Roxane and Alexander IV

[arsinoe]

Hi.Somebody could tell me which ancient sources cited them and if exist archaeological evidence for Roxane and Alexander IV.Nobody speak about Roxane in the forum I wonder why.

Kisses.
Amanda.

[marcus]

Oh, Roxane pops up occasionally, when the subject demands it.There isn't any archaeological 'evidence' for Roxane and Alexander, as far as I know - although it depends what you mean ... there might be a mention in the Babylonian tablets (in fact, I'm sure there is, on a king list or whatnot).You can find information on Roxane in all the main sources - Arrian, Curtius, Plutarch, Diodorus and Justin - to a greater or lesser extent. But she didn't really *do* much, so she doesn't get much of a mention in any of them.All the bestMarcus

[ruthaki]

Because Roxane and Alexander IV are two of the chief characters in my novel, I've done all the research I could on them. And it's true, there isn't a whole lot so it leaves much to speculation. Which is great for a historical fiction writer because then you can fill in the blanks as you see fit. There is no evidence of her left in Greek Macedonia though that's where she was murdered. But there is the silver funeray jar and grave offerings in the Vergina museum said to be that of a Macedonian prince whose age fits that of Alexander IV. What things I did learn about Roxana make her a fascinating character to write about. As for the boy, he was a little child who was used as a pawn for the Successors, spent most of his young life being dragged around the country and living in army camps and only a few things are known about him during his time in Macedonia. For one thing, both he and Roxana apparantly spent some time in Dodoni with Olympias when she refused to come to Pella to take over as guardian.

[agesilaos]

There is a bronze kouros that is meant to be Alexander IV which someone mentioned on this site there is a link in the original post but I have itnot.

[ruthaki]

Hi Karl, I remember seeing that. Seems to me it was probably a sculptor's imagination as it seemed a figure of an older youth and after all Alexander IV was barely 14 when he was murdered. I don't think I remembered to copy down the site address but I'll take a look. One time when I was visiting the Tombs I had an interesting talk with an archaeologist at the site about the grave finds in the Prince's tomb. He said the offerings, such as the greaves, were not necessarily those belonging to the deceased. The greaves looked to fit a more developed older youth or man. I fantasized that they could have been a pair that had belonged to Alexander himself when he was a youth. Ah..such is the imagination of a writer! I also asked if they could do DNA samples between the bones found in the so-called Philip's tomb and the fragments in the funeral jar of the Prince but alas! the fragments are only dust and though the archaeologist thought this an interesting idea he doubted it could be successfully done.

[amyntoros]

It was Azara that originally posted the link to the proposed image of Alexander IV:http://www.mds-agde.com/autresite/expo/ ... e1.htmlThe facial features and musculature certainly suggest a 13-14 year old to me. And boys probably matured earlier back then, physically as well as mentally - Alexander was acting as regent and fighting battles at the age of 16. Then again, I have a 15-year-old who is 6 foot 2 and over 200 lbs so even by today's standards this statue could be that of a young teenager. :-)Best regards,Amyntoros

[jan]

Thank you, Linda, for your link. And fyi, I had not read any of the messages posted before I sent you my comments today about Roxanne. Last I was here at this post there had been no replies yet, so this was a most pleasant surprise to find these comments, especially by Ruthaki, and to find your link. Very interesting story here about this discovery, and thanks so much. Is this proof of esp?