Hephaestion's Relief

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system1988
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Hephaestion's Relief

Post by system1988 »

Hi all!!

The text that follows was posted by me in a more "fans-of-literature" yahoo group but I thought it deserved a re - post here as I think you may find it interesting as well. I am sure that you are all aware of the inscribed Hephaestion relief located in Pella Museum. This relief is only enscribed testimony thast we have about Hephaestion as a real person and I am talking about a
testimony of solid matter. All things that are said about him come from the
latin or greek literature sources which I do not underestimate but I am always of the opinion that an inscription (when we are lucky enough to possess one) is worth many a literal source.

In general any inscription is like a message that comes directly from the past,
from the "correct" time period without any "middle-men" who may come with a 300
to 400- year delay.
So indeed Hephaestion existed as a real person...

The only published material so far (as far as I know) concerning the relief in question is of The Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki Archaeology Department prof. Emmanuel Voutyras in 1992's (I have to check the year though to be entirely certain) Egnatia magazine of
Archaeology. The inscription says: "To the hero Hephaestion from Deogenes" (We owe so much to the goddess of Luck for that unspoiled by time inscription)

A summary of the published material follows:


The relief, actually a votive relief that originates from the city of Pella
(Sizes: 0.53cm x 0.61cm x 0.06cm). The depiction is a scene of a libation. The
young beardless man holds his horse back (he has reached the end of a march)
he extends a baul into which a young woman (who welcomes him) is about to pour
the wine of the libation (from her oinochoe which she holds in her right hand).
Her left hand holds a small cylindric vessel ("livanotris" which means "the
vessel that holds incesnse") but her and his gaze never meet. The man directs
his look away from the woman (the isolation of the dead entity).

The ends of the relief (upper and sides) clearly indicates an anomalous, rocky
surface- thus the scene takes place inside a cave.

I will not bother you with the text's vast stylistic analysis and the many (and
very thorough) observations about the worship of Hepheastion and I will just
mention the writer's conclusions.

1) The relief was made during the reign of Cassander

2) There was a temple dedicated to Hephaestion in Pella, possibly built in a
cave, a commonly used as a worship place for god-like entities such as Nymphs
and Pan. The caves and the water springs were considered as places where
communcation with the Underworld Demons (such as Heroes) took place. The
Hephaestion temple is most probably build (north or west) outside the fortified
acropolis of Pella.

3) The Hero, the emerging one- the one who appears, has reached his destination
and performs a libation ritual in order to recipricate the welcoming salute to
his followers who wait for him with incense.
Such reliefs were dedicated by people who wanted to express their gratitude to a
god or hero after a beneficial contact with him (appearance in a dream, healing
touch, saving proccess, partcipation in a glorious feast). Hephaestion made
several appearances to his followers and healed them.

4) Diogenes, who dedicated the relief, was, most probably one of the 10.000
veterans of Crateros who made it back to Macedonia

5)The hero's face does not bear any indiviual characteristics (he resembles the
female's face).

The researcher theorizes that no sculpture can (globally known) be attributed to
Hepheastion. His arguements are of course scientifiacally proven. There are however other researchers who believe that Hephaestion's characteristics have been preserved nontheless and we can find them in other existant or yet to be found artifacts.I personaly favor the second opinion.

I had sent the summary of this article to make a detailed display of Hephaestion's face known due to the fact that this particular angle of the relief has never been poste publicly. I think the photo of the entire relief is known to you all that is why I am sending you only the Hephaestion part. I also believe that this particular artifact will be on display at the Louvre Museum when the appropriate exhibtion will take place.

Best regards
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by Taphoi »

system1988 wrote:The inscription says: "To the hero Hephaestion from Diogenes"...
4) Diogenes, who dedicated the relief, was, most probably one of the 10.000
veterans of Crateros who made it back to Macedonia
Of course Diogenes is a perfectly familiar Greek name, just as “Smith”, or “Tailor” or “Baker” or “King” are familiar English names. But what it literally means is “Zeus-born”. If therefore we were to venture to translate the “name” of the commissioner of the sculpture in its inscription, we would get: “To the Hero Hephaistion from the Zeus-born.”

It may be pertinent that one of Hephaistion’s dearest friends is recorded to have stated that if he were not known by his own name, then he would like to be called Diogenes. That same friend came from a family that claimed descent from Zeus via Heracles. They even issued silver medallions stamped with effigies of Zeus and Heracles to their friends and adherents in support of their claim. I own one! That was also the same friend who arranged for shrines dedicated “To the Hero Hephaistion” to be erected throughout the empire after the Hero’s death. The early Hellenistic date of this piece and its provenance are not exactly inconsistent with that event.

It is tempting therefore to wonder whether, in referring to Hephaistion by the title of Hero awarded to him by the Oracle of Ammon, the dedicator of this large and elegant votive piece might have referred to himself by the title awarded to him by the same Oracle? At any rate there might be a bit of an elephant in this inscription – or at least a person wearing an elephant headdress with ram’s horns poking out from beneath it!

Best wishes,

Andrew
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by marcus »

Taphoi wrote:It may be pertinent that one of Hephaistion’s dearest friends is recorded to have stated that if he were not known by his own name, then he would like to be called Diogenes. That same friend came from a family that claimed descent from Zeus via Heracles. They even issued silver medallions stamped with effigies of Zeus and Heracles to their friends and adherents in support of their claim ... That was also the same friend who arranged for shrines dedicated “To the Hero Hephaistion” to be erected throughout the empire after the Hero’s death. The early Hellenistic date of this piece and its provenance are not exactly inconsistent with that event.

It is tempting therefore to wonder whether, in referring to Hephaistion by the title of Hero awarded to him by the Oracle of Ammon, the dedicator of this large and elegant votive piece might have referred to himself by the title awarded to him by the same Oracle? At any rate there might be a bit of an elephant in this inscription – or at least a person wearing an elephant headdress with ram’s horns poking out from beneath it!
I like your thinking, Andrew! An intriguing idea indeed. :idea:

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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by Taphoi »

marcus wrote:I like your thinking, Andrew! An intriguing idea indeed. :idea:
Thanks. Actually, there is at least one prominent place in the ancient literature where Alexander is explicitly called “the Zeus-born”. This occurs in Pseudo-Callisthenes 1.32.9, where the author explains that the ancient Alexandrians named the districts of their city (ΑΒΓΔΕ) from the first letters of the words in a short verse:

Ἀλεξάνδρος βασιλεύς γένος Δίος ἔκτισε πόλιν ἀείμνηστον

Which roughly translates: Alexander the king, the Zeus-born, founded an ever-memorable city. Dios and genos are the opposite way around than in Diogenes, but the meaning is exactly the same.

Perhaps we should check whether there are any other interesting inscriptions from the late 4th century BC that attribute themselves to “Diogenes”.

Best wishes.

Andrew
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by system1988 »

Taphoi wrote:
system1988 wrote:The inscription says: "To the hero Hephaestion from Diogenes"...
4) Diogenes, who dedicated the relief, was, most probably one of the 10.000
veterans of Crateros who made it back to Macedonia
Of course Diogenes is a perfectly familiar Greek name, just as “Smith”, or “Tailor” or “Baker” or “King” are familiar English names. But what it literally means is “Zeus-born”. If therefore we were to venture to translate the “name” of the commissioner of the sculpture in its inscription, we would get: “To the Hero Hephaistion from the Zeus-born.”

It may be pertinent that one of Hephaistion’s dearest friends is recorded to have stated that if he were not known by his own name, then he would like to be called Diogenes. That same friend came from a family that claimed descent from Zeus via Heracles. They even issued silver medallions stamped with effigies of Zeus and Heracles to their friends and adherents in support of their claim. I own one! That was also the same friend who arranged for shrines dedicated “To the Hero Hephaistion” to be erected throughout the empire after the Hero’s death. The early Hellenistic date of this piece and its provenance are not exactly inconsistent with that event.

It is tempting therefore to wonder whether, in referring to Hephaistion by the title of Hero awarded to him by the Oracle of Ammon, the dedicator of this large and elegant votive piece might have referred to himself by the title awarded to him by the same Oracle? At any rate there might be a bit of an elephant in this inscription – or at least a person wearing an elephant headdress with ram’s horns poking out from beneath it!

Best wishes,

Andrew
In order for Hephaestion to obtain the title of hero and a wosrhip to be developed around his name (and temples build dedicated to him) the Conqeror of the world had to ask the Ammon Oracle and await for an answer. Would it have been that easy for anyone else to obtain the same title? As you said, the name Deogenes is a common one in the ancient Greek world. Therefore I cannot help but to disagree with your view of the subject but thanks anyway for your comments.
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by marcus »

system1988 wrote:In order for Hephaestion to obtain the title of hero and a wosrhip to be developed around his name (and temples build dedicated to him) the Conqeror of the world had to ask the Ammon Oracle and await for an answer. Would it have been that easy for anyone else to obtain the same title? As you said, the name Deogenes is a common one in the ancient Greek world. Therefore I cannot help but to disagree with your view of the subject but thanks anyway for your comments.
Hi System1988,

Although, of course, Andrew's suggestion is mere conjecture, I'm not sure I follow your reasoning for disagreeing with it. Could you explain again?

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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by system1988 »

marcus wrote:
system1988 wrote:In order for Hephaestion to obtain the title of hero and a wosrhip to be developed around his name (and temples build dedicated to him) the Conqeror of the world had to ask the Ammon Oracle and await for an answer. Would it have been that easy for anyone else to obtain the same title? As you said, the name Deogenes is a common one in the ancient Greek world. Therefore I cannot help but to disagree with your view of the subject but thanks anyway for your comments.
Hi System1988,

Although, of course, Andrew's suggestion is mere conjecture, I'm not sure I follow your reasoning for disagreeing with it. Could you explain again?

ATB
If I understood correctly (English is not my native language) Taphoi hypothesized that the commissioner of the inscription was named Deogenes because he had received that name from Ammon Oracle. Thus my question was "was it that easy for any mortal to be named that way from the same ORcale? Still I am sorry If i still got this wrong.
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

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system1988 wrote:
If I understood correctly (English is not my native language) Taphoi hypothesized that the commissioner of the inscription was named Deogenes because he had received that name from Ammon Oracle. Thus my question was "was it that easy for any mortal to be named that way from the same ORcale? Still I am sorry If i still got this wrong.
In English, if one person said to another person, "Help me, King", unless you knew who the two people were, it could be a subject appealing to the monarch for assistance or it could be a schoolmaster addressing a pupil, whose name was King. The same ambiguity arises in Greek. You have to judge from what you know of the context whether it is a King or the King and analogously whether a Diogenes or the Diogenes is meant in an inscription. It will not always be clear from the mere words. Alexander was the Diogenes, because it was accorded him as a formal title by an official mouthpiece of god.

Best regards,

Andrew

PS. This sculpture and its inscription are given by Andrew Stewart, Faces of Power, p.453 and by Andrew Chugg, Alexander's Lovers, p.73 (in the course of presenting and discussing all the known ancient images of Hephaistion). It reads:
ΔΙΟΓΕΝΗΣΗΦΑΙΣΤΙΩΝΙΗΡΩΙ
PPS.
Liddell & Scott wrote:
Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon
Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by system1988 »

Taphoi wrote:
system1988 wrote:
If I understood correctly (English is not my native language) Taphoi hypothesized that the commissioner of the inscription was named Deogenes because he had received that name from Ammon Oracle. Thus my question was "was it that easy for any mortal to be named that way from the same ORcale? Still I am sorry If i still got this wrong.
In English, if one person said to another person, "Help me, King", unless you knew who the two people were, it could be a subject appealing to the monarch for assistance or it could be a schoolmaster addressing a pupil, whose name was King. The same ambiguity arises in Greek. You have to judge from what you know of the context whether it is a King or the King and analogously whether a Diogenes or the Diogenes is meant in an inscription. It will not always be clear from the mere words. Alexander was the Diogenes, because it was accorded him as a formal title by an official mouthpiece of god.

Best regards,

Andrew

PS. This sculpture and its inscription are given by Andrew Stewart, Faces of Power, p.453 and by Andrew Chugg, Alexander's Lovers, p.73 (in the course of presenting and discussing all the known ancient images of Hephaistion). It reads:
ΔΙΟΓΕΝΗΣΗΦΑΙΣΤΙΩΝΙΗΡΩΙ
PPS.
Liddell & Scott wrote:
diogenesL&S.jpg

Say we accept that the one who dedicated the relief were in fact a king who else could he be but Cassander? (The inscription was found in Pella afterall)
The relief in question is not worthy of a king who would in such a case build a far greater monument. Thus we come to the conclusive thought that the artifact in question must be the dedication of a commoner who paid a mid- ranged sum of money. The commoner wanted to pay his respects to the hero who must have helped him with something of great importance at the time.

This answer is still based on my questionable understanding of your posts, Taphoi...

PS

Have you seen the detail of Hephaestion's face of this particular relief in any books?
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

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system1988 wrote:Say we accept that the one who dedicated the relief were in fact a king who else could he be but Cassander? (The inscription was found in Pella afterall)
The relief in question is not worthy of a king who would in such a case build a far greater monument. Thus we come to the conclusive thought that the artifact in question must be the dedication of a commoner who paid a mid- ranged sum of money. The commoner wanted to pay his respects to the hero who must have helped him with something of great importance at the time.
The Athenian orator, Hypereides, bitterly complained in 322BC that the Athenians had had to build shrines to the hero Hephaistion and make sacrfices to him. Arrian describes how Alexander cajoled Cleomenes to build a shrine to Hephaistion in Alexandria in Egypt. If Athens and Alexandria were ordered to build shrines, then Pella would seem a highly probable location for one too.

As for the size, the commissioner must have been fairly prominent and wealthy to afford a high quality sculpture on this scale at all. However, there is no limitation from its size on how wealthy or prominent he was for several reasons. Firstly, Diodorus dates Alexander's instruction that all should sacrifice to Hephaistion to the time of the funeral in Babylon. Alexander himself died about a month later. Even if Alexander had ordered highly elaborate shrines, it is very likely that those plans would have been scaled back considerably, when he died. Secondly, the fact that the shrine was only to a hero rather than a god imposes a constraint on its size, because it would have been offensive to decorum for the shrine of a hero to be larger than the shrines of the gods (Hypereides says something along these lines btw.) Finally, the surviving sculpture need only be a minor element of the overall shrine, so we cannot even say how large or small the whole memorial was.
system1988 wrote:Have you seen the detail of Hephaestion's face of this particular relief in any books?
No, just the whole piece in at least three books (it's in Cartledge too).

Best wishes,

Andrew
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by amyntoros »

Now I'm getting confused! System1988 says the inscription is part of a votive relief (as does Andrew Stewart) so it has no relevance to the size or expense of the shrine. The "Diogenes" who dedicated this to Hephaistion would have paid only for the relief itself. It's not an element of the shrine but simply an offering to the hero in thanks for something unknown (to us).

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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by jan »

There is a definite resemblance between the two images. Nice!
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

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amyntoros wrote:Now I'm getting confused! System1988 says the inscription is part of a votive relief (as does Andrew Stewart) so it has no relevance to the size or expense of the shrine. The "Diogenes" who dedicated this to Hephaistion would have paid only for the relief itself. It's not an element of the shrine but simply an offering to the hero in thanks for something unknown (to us).
Hi Amyntoros,

Do you mean this to be a semantic point or do you know of some reason why the shrine and this sculpture had to be commissioned separately?

If the latter, then Pericles seems to have commissioned the Parthenon and its statue of Athena Parthenos as part of a single plan and it could be difficult to maintain a precise distinction between a shrine and its sculptural decoration. Are the Elgin marbles part of the Parthenon or mere decorations, dedicatory reliefs not integral to the building (and therefore scarcely to be missed)? :twisted:

I think it should be relatively uncontroversial that Alexander is the likely instigator of any shrine to the hero Hephaistion at Pella. Why therefore should he not also have instructed dedicatory sculptures with inscriptions? (We are told that he wrote a detailed letter to Cleomenes in Egypt on the subject, which was close to his heart.) All I am saying is that the scale of Alexander's plan is not necessarily encompassed by this single sculpture.

If you intend a semantic point, then I agree that the term "votive" becomes questionable, unless we should imagine that Alexander made a vow to commemorate Hephaistion (which is possible, since it would fit in with the rest of his actions - embassy to Ammon etc). I think that the current use of the word votive is inspired by the theory that Diogenes was one of Craterus's troops.

Best regards,

Andrew
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

Post by agesilaos »

Actually the application of the word 'votive' is due to comparison with hundreds of other votive stelai from other shrines. I can't believe you think a two foot square stele can be honestly compared with the Parthenon Frieze so we'll let that lie.

The main problem I can see with your Mill's and Boon interpretation is that the distinctly ropey sources we have seem to imply that Alexander was wont to refer to his divine father as Ammon and not Zeus, even Ephippos mentions no blasphemy against Zeus, though seemingly going out of his way to include as many deities as possible.

Athenaeus Diep. XII 538
Ephippus, again, says that Alexander also wore the sacred vestments at his dinner parties, at one time putting on the purple robe of Ammon, and thin slippers and horns just like the gods, at another time the costume of Artemis, which he often wore even in his chariot, wearing the Persian garb and showing above the shoulders the bow and hunting-spear of the goddess, while at still other times he was garbed in the costume of Hermes; on other occasions as a rule, and in every-day use, he wore a purple riding-cloak, a purple tunic with white stripes, and the Macedonian hat with the royal fillet; but on social occasions he wore the winged sandals and broad-brimmed hat on his head, and carried the caduceus in his hand; yet often, again, he bore the lion’s skin and club in imitation of Heracles.
And in the Liber de Morte he terms himself 'the son of Ammon and Olympias'; I do not suggest that these texts have great historical value but they are contemporary fictions which reflect the way Alexander was referring to himself.

And why would Alexander wish to hide his identity; the Diogenes story is just that, a story intended to demonstrate Alexander's self-restraint; had he not been king he would be content to live in a barrel. It has nothing to do with being Zeus-born. As for the late rhyme from a fairy tale.....I would not wish to draw any conclusions about the Wars of the Roses based on the mnemonic for the rainbow; Richard of York Goes Battling in Vain.

It was a nice joke but it seems to be being taken seriously- I'm a cynic just call me Diogenes :shock:
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Re: Hephaestion's Relief

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agesilaos wrote:The main problem I can see with your Mill's and Boon interpretation is that the distinctly ropey sources we have seem to imply that Alexander was wont to refer to his divine father as Ammon and not Zeus, even Ephippos mentions no blasphemy against Zeus, though seemingly going out of his way to include as many deities as possible.
I see we have your usual scientific approach of bunging mud and hoping that some will obscure the argument. As for the terminology Diogenes, it was also used of Alexander by Callisthenes:
Strabo 17.1.43 quoting Callisthenes wrote:ἐκ Διὸς γενέσεως τοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρου
and
Curtius 8.10.1 wrote:tertium Iove genitum
which would be third Diogenes in the original Greek.

So much for your puerile rhetoric.

Best wishes,

Andrew
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