Saving documents and books in antiquity

Nowadays, saving our documents and information on our computers is very obvious. Before the digital era, we relied on typewriters and printers to distribute our pamphlets, advertisements, letters, and books. 

It is hard to imagine that in antiquity nothing of the kind existed, but then the needs were entirely different. Public information, laws, decrees, and other important notices were inscribed on stone slabs or posted on walls in conspicuous places throughout the city, and eventually shared with other cities.  

Exchanging documents and letters over longer distances, as during Alexander’s campaigns, required writing on papyrus, a lightweight material that could be easily transported. His correspondence with Antipater, Olympias, Aristotle, Sisygambis, governors, and generals all over his ever-growing empire required an active exchange of news and information.

Eumenes and Callisthenes, serving as Alexander’s secretaries, must have been very busy and very organized. We tend to forget that they also kept copies of Alexander’s correspondence, official documents, and perhaps private letters as well. This becomes apparent when Eumenes’ tent went up in flames after a conflict that arose as Nearchus was preparing the fleet to sail the Southern Sea. 

Alexander had exhausted his own treasury and had to borrow money from his friends, including Eumenes, to finance Nearchus’ expedition. His secretary was to contribute 300 talents, but being stingy, he gave only 100 talents. Alexander did not accept Eumenes’ excuse that it was not without difficulty and decided to set his friend’s tent on fire. He expected Eumenes to rush his money out, and thus admit he had been lying. The plan went wrong, and the tent burned down entirely, leaving a clump of smelted gold and silver worth one thousand talents. In the process, Alexander’s archives were reduced to ashes. It is Plutarch who tells us that Alexander asked several governors and generals to send Eumenes copies of the papers that had been destroyed. This proves that Alexander did indeed keep a record of his correspondence! 

We so often read of papers and books that have only partially survived or are only known second-hand or not at all, except for the title. This situation is inherent to the mindset of the time and to the degradation of the natural support used (papyrus). 

Papyrus is a vegetal product and a very practical writing support, but it is also fragile. It has been calculated that papyrus documents had a lifespan of a maximum of one hundred years. This may have suited the needs at the time, but the chances of having them still around two thousand years later are very slim. 

Chances of survival were greater if there were many copies of a text, like, for instance, for theater plays. Yet, professional writers were expensive, and the costs were borne by the author. In Roman times, wealthy citizens could afford to have certain scrolls copied for their own use, but they would hardly survive after the Fall of the Roman Empire. 

Under exceptional conditions, some scrolls or bits of papyrus, however, reached us. The most telling example is the scrolls that survived the fire in Herculaneum after the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Only recently have we been able to decipher their content without having to unroll the brittle carbonized scrolls (see: Reading the papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum). 

Another situation developed in Egypt. The garbage dump in Oxyrhynchus that served as fuel to the local population in the 19^th century appeared to contain a huge amount of hitherto unknown papyrus texts ranging from the Ptolemaic era to the Muslim conquests in the 7^th century AD. The papyri consist of private letters and public documents such as a variety of official correspondence, theater plays, records, sales, wills, and inventories. The deciphering of the papyri is ongoing, as only a handful of scholars are capable of recognizing where the bit of papyrus text belongs. 

When parchment was introduced in the 2^nd century BC, documents stood a better chance of survival, although even animal skins had their limits. However, parchment was extremely expensive to make. 

With the passage of time, interest and taste evolved and changed. Treatises, studies, analyses, and even books and poems went out of fashion and vanished altogether. 

As the writing supports were decaying, it is not surprising that documenting Alexander’s life is a nearly impossible task, despite the second-hand recordings by Arrian, Diodorus, Curtius, and Plutarch, who could still access some original documents (see: Eyewitness accounts of Alexander’s life).

[Top picture Derveni papyrus 340 BC, Thessaloniki Museum.
Bottom picture from Archaeology News, Digs & Discoveries] 

Another case of restoration vs. reconstruction

The streets of the ancient city of Perge have been disfigured by so-called restorations! Last year, I wrote extensively about this problem (see: Restoration or reconstruction?), giving different examples. So, nothing new, except the stubbornness of those know-it-alls. 

One of the greatest pleasures of visiting an ancient city is to enjoy what time has left for us to see. There is no need to embellish the site and certainly not to bury the antique pavement under a smooth new layer of stones. If visitors cannot accept Perge as it was unearthed, they had better stay home. Nobody in their right mind will build a comfortable road to the top of the Mont Blanc, Mount St. Helens, or Mount Everest. Why expect our protected ancient cities to be turned into something that was never there? 

The colonnaded street that runs through Perge is unique, with a canal at its center to serve as an aqueduct and refresh the city on hot summer days. The pavement of the sidewalk that covers the space between the columns and the shops is one of the rare such examples that have survived. 

The old stone slabs, witnessing centuries-old ruts and other scars of time, have been covered with new stones joined together with cement! Romans knew concrete as they practically invented it, but they never used it for their road constructions! 

History has been buried under new modern stone slabs. Today’s visitor will no longer see the genuine ancient street. The entire ‘feel’ of witnessing something precious and unique has been erased forever. 

The head of the Perge Excavation Project, Professor Sedef Cokay, defends her action by saying that the original stones had shifted due “to rain, natural factors, and foot traffic from visitors”. Some stones were dislocated or missing, so what? Many cities around the world have streets like these today, heavy traffic or not. 

Second prize is the argument that “time will restore the feel of the old road”. Tricking the visitors and tourists into believing they still walk on an authentic ancient road is a misrepresentation; it is not correct and, worse, it is not true!

Reopening of the Getty Villa Museum

It is official, the Getty Villa Museum in Malibu, California, will reopen to the public on Friday, 27 June 2025. 

We still vividly recall the Palisades Fire that broke out on 7 January 2025 (see: Fire threatening the Getty Villa in Malibu), forcing the Villa to close. Trees and vegetation on the property have burned, but the Villa and its precious collection remained safe and intact (see: An update from Getty during the Los Angeles fires). 

Over the past months, an extensive cleanup took place, in and outside the Museum. The operation included flushing the water system, replacing all air and water filters, and removing more than 1,300 trees damaged by the fire. Every effort has been made to receive the public in a safe environment. 

As a first step, the Getty Villa will be open on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 10 am to 5 pm for 500 visitors daily. Reservations are required for free entry, while the parking fee will remain $25. To book online, click here. At present, the Villa is not accessible via Sunset Blvd., and visitors should enter via the Pacific Coast Highway. 

As of June 27, the Getty Villa kicks off with a brand-new exhibition, The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece, which will run until 12 January 2026. Visitors will be treated to 230 works of art from Messenia (modern Messene), the heart of Mycenaean civilization in the Late Bronze Age in Greece. 

This fall, Getty’s Classical Theater will return with the production of Oedipus the King.

Mysterious relief statues near Seleucia, modern Silifke

On the southern slopes of the Taurus Mountains lies Silifke or ancient Seleucia, one of the many cities founded by Seleucos I (see: Excavations at the ancient city of Olba). 

In its vicinity, a mysterious group of reliefs in the rock wall has intrigued archaeologists. It must be said that they stand out as gold figures against the dark canyon wall, attracting the attention of illegal treasure hunters who truly believed they could find gold inside them and damaged the statues as recently as 2015. 

There are 19 figures in all, 11 men, 4 women, 2 children, plus a mountain goat and an eagle. It is thought that they represent kings and queens from ancient Olba. 

The reliefs are presented in different compositions to commemorate the dead, such as in the ritual scene, the farewell of a soldier, or a feast scene for the dead. Of a different kind is the scene where a man holds grapes in one hand and the horns of a goat with the other. One figure is pouring what could be a libation from a jug into the bowl in his other hand. 

Sadly, the inscriptions under the reliefs do not help to identify the figures. The names may refer to the artist who created them or some important personality who wanted to be remembered. 

Scholars could, however, determine that the reliefs were carved over a period of 250 years, with the latest having been completed in the 2^nd century AD. 

These figures are a far cry from the well-known temple tombs dug out of the cliffs in Caria and Lycia, for instance, and seem to be quite unique.

[Pictures are from Arkeonews]

Iraq’s Kurdistan honoring the memory of Alexander the Great

Several years ago, there were talks between Athens and Baghdad to intensify cultural cooperation. One point on the agenda was that Athens would provide financial aid to reconstruct the National Museum of Baghdad (see: The Museum of Baghdad, what's new?). The other point was plans to erect a statue of Alexander the Great in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. 

[National Museum Baghdad]

The foreign ministries of both Greece and Iraq agreed to honor the memory of Alexander by building a statue of Alexander in Mosul, near the ancient site of the Battle of Gaugamela, where King Darius (see: The Battle of Gaugamela) was defeated in 331 BC. 

It is remarkable to hear Iraq’s wish to celebrate the victory of Alexander over the Persian King Darius, which led to the demise of the Persian Empire that included Iraq as well. 

Athens vowed to help the Iraqi government recover thousands of artifacts looted from Baghdad’s National Museum after the American invasion in 2003. 

These mutual promises apparently went no further than good intentions by both parties, as mentioned during a Lecture by Andreas P. Parpas at the Cyprus Centre of Cultural Heritage in Nicosia on 25 April 2018. 

Since then, nothing more has been heard about this project. 

Meanwhile, looted and stolen artifacts are slowly returning to the National Museum of Baghdad. In 2010, 540 treasures were returned, and 638 objects were located in the office of Iraq’s Prime Minister. In 2012, 45 relics of Sumerian and Assyrian art were returned by Germany. The US also returned 17,000 looted artifacts in 2021. And in 2023, the FBI was involved in the recovery of a gold and ivory piece of furniture dated to 5,500 BC. Despite serious efforts, it is estimated that about 10,000 treasures from the Baghdad Museum are still missing. 

On the other hand, the US pledged almost $700,000 to restore the ancient city of Babylon that was damaged by the US troops using the site as a military base (see: Babylon, victim of war). 

Natural air-conditioning in antiquity

Air-coolers and air-conditioning are hot news these days when global temperatures are rising and we seek the comforting relief provided by modern technology. Little do we know about the solutions our ancestors were familiar with. 

Traveling through Iran in April/May, temperatures often rose to 40 degrees Celsius and above. I had heard that many cities managed to keep their houses and streets cool thanks to an efficient system of wind catchers, called badgirs. Today’s examples date back to the 14^th century, but the system existed in Achaemenid times, well before the arrival of Alexander in Persia. 

The city of Yazd on the Central Iranian Plateau is punctuated with some 700 of these strange towers, which, to the untrained eye, look very modern. They fit the city landscape but also seem out of place amidst parked cars and busy traffic. For centuries, the badgirs pull fresh air into buildings and houses, pushing the hot air out through large vertical slots. 

Depending on the prevailing winds and other weather conditions, the towers were designed differently. They could be taller or smaller, have only one opening, and no internal partition if the wind blows constantly from the same direction. When the wind direction is variable, the tower would be divided into vertical sections with openings to the sides pointing in multiple directions. In Yazd, all wind-catchers are four- or eight-sided. 

The Zoroastrian village of Cham near Yazd proudly displays its badgers. Near the Towers of Silence, we also find them surrounding the water cistern. In Zoroastrian belief, earth, fire, and water are holy elements that should not be polluted by their dead. For that reason, they placed their remains on a Tower of Silence where vultures could pick the bodies clean.

Typically, like so many cities in desert areas, houses are built closely together with small windows away from the sun along narrow streets. In Iran, these alleys are called sabats, partially or entirely covered with a series of arches for protection from the sun. 

The wind towers in Iran were also extended to be used as a refrigerating device. That’s why we often see them standing like sentinels around traditional water reservoirs capable of cooling the water to near-freezing temperatures in summer. 

Wind-catchers are not limited to Yazd or Iran but were also present in Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa, the UAE, West Asia, and India.

This makes one wonder why, in today’s world, it is so difficult to develop a free and carbon-zero solution to replace expensive air-conditioners. I agree that our cities are not fit to build these low-tech installations, but beach resorts and countryside settlements could very well profit from our forefathers’ invention.

An alabaster bust of Alexander

Alexandria, founded by Alexander in 333 BC, remains largely hidden under the modern city. Occasional excavations occur, mostly in the Al-Shatby suburb, which was occupied from the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD. This neighborhood is perhaps better known as the Shallalat Gardens, where parts of the ancient city walls and a statue of Alexander were recently discovered (see: Magnificent Alexander statue found in Alexandria). It is believed that the Royal Quarters were located underneath these Gardens.

The Al-Shatby neighborhood was an ancient residential and commercial zone, a trade center during Ptolemaic rule. It held a lively market selling amphorae, pottery, and plates produced locally. The workshops were specialized in creating statues, statuettes, and amulets for the warriors. 

[Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities]

The place made headlines recently when an alabaster bust of Alexander was unearthed. Alabaster was highly esteemed in ancient Egypt, where it was used for various sacred and sepulchral objects. The picture of the Alexander bust looks promising, but no information about its size or the context in which it was found. Since molds for statues in his effigy are mentioned in the same context in the article by Ancient Origins, we might assume archaeologists are pointing toward local workshops. 

Studies revealed a main road (perhaps the Canopic Road?) and adjacent streets connected to a sewage system. A sophisticated network of wells was discovered; also, water tanks were used to collect and store rain, floodwater, and groundwater to be used in case of droughts. 

So far, the main discovery is the necropolis complex holding tombs of people who migrated from Greece, Macedonia, Crete, and Asia Minor. A vast underground multi-chambered complex has been exposed with a large Hypogeum A, and two smaller Hypogeums. Hypogeum A yielded many sculptures, coins, glass artifacts, and plenty of pottery, especially a type of hydria (water jar with two opposite horizontal handles and one vertical one) typical for Alexandria. This is the city’s oldest archaeological site, dating back to the late 4^th-3^rd century BC. 

It remains extremely difficult to get a comprehensive overview of Alexandria as built by Ptolemy I Soter and his successors. The Great Library is best known from literary descriptions (see: Alexandria, the first Renaissance); the same applies to the famous Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (see: Not all Seven Wonders of the World are the same).

Aristotle/Alexander

No doubt, all fans and admirers of Alexander will look forward to attending this play at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California. This is how Getty promotes 

Aristotle/Alexander:

When star philosopher Aristotle accepts the coveted position of court tutor for an adolescent Alexander the Great, an intellectual battle of wits between teacher and student collides with high stakes Hellenistic realpolitik bearing life and death consequences. Ancient Greece would never be the same.

Weekends through May 10th

8pm Saturdays; 3pm Sundays

Company of Angels Theater, Boyle Heights

Witness the world premiere of Aristotle/Alexander, a play workshopped at the Getty Villa Theater Lab in 2024. Chronicling the story of Aristotle and a young Alexander the Great’s intellectual battle of wits, Noho Arts describes the new play as “utterly sublime” and “disturbingly relevant.”

Written and directed by Alex Lyras.

*Code GETTY50 is valid for 50% off each ticket throughout the run.

Learn more and purchase tickets

A Greek theatre, a first in the Ionian Islands

 As a matter of course, we expect about every Greek city to have a theater. This is, however, not the case on the Greek islands – until now. 

The Ionian island of Lefkada, situated along the west coast of Greece, lies about halfway between Corfu (ancient Corcyra) and Patras and has surprised every archaeologist with the presence of a large theater. 

In the 7^th century BC, many Corinthians set off to establish new colonies, such as Syracuse in Sicily, and some settled in Lefkada. This island is best known for its white cliffs, where the poetess Sappho jumped to her death in despair rather than facing an impossible love. 

Thanks to its strategic position along busy maritime routes, the city-state reached high cultural and economic prosperity. Archaeological research exposed sections of the city wall, residential structures, the harbor, and, more recently, remains of a theater on the northeastern slope of Koulmos Hill. 

[Picture from Greece Is]

Excavations started seriously in 2017, and soon the entire theater was exposed. It was established that it was built in the 4^th century BC and consisted of 21 rows of seats arranged around the orchestra. Originally, it could seat 3,500 spectators, but later extensions created space for over 10,000 visitors as more seats were added above an inserted diazoma. 

The latest excavation gave a good insight into the preserved sections of retaining walls (north and south), the seating area, the orchestra, and the stage itself. Many decorative elements have been revealed, as well as three beautifully carved thrones decorated with lion legs, dolphins, birds, sirens, and more. These were intended for priests or other city officials.

The fate of the theater was closely tied to that of Lefkada, which gradually declined in Roman times. As the city was abandoned at the end of antiquity, the theater’s stones were reused for later constructions elsewhere. 

Sealing a sarcophagus with lead staples

Over the centuries, history has seen sarcophagi in all shapes and sizes, and one would think we know them all. 

Well, here is a surprise. In today’s city of Reims in northern France, archaeologists discovered a sarcophagus that had been sealed off with huge staples! 

[Picture from Artnet,  © Émilie Jouhet, Inrap]

Excavating the necropolis of Durocortorum, as Reims was known in the days of Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, and more precisely of the local Remi tribe. 

By 51 BC, the city reached its heyday when it was enriched with many Roman monuments including a Forum and several Bath Houses. Reims has also yielded a huge Roman building from the 2^nd century AD including two nearly 20-meter-long Stoas. 

Outside the city wall, a vast necropolis was established. This surprised the archaeologists since the place was known as a swamp. 

However, the Roman engineers had managed to redirect the water to the Vesle River by building large ditches. The site so far revealed the remains of 20 burials. Among them was this unique, unopened sarcophagus from the 2^nd century AD, fastened with strong lead staples! The rough limestone used suggests that the tomb was built with spolia recuperated from elsewhere. 

The sarcophagus contained the skeleton of a woman surrounded by her funerary gifts, such as two glass bottles, a jug, four oil lamps, an amber ring, a comb, and a mirror.

[Picture from Artnet,  © Émilie Jouhet, Inrap]

A further study of the woman’s remains is currently underway, including a DNA sample that will be compared with the 80 already existing ones. So far, some 5,000 tombs have been excavated in the Reims area. 

We are not often talking about the far-reaching impressions Caesar’s conquest left in Gaul, but this stapled sarcophagus seems to be one of a kind…!

A Roman bust retrieved in Soli Pompeiopolis (Mersin)

Excavations in Soli have been ongoing since 2015 (see: A two-month project to excavate the city of Soli), and each year, more remains of buildings, walls, and statues reach the news. 

[Picture from Hürriyet Daily News]

The most recent find appears to be the bust of a Roman Emperor or another high-placed nobleman. Based on the style of his curly full beard, he has been dated to the 2^nd-3^rd century AD. Emperor Hadrian, who visited Cilicia in 129-130 AD, seems to have initiated the beard fashion that had been abandoned after Alexander the Great. 

After Hadrian, Roman men were generally depicted with a beard, and many of the successive emperors followed suit. 

The bust was recovered near the colonnade street and may have belonged to one of the statues that stood on the plinth of one of these columns. 

The near life-size head has been transferred to the Museum in Mersin, which holds many of the recent finds.

All Alexander's Women (enlarged edition 2025) by Robbert Bosschart

In this new edition of All Alexander's Women (enlarged edition 2025), Robbert Bosschart further develops the role of women in Alexander's life, including their place as equals to men. 

It is fascinating to follow the author as he digs ever deeper into the many oriental sources that are not commonly shared in our Western literature. Besides the Darab-Nama, and the Sikandar-Nama, the Persian versions of the Alexander Romance, he discusses the Liber de Morte, Alexander’s fictional last will, and his role as prophet in the Koran. The Persian viewpoint is unique and worth further investigation, an ongoing process - as it turns out.

Hence Bosschart’s updated and enlarged edition, which is richly illustrated with many rare and very telling pictures. 

The content of his book has been discussed in my earlier blogpost of May 2018 when I commented on his 3^rd edition. The matter of Equality of women and men in ancient Persia has been developed in my recent post with the eponymous title.

Petra's famous Treasury reveals a large tomb

In my post of February 2014, I wrote that archaeologists had discovered a level below the known ground floor of Petra’s Treasury (see: Hellenistic Petra, an indirect heritage of Alexander). It was thought that this meant that the entrance was at least four meters lower than accepted till then. Nothing more was published on the subject till October 2024 – a good ten years later! 

An article published on the site Arkeofil announced that archaeological scans revealed the presence of an underground tomb containing the remains of 12 skeletons buried in separate sarcophagi. It was established that the tomb dates from between the 1^st century BC and the 2^nd century AD. 

The most likely theory is that it was built around 40 AD as a Mausoleum for the Nabataean King Aretas IV Philopatris. It remains hard to prove since the Nabataeans made little difference between classes, meaning the royals could be buried in the same way as the average population. However, the location beneath the Treasury may indicate that the grave belonged to people of high status like a king. 

The skeletons, and the grave goods such as ceramics, bronze, iron, and pottery will allow for narrowing down the dating of the tomb. A DNA test of the skeletons will determine whether they belonged to the same family. 

Equality of women and men in ancient Persia

The thought alone causes most people to frown their eyebrows and stare at me in utter disbelief. Who says this? 

Well, obviously not our Greek and later Roman historians for whom the Persians were the enemy. Persian sources, however, describe their women as enterprising, independent, and resolute. This has been widely researched by Robbert Bosschart in his book All Alexander’s Women on which I commented repeatedly (see: Persia’s historical memory of Alexander). An updated version, his 5^th edition is now available on Amazon. 

His study, based on the in-depth research published by such experts as professors Amélie Kuhrt, Maria Brosius, Jozef Wiesehöfer, Wouter Henkelman, and others is concentrated on the clay tablets found at Persepolis (see: Fire over Persepolis) and saved by the fire as mentioned in his chapter Biographical/Geographical Notes: 

“An unintended consequence of these fires was the preservation of clay archive tablets, cooked and hardened. About a hundred Treasury Archive texts from Persepolis, recording royal payments in silver in 492-458 BC were made available between 1948 and 1965. Other texts, published in 1970, were written in Aramaic. This coincided with the biggest windfall: the discovery of over 8,000 texts, dated between 509 and 493 BC and found on tablets in the Persepolis Fortification Archive. They deal with the royal administration of food commodities. About 7,000 are written in the Elamite language of Susa, with some incrustations of Old Persian. Another thousand were written in Aramaic, but there is also one in Greek, one in Frygian, and a few in Neo-Babylonian.” 

He further underscores how and where women are mentioned performing tasks we would expect were those of men:

 … “the archive tablets routinely register travel rations of wine, beer and grain issued to royal women for extensive journeys throughout the empire on their own behalf. And … to commoner women ... For example, one tablet (… dated to 493 BC), registers a journey by a woman employee from Susa, Mizapirzaka, who has to carry a letter to Persepolis. The text adds that she carries a personal seal (…) that authorizes her to claim provisions at the waystations.” 

Until recently, the ruling opinion was that the Greeks doubted how women “could obtain and exercise power in the Achaemenid monarchy.  How could an empire be ‘well ruled’ if women were influential and even exercised power over the king himself?”…

.. “with the publication, around 1970, of numerous tablet texts from the Persepolis Fortification site … Dr Maria Brosius identifies a particular category of women officials who carry the title of Arashara.  … specifically mentions four Arasharas by name: Dakma, Harbakka, Matmaba and Sadukka. Meat rations are rare, so the issuing of 4 complete sheep to each of these women supervisors confirms their important payment level. …

At least ten more tablets refer to the salary of Arasharas, showing that these highly qualified women were better paid than male personnel of lower professional rank. …

[Achaemenid, maybe Arashara statuette

from Bosschart's book]

750 measures of wine among 65 employees; three Arasharas receive 30 measures each, whereas a male scribe at the same workplace gets only 20. On another tablet we even see an Arashara being issued 50 measures. The sliding scale of payment in order of professional qualification (and not by gender distinction) … distributes wine rations: two men who are called ‘manual workers’ get 10 measures each; two other men who are “doorkeepers” by profession, get 20 measures each; and the Arashara is allotted 30 measures. The highest payment (in grain) of all the tablets in the archive also goes to an Arashara: 75 quarts per month…

… an exceptionally high number of Arasharas worked at the service of queen-mother Irdabama. The circa 7,000 archive texts that have been translated so far mention some 150 places in the region of Persepolis (and in a few cases, beyond) where royal ladies had storehouses or workshops. Usually the personnel working there was overseen by Arasharas.”

...

"The tablets show women in a wide range of occupations in Persepolis: woodworkers and stoneworkers, artisans, winemakers, furniture makers, treasury clerks, storekeepers, carriers, grain handlers. A tablet dated to 502 BC refers to ‘Indukka, mother of Tuku’, stating that she is “the chief of the merchants”. It registers the amount of tax she has paid -in silver- on “the business deal that she has managed”.

 

… “Irdabama regularly orders greater amounts of foodstuffs to be delivered at the palace from her own … storehouses … Irdabama has more personnel working at her various factories. On top, she can direct the royal treasury to make payments in silver” …

As Alexander traveled in the company of Queen-mother Sisygambis from Issus to Susa the equality of royals and commoners must have become apparent. His close company with Barsine undoubtedly confirmed and enhanced the role of women. Dr. Maria Brosius further writes:

“Persian queens were much more than consorts, or than queen-mothers supposedly ruling a palace harem. They had a huge influence in decisions about whom to promote, whom to punish, whom to execute, or whose life to spare. Sisygambis, queen-mother of Darius III, also wielded such power, even after her son had been replaced on the throne by Alexander the Great. He pointedly upheld her status as the most prominent woman in the empire, and treated her as if she were his own mother.” 

There is little doubt about the real meaning behind the mass-wedding in Susa as arranged by Alexander in 324 BC (see: Susa with its unique glazed brick walls). Lacking time and knowledge, he could not personally choose the brides-to-be for his Companions and close friends but Sisygambis could and did. The brides, many of them princesses in their own right, were selected with care, and probably well-prepared by Sisygambis for their new role as wife of one of Alexander’s marshals. Their independence would inevitably trickle down to their children and children’s children. What an ambitious vision! 

Alexander always led by example. His wedding with Stateira, the eldest daughter of King Darius III, and Parysatis, the youngest daughter of King Artaxerxes III was celebrated at the same time as that of 90 court members. Each of the newlywed couples received a dowry from the king and on this happy occasion, Alexander granted a gratuity to his Macedonians who had taken Asian wives during his campaigns. He paid out of his own pocket for the proper education of their children. 

The Susa celebration was Alexander’s first step towards uniting West and East, not limited to Greece and Persia but encompassing the entire then-known world. He laid the basis for one single world in which everybody was equal, East or West, man or woman. What we call today an emancipated woman existed for 2,500 years, not as a dream but a reality! So much time has been lost on the subject! 

Alexander was a visionary, but none of his generals or friends understood his vision. The one exception was Hephaistion, but he died shortly after the wedding, poisoned no doubt. As a result, Alexander’s plans were muffled and erased from history. 

When the king died one year later, his world died with him. Had Alexander lived long enough, we would all speak Greek. What’s more, for 2,500 years our world would have been one where men and women lived on the same foot, with the same rights and the same status. 

The surprise of Myndos

Nowadays, Myndos is probably best-known for its underwater causeway running from the city’s harbor to Rabbit Island, which is guarding the mainland. It is a favorite with the tourists who happily walk across the bay when the sea level is only reaching to their knees. Otherwise, the site has very little to offer with cut stones and column drums strewn around. 

These ruins make it very difficult to imagine that Myndos was once a large prosperous city. In 377 BC, King Mausolos of Halicarnassus established Caria’s independence from Persia. He rebuilt the cities of Myndos and Syangela, and moved all other Carians to Halicarnassus, which he proclaimed his new capital (see: Halicarnassus, capital of Caria). 

Myndos, modern Gümüșlük, had a well-sheltered harbor, well-protected against the prevailing wind. The city had a two-mile-long fortification wall and its most vulnerable southeastern section was strengthened with towers. The green granite used for its construction is the same as the one known from the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus. The quarry providing these stones has been located in Koyunbaba, some three kilometers to the north. 

Otherwise, hardly anything else remains from ancient Myndos. Some rock-cut stairs and foundations of houses are found on the hillside, but the ruins that were present in the early 19^th century have entirely disappeared. They are said to belong to a theater from the 4th century BC, a stadium with 7 columns, vaulted remains of a Bath, and a late Roman/early Byzantine basilica. 

Until the 1990s, there were more ancient stone blocks and bits of columns lying around in the village. Near a school, about 1.5 kilometers inland, some columns and Roman mosaics could be seen. Strangely, the nearby silver mines (hence the name Gümüșlük) are not mentioned in ancient sources. 

When Alexander besieged Halicarnassus in 334 BC, he speculated that Myndos would offer an easier approach. Some people in Myndos had actually suggested that they might open the city gates if he arrived under cover of darkness. Alexander took their word, but when he showed up at the gates there was no sign of surrender. Facing the betrayal, he ordered his Macedonians to attack without much result because he had not brought any rams, artillery or ladders. Myndos put up a vigorous resistance and soon was joined by Halicarnassus’ troops arriving by sea. Alexander was forced to withdraw and returned to besiege Halicarnassus. 

The capital of Caria was not taken so easily because the Persian commander Orontobates had the support of the Persian fleet. For the time being, Halicarnassus was no longer a real threat. Alexander moved on but left Ptolemy and Asander behind to finally take the city and to evict the remaining Persians. It was only a year later, in Soli, that Alexander received the long-awaited news that Halicarnassus had finally fallen!  At the same time, the town of Myndos came under Macedonian hands (see: A two-month-project to excavate the city of Soli). 

After the king’s death, Myndos was ruled by the Ptolemies from 308 until 275 BC. In 96 BC, it became independent and minted its own coins. Myndos was included in the Roman Province of Asia Minor in 133 BC. 

The harbor city was again in the news after the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, after which Brutus and Cassius were expelled from Rome; they took their fleet to safety here at Myndos. By the end of 42 BC, the two murderers lost the battle against Marc Antony and Octavian in Philippi, and Myndos was given to Rhodes (see: Philippi, Macedonia’s gold and silver mines). Not for long though as the Rhodians treated Myndos harshly and unfairly and became independent again. However, it gradually lost its prosperity, although it may have survived till the 7th century AD. 

Myndos is often referred to as a Lelegian town, dating back to the Bronze Age. Except for its name, it has no connection with the classical city discussed in this article and both have a different history. The Lelegian site is nowadays called Old Myndos and lies a good three kilometers southeast of Gümüșlük.