all the way to outer Bactria we carried it, to the peoples of India".

Review Quotes

"All in all, Hatzopoulos' Ancient Macedonia is a concise yet comprehensive overview of the main research questions and their historical development presented in a well-structured and very readable manner. He always takes into account the sources and scholars' views, positioning his own views at the end of his critical assessments, though not excluding himself from criticism -- several times he admits to having reconsidered and changed earlier positions. The book offers excellent help for anyone seeking access to the complex discussions of all aspects of Macedonian studies and fully meets the objectives of the series and is indeed suitable for (advanced) students and researchers alike." Marlis Arnhold in: BMCR 2021.09.40.

About the Author

Miltiades B. Hatzopoulos, Academy of Athens and KERA, Athens, Greece and Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris, France.