Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T03:26:39.344Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chaironeia 338: topographies of commemoration*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2010

John Ma
Affiliation:
Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Abstract:

This article examines two funerary monuments associated with the battle of Chaironeia in 338: first, the mound, covering a mass cremation, by the Kephissos; second, near the town of Chaironeia, the mass burial surrounded by a stone enclosure and topped by a colossal stone lion. The accepted identifications are confirmed (the mound is that of the Macedonian dead, the lion monument that of Theban dead, in all probability the Sacred Band), and two propositions developed: the mound does not relate to the tactical dispositions of the battle, and hence the generally accepted reconstruction of the battle must be discarded; the lion monument must date to much later than 338. In developing these propositions, I examine material which has been long known, but never considered in depth; I notably present what I believe are the first photographs of some of the osteological material from the mass burial under the lion monument. More generally, the two monuments, located at different points of the battlefield, set up by different actors and at different moments, offer the opportunity for considerations on the different functions of ‘memory’ surrounding an historical event: the Macedonian mound reflected the needs and self-imagining of the victorious army, imposing a trace in the landscape; the lion monument embeds itself in preexisting topographies, for a more reflective, and more troubled, effect.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, J.K. (1970) Military Theory and Practice in the Age of Xenophon (Berkeley)Google Scholar
Anderson, J.K. (1991) ‘Hoplite weapons and offensive arms’, in Hanson, V.D. (ed.), Hoplites: the Classical Greek Battle Experience (London) 1537Google Scholar
Andronikos, M. (1970) ‘Sarissa’, BCH 94, 91107CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andronikos, M. (1982) ‘La Nécropole d'Aigai’, in Hatzopoulos, M. and Loukopoulou, L. (eds), Philippe de Macédoine (Paris) 188229Google Scholar
Andronikos, M. (1984) Vergina. The Royal Tombs and the Ancient City (Athens)Google Scholar
Aravantinos, V. (1993) ‘’Aγωγόζ φυσικοù ΔEΠA’, Archaiologikon Deltion 40, Chronika 2.1, 180Google Scholar
Armagnac, J. (1910) ‘De Chéronée à Delphes par les défilés du Parnasse’, Tour du Monde 13ème livraison (26 March 1910) 97100Google Scholar
Baitinger, H. (2001) Die Angriffswaffen aus Olympia (Olympische Forschungen 29, Berlin and New York)Google Scholar
Belle, H. (1881) Trois années en Grèce (Paris)Google Scholar
Bintliff, J. (2004) ‘Local history and heritage management in Greece’, in Doukellis, P. and Mendoni, L. (eds), Perception and Evaluation of Cultural Landscapes (Meletemata 38, Athens) 137–52Google Scholar
Bisel, S. (1990) ‘Die Menschenknochen aus dem Grab der Messenier’, in Kovscovics, W.K. (ed.), Kerameikos 14 (Berlin) 151–9Google Scholar
Bosanquet, R. and Tod, M.N. (1902) ‘Archaeology in Greece 1901–1902’, JHS 22 378–94Google Scholar
Brandt, P. (1894) Von Athen zum Tempethal: Reiseerinnerungen aus Griechenland (Gütersloh)Google Scholar
Braun, E. (1948) ‘Zur Schlacht bei Chaironeia’, Jahreshefte des österr archäolog. Instituts 37, 81–9Google Scholar
Braun, K. (1981) Bemalte Keramik und Glas aus dem Kabirenheiligtum bei Theben (Das Kabirenheiligtum 4, Berlin)Google Scholar
Broneer, O. (1941) The Lion Monument of Amphipolis (Cambridge, MA)Google Scholar
Buckler, J. (1992) ‘Plutarch and Autopsy’, ANRW II 33.6, 4788–830Google Scholar
Buckler, J. (2003) Aegean Greece in the Fourth Century BC (Leiden)Google Scholar
Buckler, J. and Beck, H. (2008) Central Greece and the Politics of Power in the Fourth Century (Cambridge)Google Scholar
Camp, J., Ierardi, M., McInerney, J., Morgan, K. and Umholtz, G. (1992) ‘A trophy from the battle of Chaironeia of 86 BC’, AJA 96, 443–55Google Scholar
Carman, J. (1997) (ed.), Material Harm. Archaeological Studies of War and Violence (Glasgow)Google Scholar
Clairmont, C. (1983) Patrios Nomos. Public Burial in Athens during the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C.: the Archaeological, Epigraphic-Literary, and Historical Evidence (Oxford)Google Scholar
Clarke, E.D. (1818) Travels in various countries of Europe, Asia and Africa, Part the second: Greece, Egypt and the Holy land, Section the third, Volume the seventh (4th edn, London)Google Scholar
Collignon, M. (1911) Les statues funéraires dans l’art grec (Paris)Google Scholar
Connolly, P. (2000) ‘Experiments with the sarissa - the Macedonian pike and cavalry lance: a functional view’, Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 11, 103–12Google Scholar
Conner, P. (1979) ‘George Ledwell Taylor and the Lion of Chaeronea. A traveller in Greece in 1818’, Apollo Magazine, March 1979, 134–42Google Scholar
Coolley, A.S. (1904) ‘The Macedonian tomb and the battlefield of Chaironeia’, Records of the Past 3.5 (May 1904) 131–43Google Scholar
Costanzi, V. (1923) ‘Il Leone di Cheronea et alcune questione con esso connesse’, Riv. Fil. 51, 6170Google Scholar
Cotton, E. (1862) A Voice from Waterloo. A History of the Battle Fought on the 18th June 1815 (6th edn, Mont St-Jean)Google Scholar
d'Istria, D. (1863) Excursions en Roumélie et en Morée (Zurich and Paris)Google Scholar
Dalton, C. (1904) The Waterloo Roll Call (reprint of the 2nd edn, London 1971)Google Scholar
Davidson, J.N. (2007) The Greeks and Greek Love. A Radical Reappraisal of Homosexuality in Ancient Greece (London)Google Scholar
Dupré, L. (1825) Voyage à Athènes et à Constantinople (Paris)Google Scholar
Fiorato, V., Boylston, A. and Knüsel, C. (2000) Blood Red Roses. The Archaeology of a Mass Grave from the Battle of Towton AD 1461 (Oxford)Google Scholar
Flaubert, G. (1998) Voyages (ed. Barbéris, D., Paris)Google Scholar
Fossey, J. (1988) Topography and Population of Ancient Boiotia (Chicago)Google Scholar
Foster, P. (1878) Greek Arms and Armour, Greek Museum, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (Newcastle upon Tyne)Google Scholar
Frazer, J. (1898) Pausanias’ Description of Greece (London)Google Scholar
Furtwängler, A. (1890) Die Bronzen und die übrigen kleineren Funde aus Olympia (Olympia 4, Berlin)Google Scholar
Geibel, E. (1918) Werke (ed. Stammler, W., Leipzig)Google Scholar
Göttling, K. (1846) Narratio de Chaeronea atque praesertim de leone Chaeronensis pugnae monumento (Iena)Google Scholar
Hammond, N. (1973) Studies in Greek History (Oxford)Google Scholar
Hammond, N. (1987) Review of Pritchett (1985), CR 37, 236–7Google Scholar
Hettner, H. (1853) Griechische Reiseskizzen (Braunschweig)Google Scholar
Hobhouse, J. (1813) A Journey through Albania and other Provinces of Turkey in Europe and Asia, to Constantinople, during the years 1809 and 1810 (London)Google Scholar
T., Hölscher (1974) ‘Die Nike der Messenier und Naupaktier in Olympia. Kunst und Geschichte im späten 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr.’, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 89, 70111Google Scholar
Ingelmark, B. (1939) ‘The Skeletons’, in Thordemann, B., Armour from the Battle of Wisby 1361 (Stockholm), 1.149209Google Scholar
Jacob-Felsch, M. (1969) Die Entwicklung griechischer Statuenbasen und die Aufstellung der Statuen (Waldsassen)Google Scholar
Jacquemin, A. (1999) Offrandes Monumentales à Delphes (Paris)Google Scholar
Kastorchis, E. (1875) ‘Περί τοù έν Xαιρωνεία’, Athenaion 4, 304–9Google Scholar
Kastorchis, E. (1879) ‘Περί τοù έν Xαιρωνεία’, Athenaion 8, 486506Google Scholar
Kastorchis, E. (1880) ‘’Aρχαιογικαί είδήσειζ’, Athenaion 9, 157–61Google Scholar
Kavvadias, P. (1900) ‘Iστορία τηζ ’Aρχαιολογικηζ έταιρείαζ άπό τηζ έν ἔτει 1837 ίδρύσεωζ αύτηζ μέχρι τοù 1900 (Athens)Google Scholar
Kavvadias, P. (1902) ‘ἔκθεσιζ τɷν πεπαραγμένων Έταιρείαζ’, Praktikα 936Google Scholar
Kirsten, E. (1984) Landschaft und Geschichte in der antiken Welt (Bonn)Google Scholar
Knigge, U. (1976) ‘Zum Löwen von Kantzas’, Ath. Mitt. 91, 167–73Google Scholar
Knollys, W. (1876) Shaw the Life Guardsman (London)Google Scholar
Koch, G. (1984) ‘Zum Grabrelief der Helena’, J.P Getty Museum Journal 12, 5972Google Scholar
Körte, A. (1878) ‘Die antiken Sculpturen aus Boeotien’, Ath. Mitt. 3, 301422Google Scholar
Kotera Feyer, E. (1993) Die Strigilis (Frankfurt am Main)Google Scholar
Kountouri, E. (2006) ‘’Aνασκαφικέζ έργασίεζ στην Xαιρώνεια 2000–2002: Πρɷτεζ έκτιμησειζ’, Άρχαιολογά ἔργα Θεσσαλίαζ καί Στερε⋯ζ ‘Eλλάδαζ 2 (Volos) 779–97Google Scholar
Kromayer, J. (1905) ‘Zu den griechischen Schlachtfelderstudien’, Wiener Studien 27, 134Google Scholar
Lappas, T. (1939) ‘O Λέων τηζ Xαιρωνείαζ (Athens)Google Scholar
Leitao, D. (2002 ) ‘The legend of the Sacred Band’, in Nussbaum, M.C. and Sihvola, J. (eds), The Sleep of Reason: Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome (Chicago) 143–69Google Scholar
Lethaby, W.R. (1918) ‘Greek lion monuments’, JHS 38, 3944Google Scholar
Lolling, H. (1989) Reisenotizen aus Griechenland 1876 und 1877 (Berlin)Google Scholar
Low, P. (2003) ‘Remembering war in fifth-century Greece: ideologies, societies and commemoration beyond democratic Athens’, World Archaeology 35, 98111Google Scholar
Mahaffy, J. (1905) Rambles and Studies in Greece (5th edn, London)Google Scholar
Mallouchou Tufano, F. (1998) ‘H άνατήλωση τɷν άρχαίων μνημείων στη νεώτερη ‘Eλλάδα, 1834–1939: τό ἔργο τηζ έν ’Aθήναιζ ’Aρχαιογικηζ ‘Eταιρείαζ καί τηζ ’Aρχαιολογικηζ ‘Yηρεσίαζ(Athens)Google Scholar
Markle, M. III (1977) ‘The Macedonian sarissa, spear, and related armor’, AJA 75, 323–39CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markle, M. III (1980 ) ‘Weapons from the cemetery at Vergina and Alexander's army’, in Vavouskos, K. (ed.), Mέγαζ ’Aλέξανδροζ. 2300 χρόνια μετά τόν θάνατόν του (Thessaloniki) 243–67Google Scholar
Markle, M. III (1982 ) ‘Macedonian arms and tactics under Alexander the Great’, in Barr-Sharrar, B. and Borza, E. (eds), Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Times (Washington) 87111Google Scholar
Mayo, J.M. (1988) ‘War memorials as political memory’, Geographical Review 78, 6275Google Scholar
Mee, C. and Spawforth, A. (2001) Greece. An Oxford Archaeological Guide (Oxford)Google Scholar
Mertens-Horn, M. (1986) Die Löwenkopf-wasserspiessen des griechischen Westerns im 6. und 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. im Vergleich mit den Löwen des griechischen Mutterlandes (Mainz)Google Scholar
Mertens-Horn, M. (1988) ‘Studien zu griechischen Löwenbildern’, Röm. Mitt. 93, 161Google Scholar
Miller, S. and Miller, S. (1972) ‘Architectural blocks from the Strymon’, Arch. Delt. 27, 140–69Google Scholar
Morrow, K.D. (1985) Greek Footwear and the Dating of Sculpture (Madison, Wisconsin)Google Scholar
H., Müller (1887) Griechische Reisen und Studien (Leipzig)Google Scholar
Mure, W. (1842) Journal of a Tour in Greece and the Ionian Islands (Edinburgh)Google Scholar
Newton, C. (1862–3) A History of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus and Branchidae (London)Google Scholar
Norden, E. (1966 ) ‘Heldenehrungen’, in Kleine Schriften (Berlin) 552–64Google Scholar
Oakley, J. (2004) Picturing Death in Classical Athens: the Evidence of the White Lekythoi (Cambridge)Google Scholar
Oikonomos, G. (1938) Tά έκατόν ἔτη τηζ έν ’Aθήναιζ ‘Aρχαιογικηζ ‘Eταιρεείάζ. Λόγοζ πανηγυρικόζ τοù Γραμματέωζ τοù Συμβουυ (Athens)Google Scholar
Osgood, R. (2005) The Unknown Soldier. An Archaeology of the Common Soldier (Stroud)Google Scholar
Petrakos, V. (1987) ‘H έν ’Aθήναιζ άρχαιογική έταιρεία. ‘H ίστορία τɷν 150 χρόνων τηζ 1837–1987 (Athens)Google Scholar
Phytalis, L. (1880) ‘ἔρευναι έν τɷ πολυανδρίɷ Xαιρωνείαζ’, Athenaion 9, 347–52Google Scholar
Pritchett, W.K. (1958) ‘Observations on Chaironeia’, AJA 61, 307–11Google Scholar
Pritchett, W.K. (1974) The Greek State at War, part 2 (Berkeley)Google Scholar
Pritchett, W.K. (1985) The Greek State at War, part 4 (Berkeley)Google Scholar
Rahe, P.A. (1981) ‘The annihilation of the Sacred Band at Chaeronea’, AJA 85, 84–7Google Scholar
Rainbird, P. (2003) ‘Representing nation, dividing community: the Broken Hill War Memorial, New South Wales, Australia’, World Archaeology 35.1, 2234Google Scholar
Richardson, R. (1907) Greece through the Stereoscope (New York and London)Google Scholar
Ritter, S. (2002) Bildkontakte. Götter und Heroen in der Bildsprache griechischer Münzen des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. (Berlin)Google Scholar
Roger, J. (1939) ‘Le monument au Lion d'Amphipolis’, BCH 63, 442Google Scholar
Salazar, C. (2000) The Treatment of War Wounds in Graeco-Roman Antiquity (Leiden)Google Scholar
Sanborn, F. (1897) ‘The Lion of Chaeronea’, The New England Journal 22.1 (March 1897), 97103Google Scholar
Schilardi, D. (1977) The Thespian Polyandrion (424 BC) (Princeton Ph.D. thesis)Google Scholar
Smith, A.H. (1892–1904) A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Departments, British Museum (London)Google Scholar
Sotiriadis, G. (1902 ) ‘’Aνασκαφή δύο τύμβων παρά τήν Xαιρωνείαν’, Praktika 53–9Google Scholar
Sotiriadis, G. (1903) ‘Das Schlachtfeld von Chäronea und der Grabhügel der Makedonen’, Ath. Mitt. 28, 301–30Google Scholar
Sotiriadis, G. (1904) Aί παρά τήν Xαιρωνείαν, τόν ’Oρχομενόν καί τήν ’Eλατείαν άνασκαφαί, Praktika 3557Google Scholar
Sotiriadis, G. (1905) ‘Untersuchungen in Boiotien und Phokis. 1. Topographisches über Chaironeia. Das Stadtflüsschen Haimon und das Herakleion’, Ath. Mitt 30, 113–20Google Scholar
Sotiriadis, G. (1910) ‘Aί έν Xαιρωνεία καί κατά τήν Φωκίδα άνασκαφαί’, Praktika 122–30Google Scholar
Stephani, L. (1843) Reise durch einige Gegenden des nördlichen Griechenlands (Leipzig)Google Scholar
Stupperich, R. (1977) Staatsbegrabnis und Privatgrabmal im klassischen Athen (Münster)Google Scholar
Tarlow, S. (1999) Bereavement and Commemoration: an Archaeology of Mortality (Oxford)Google Scholar
Taylor, G. (18701872) The Auto-biography of an Octagenarian Architect, being a Record of his Studies at Home and Abroad, during 65 Years, Comprising among the Subjects The Cathedrals of England, France and Italy, the Temples of Rome, Greece and Sicily, with Explanations of their Various Styles - and Plans, from Measurement; also, Incidents of Travel, and Sketches of Other Buildings and Objects on his Route, From Notes and Measurements during Tours through England, France, Italy, Greece and Sicily, 1816-17-18-19 (principally on Foot), with Re-visits in 1857 to 1868, 2 vols. (London)Google Scholar
Themelis, P. and Touratsoglou, I. (1997) Oί τάφοι τοù Δερβενίου (Athens)Google Scholar
Thompson, H.A. (1954) ‘Excavations in the Athenian Agora: 1953’, Hesperia 23, 3167Google Scholar
Touratsoglou, I. (1996) ‘Die Baupolitik Kassanders’, in Hoepfner, W. and Brands, G. (eds), Basileia. Die Paläste der hellenistischen Könige. Internationales symposion in Berlin vom 16.12.1992 bis 20.12.1992 (Mainz) 176–81Google Scholar
Tsimbidou-Avloniti, M. (2005) Mακεδονικοί τάφοι στον Φοίνικα καί στον ‘Άγιον ’Aθανάσιο Θεσσαλονίκηζ (Athens)Google Scholar
Tzavella-Evjen, H. (1995) ‘Aνασκαφικέζ ἔρευνεζ στην Xαιρώνεια’, Ep. HetBoiot. Mel. 2.1, 630–7Google Scholar
Ure, P. (1913) Black Glaze Pottery from Rhitsona in Boeotia (London and New York)Google Scholar
Vaux, W. (1866) ‘On the discovery of the Lion at Chaeronaea, by a party of English travellers in 1818’, Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, 2nd ser. 8, 111Google Scholar
Vermeule, C. (1972) ‘Greek Funerary Animals, 450–300 B.C.’, AJA 76, 4959Google Scholar
Vermeule, E. (1979) Aspects of Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry (Berkeley)Google Scholar
Wakely, J. (1997) ‘Identification and analysis of violent and non-violent head injuries in osteo-archaeological material’, in Carman (1997) 2446Google Scholar
Waywell, G. (1998) ‘The Lion from the Lion Tomb at Cnidus’, in Palagia, O. and Coulson, W. (eds), Regional Schools in Hellenistic Sculpture (Oxford) 235–42Google Scholar
Welcker, F.G. (1856) ‘Il leone di Cheronea’, Monumenti, Annali e Bulletini pubblicati dall'Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica 1–5 and pl. 1Google Scholar
Welcker, F.G. (1864) ‘Der Löwe von Chäronea’, in Alte Denkmäler 5.62–72Google Scholar
Welcker, F.G. (1865) Tagebuch einer griechischen Reise (Berlin)Google Scholar
Willemsen, F. (1959) Die Löwenkopf-wassenspeier vom Dach des Zeustempels (Olympische Forschungen 4, Berlin)Google Scholar
Woysch-Méautis, D. (1982) La Représentation des animaux et des êtres fabuleux sur les monuments funéraires grecs: de l'époque archaïque à la fin du IVe siècle av. J.-C. (Neuchâtel)Google Scholar
Wyse, T. (1871) Impressions of Greece (London)Google Scholar