Turning Science into Miracle in the Voyage of Alexander the Great
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Irene Pajón Leyra
Abstract
This paper focuses on two particular anecdotes transmitted by the historiography of Alexander the Great: a lunar eclipse that predicted the Macedonian victory at the battle of Gaugamela and a miraculous ebb that made the sea recede and allowed Alexander’s army to cross the narrow path of Phaselis in southern Turkey, opening to him the way to Asia. In both cases the extraordinary phenomena are presented as proof of the divine blessing that accompanied Alexander during his Oriental campaign. Consequently, they are attributed to the intercession of a deity and/or demand a religious reaction for the part of the king, as e. g. a sacrifice. However, the description of these miracles and the ritual practices that follow them include details relating to the scientific explanations of eclipses and tides. This paper examines the possible origin of this melange of science and religion, focusing especially on the role played by Callisthenes, Aristotle’s nephew and Alexander’s earliest historian.
Abstract
This paper focuses on two particular anecdotes transmitted by the historiography of Alexander the Great: a lunar eclipse that predicted the Macedonian victory at the battle of Gaugamela and a miraculous ebb that made the sea recede and allowed Alexander’s army to cross the narrow path of Phaselis in southern Turkey, opening to him the way to Asia. In both cases the extraordinary phenomena are presented as proof of the divine blessing that accompanied Alexander during his Oriental campaign. Consequently, they are attributed to the intercession of a deity and/or demand a religious reaction for the part of the king, as e. g. a sacrifice. However, the description of these miracles and the ritual practices that follow them include details relating to the scientific explanations of eclipses and tides. This paper examines the possible origin of this melange of science and religion, focusing especially on the role played by Callisthenes, Aristotle’s nephew and Alexander’s earliest historian.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Table of Contents VII
- Introduction: In search of the Miraculous IX
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I. Miracles
- Ctesias’ Indica and the Origins of Paradoxography 3
- The Epidaurian Iamata: The first “Court of Miracles”? 17
- Medicine and the paradox in the Hippocratic Corpus and Beyond 31
- ‘One might rightly wonder’ – marvelling in Polybios Histories 63
- Omens and Miracles: Interpreting Miraculous Narratives in Roman Historiography 85
- Miracles and Pseudo-Miracles in Byzantine Apocalypses 111
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II. Workings of Miracles
- Wonder-ful Memories in Herodotus’ Histories 133
- Wonder(s) in Plautus 153
- Telling Tales of Wonder: Mirabilia in the Letters of Pliny the Younger 179
- Paradoxographic discourse on sources and fountains: deconstructing paradoxes 205
- Lucian’s Alexander: technoprophecy, thaumatology and the poetics of wonder 225
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III. Believing in Miracles
- Perceiving Thauma in Archaic Greek Epic 259
- Turning Science into Miracle in the Voyage of Alexander the Great 275
- ‘Many are the wonders in Greece’: Pausanias the wandering philosopher 305
- Miracles in Greek Biography 327
- Apuleius on Raising the Dead Crossing the Boundaries of Life and Death while Convincing the Audience 353
- Recognizing Miracles in ancient Greek Novels 381
- List of Contributors 417
- Index Nominum et Rerum 423
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Table of Contents VII
- Introduction: In search of the Miraculous IX
-
I. Miracles
- Ctesias’ Indica and the Origins of Paradoxography 3
- The Epidaurian Iamata: The first “Court of Miracles”? 17
- Medicine and the paradox in the Hippocratic Corpus and Beyond 31
- ‘One might rightly wonder’ – marvelling in Polybios Histories 63
- Omens and Miracles: Interpreting Miraculous Narratives in Roman Historiography 85
- Miracles and Pseudo-Miracles in Byzantine Apocalypses 111
-
II. Workings of Miracles
- Wonder-ful Memories in Herodotus’ Histories 133
- Wonder(s) in Plautus 153
- Telling Tales of Wonder: Mirabilia in the Letters of Pliny the Younger 179
- Paradoxographic discourse on sources and fountains: deconstructing paradoxes 205
- Lucian’s Alexander: technoprophecy, thaumatology and the poetics of wonder 225
-
III. Believing in Miracles
- Perceiving Thauma in Archaic Greek Epic 259
- Turning Science into Miracle in the Voyage of Alexander the Great 275
- ‘Many are the wonders in Greece’: Pausanias the wandering philosopher 305
- Miracles in Greek Biography 327
- Apuleius on Raising the Dead Crossing the Boundaries of Life and Death while Convincing the Audience 353
- Recognizing Miracles in ancient Greek Novels 381
- List of Contributors 417
- Index Nominum et Rerum 423
