Athenion (strategist Cleopatra)
Athenion was in the late 30s BC. The strategist of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra in Koilesyria .
Life
Athenion is only through the reports by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus about Herod known. His depiction, however, is colored extremely hostile to Cleopatra and reflects the negative reporting of the memoirs of the Jewish king about the Ptolemaic ruler, which found their way into Josephus' historical writings about Nikolaos of Damascus . Accordingly, Josephus' not very reliable reporting on Cleopatra should be interpreted with caution.
As 32 BC When the preparations for the final war between Mark Antony and Octavian started, Herod wanted to rush to help Antony with an army, but was sent back to fight the Nabatean king Malchus . According to Josephus, Cleopatra is said to have been responsible for the triumvir's decision, which the ancient historian Christoph Schäfer does not believe. When Herod then won a first military confrontation against the Nabateans and threatened to defeat them in a second battle near Kanatha , Athenion intervened in favor of the Nabataeans and played a decisive role in causing the Jewish troops a heavy defeat. Christoph Schäfer considers the alleged attack of Athenion to be an invention of Josephus or his sources, including the argument why Cleopatra's strategist did not interfere in the later, very successful battles of Herod against the Nabataeans (around the summer of 31 BC) have. Michael Grant is less skeptical of Josephus' report.
Nothing is known about the further fate of the Athenion.
literature
- Ulrich Wilcken : Athenion 5. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Col. 2039.
- Michael Grant : Cleopatra. Biography (= Bastei-Lübbe-Taschenbuch. Vol. 61416). Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1998, ISBN 3-404-61416-X , p. 271.
- Christoph Schäfer : Cleopatra . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-15418-5 , pp. 200f.
Remarks
- ↑ Michael Grant, Cleopatra , p. 223.
- ↑ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 15, 110; Jewish War 1, 365.
- ↑ Christoph Schäfer, Cleopatra , pp. 199f.
- ↑ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 15, 112-119; Jewish War 1, 366-369.
- ↑ Christoph Schäfer, Cleopatra , p. 200f.
- ↑ Michael Grant, Cleopatra , p. 271.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Athenion |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ptolemaic strategist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1st century BC BC or 1st century |