Andrew Chugg just has published a
third analysis about the Tomb at
Amphipolis in an effort to tie it to Olympias,
the mother of Alexander the Great.
Here he elaborates his earlier theory
about the snake basket on the head of the caryatids and about their dress (see:
Additional scrutiny of the Caryatides of Amphipolis by Andrew Chugg), referring
to ancient writers and similar depictions from antiquity.
Andrew Chugg’s argumentation is
that after Olympias was murdered, her
relatives would have felt it their duty to give her a proper burial, to which Cassander must have agreed. Cassander was married to Thessalonica, Alexander’s half-sister
and daughter of Philip II, and as
such, she might have exercised some pressure on her husband. And then there was Cleopatra, by now Queen of Epirus, Alexander’s sister and daughter of Philip II and Olympias, who could have been involved in the burial. Olympias had many rich and influential
relatives who might have been more than willing to build her tomb. Chugg goes
even as far as involving Roxane and
her son by Alexander as well since
both were kept at Amphipolis for another seven years after Olympias’ murder. Funeral rites were sacred in ancient Macedonia ,
and Cassander knew that, as well as
all the generals previously fighting alongside Alexander, meaning that Cassander
may not have had much of a choice.
The author does not accept the
idea of this being an abandoned cenotaph built for Alexander since, in such a case, the painstaking job of sealing the
access walls and filling the chambers with tons of sand would make no sense.
Those wanting to unravel Andrew Chugg's ideas can consult his full story in The Greek Reporter.
Those wanting to unravel Andrew Chugg's ideas can consult his full story in The Greek Reporter.
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