Culture and ideology under the Seleukids : unframing a dynasty / edited by Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides, Stefan Pfeiffer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Anagnostou-Laoutides, Eva, editor.

Pfeiffer, Stefan, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Seleucids--History.

Seleucids.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 360 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, [2022]

Summary:

The volume offers a timely (re-)appraisal of Seleukid cultural dynamics. While the engagement of Seleukid kings with local populations and the issue of “Hellenization” are still debated, a movement away from the Greco-centric approach to the study of the sources has gained pace. Increasingly textual sources are read alongside archaeological and numismatic evidence, and relevant near-eastern records are consulted.Our study of Seleukid kingship adheres to two game-changing principles: 1. We are not interested in judging the Seleukids as “strong” or “weak” whether in their interactions with other Hellenistic kingdoms or with the populations they ruled. 2. While appreciating the value of the social imaginaries approach (Stavrianopoulou, 2013), we argue that the use of ethnic identity in antiquity remains problematic.Through a pluralistic approach, in line with the complex cultural considerations that informed Seleukid royal agendas, we examine the concept of kingship and its gender aspects; tensions between centre and periphery; the level of “acculturation” intended and achieved under the Seleukids; the Seleukid-Ptolemaic interrelations. As rulers of a multi-cultural empire, the Seleukids were deeply aware of cultural politics.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Preface

Acknowledgements

Contents

Abbreviations

Introduction Un-Framing Seleukid Ideology

I Representations and Perceptions: Ideology and the Beginnings of a Monarchy

The Seleukid Royal Family as a Reigning Triad

Alexander vs. Soter vs. Nikator. Die Rolle Alexanders, Ptolemaios’ I. und Seleukos’ I. in der politischen Legitimation ihrer Nachfolger

Coinage and the Creation of the Seleukid Kingdom

Seleucus and the Typology of Heracles

Memory and Ideology of the First Successors of Alexander the Great as inscribed on Roman Mosaics from Apameia of Syria

II Political Culture: A Contested Monarchy

Wars of the Brothers: the Contested Coalescence of Seleukid Statehood in mid-Third-Century Asia Minor

The Reception of Seleukid Ideology in Second-Century BCE Judaea

Popular Resistance to Seleukid Claims of Hegemony

III Local Ideology: The Babylonian Tradition and Greek Culture

How to understand Seleukids as Babylonian “Great Kings”

Au sujet de la puissance symbolique des vêtements du souverain en Babylonie et dans l’Orient grec hellénistiques

Flexing Mythologies in Babylon and Antioch-on-the-Orontes: Divine Champions and their Aquatic Enemies under the Early Seleukids

The Death of Antiochos IV in the Context of Babylonian Hellenistic Historiography

IV Cultural Interdependencies: Empires and Ideologies in Dialogue

The Influence of Seleukid Coinage upon the Bithynian and Pontic Monarchies to the Reign of Mithridates VI

Kingship and Ruler Cult in Hellenistic Bactria: Beyond the Numismatic Sources

Great King Ptolemy III and Great King Antiochos III: Remarks on the Significance of a “Persian” Title in their Representation

Mehr als Schall und Rauch? Das Seleukidenreich und seine antiken Namen

Notes on Contributors (in alphabetical order)

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on July 11, 2022)

Other Format:

Print version: Anagnostou-Laoutides, Eva Culture and Ideology under the Seleukids

ISBN:

3-11-075562-9

OCLC:

1294426081