An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king

Aelian and Porphyry claim that only the horns of a specific species of Scythian ass can contain the corrosive water of the Styx. They also state that Alexander the Great received one of these horns from a certain Sopater as a gift, on which he had an epigram engraved before dedicating it at Delphi....

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Pajón Leyra, Irene
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/180846
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/180846
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838825100864
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Alexander the Great
poison
Styx
Scythia
Antipater
counter-propaganda
Aelian
Porphyry
equids
hoof
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spelling An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the kingPajón Leyra, IreneAlexander the GreatpoisonStyxScythiaAntipatercounter-propagandaAelianPorphyryequidshoofAelian and Porphyry claim that only the horns of a specific species of Scythian ass can contain the corrosive water of the Styx. They also state that Alexander the Great received one of these horns from a certain Sopater as a gift, on which he had an epigram engraved before dedicating it at Delphi. This article explores the connection between this story and the reports of Alexander’s alleged assassination by the Antipatrids. In these reports, the poison used is often said to be the water of the Styx, held in an equine hoof. The tale reported by Aelian and Porphyry can be interpreted as part of the propaganda war during the time of the Diadochi, specifically as a piece of counter-propaganda responding to the accusation of treason against Antipater and his family and aiming to exonerate them.Cambridge University PressFilología Griega y LatinaHUM124: Filología HelenísticaMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN). España2025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/180846https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838825100864reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevillainstname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)EspañolThe Classical Quarterly, 1-14.PID2020-117119GB-C22https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/an-asss-horn-for-alexander-the-great-antipatrid-counterpropaganda-and-the-poisoning-of-the-king/77081DA03CA922A535334135A6AF8E74info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:idus.us.es:11441/1808462026-06-17T12:51:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
title An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
spellingShingle An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
Pajón Leyra, Irene
Alexander the Great
poison
Styx
Scythia
Antipater
counter-propaganda
Aelian
Porphyry
equids
hoof
title_short An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
title_full An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
title_fullStr An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
title_full_unstemmed An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
title_sort An ass’s horn for Alexander the Great: antipatrid counter-propaganda and the poisoning of the king
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Pajón Leyra, Irene
author Pajón Leyra, Irene
author_facet Pajón Leyra, Irene
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Filología Griega y Latina
HUM124: Filología Helenística
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIN). España
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Alexander the Great
poison
Styx
Scythia
Antipater
counter-propaganda
Aelian
Porphyry
equids
hoof
topic Alexander the Great
poison
Styx
Scythia
Antipater
counter-propaganda
Aelian
Porphyry
equids
hoof
description Aelian and Porphyry claim that only the horns of a specific species of Scythian ass can contain the corrosive water of the Styx. They also state that Alexander the Great received one of these horns from a certain Sopater as a gift, on which he had an epigram engraved before dedicating it at Delphi. This article explores the connection between this story and the reports of Alexander’s alleged assassination by the Antipatrids. In these reports, the poison used is often said to be the water of the Styx, held in an equine hoof. The tale reported by Aelian and Porphyry can be interpreted as part of the propaganda war during the time of the Diadochi, specifically as a piece of counter-propaganda responding to the accusation of treason against Antipater and his family and aiming to exonerate them.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11441/180846
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838825100864
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/180846
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838825100864
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Español
language_invalid_str_mv Español
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv The Classical Quarterly, 1-14.
PID2020-117119GB-C22
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/an-asss-horn-for-alexander-the-great-antipatrid-counterpropaganda-and-the-poisoning-of-the-king/77081DA03CA922A535334135A6AF8E74
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
instname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.812455

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