Philoi

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Philoi (Greek phíloi ) were the politically influential "friends of the king" during the Hellenistic period, i.e. the Hellenistic rulers who, among other things, formed the royal council.

The Hetairoi assumed such a position under Philip II and his son Alexander . Their number grew to over 100 during the time of Alexander; Hetairos eventually became a court title and the Hetairoi formed an advisory body to the king. In the Ptolemaic empire , of which we are best informed in this regard, there existed numerous graduated classes. The philoi talking, unless entrusted with tasks from the farm, doing the whole day in the area of the king.

Philoi are later detectable in numerous Hellenistic empires. In the case of the Seleucids (occupied since Seleucus IV ), they were placed in important positions by the king, for example as generals, governors of the provinces (satrapies) and as envoys in order to secure the executive power in the provinces through personal ties. These Philoi thus became an almost indispensable part of the functioning Hellenistic empires, in fact a new class of nobility. Inscriptions such as “King, Queen, our friends and armies ...” testify to this. Also the personal physician of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III. belonged to the Philoi.

Remarks

  1. See generally Hatto H. Schmitt : Hof F. Philoi and other court titles . In: Hatto H. Schmitt, Ernst Vogt (Ed.): Small Lexicon of Hellenism . Study edition, Wiesbaden 2003, pp. 254–258.
  2. ^ Wilhelm Dittenberger , Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae 219, 11.21ff.
  3. ^ Gundolf Keil : Apollophanos of Seleukia. In: Werner E. Gerabek u. a. (Ed.): Encyclopedia of medical history. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 79 f.

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