Alexander the Great, the royal throne and the funerary thrones of Macedonia

There is no evidence in either Greece or Macedon in the archaic and classical periods that the throne functioned as a symbol of royalty. Thrones were for the gods and their priests. Only the king of Persia used a royal throne and even had portable thrones for his campaigns. This paper argues that af...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Palagia, Olga
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:200368
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/200368
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.5565/rev/karanos.7
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Throne
Priest
Persian king
Tomb
Marble
Gold and ivory
Trono
Sacerdote
Rey persa
Tumba
Marmol
Oro y marfil
Descripción
Sumario:There is no evidence in either Greece or Macedon in the archaic and classical periods that the throne functioned as a symbol of royalty. Thrones were for the gods and their priests. Only the king of Persia used a royal throne and even had portable thrones for his campaigns. This paper argues that after his conquest of the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great adopted the throne as a royal symbol; after his death, his throne became a token of his invisible presence. Philip III Arrhidaeus is known to have used a royal throne after his return to Macedonia. By implication, the marble thrones found in three tombs at Vegina-Aegae are here understood as symbols of royalty and the tombs are interpreted as royal.