Four Hooves and a Horn: How (Not) To Poison Alexander the Great
Исидора Толич
Докладчик
ассистент
Университет в Белграде, Философский факультет, Кафедра классических наук
Университет в Белграде, Философский факультет, Кафедра классических наук
176 ZOOM
2022-03-17
17:30 -
17:55
Ключевые слова, аннотация
Several ancient authors tell a story of treason to murder Alexander the Great by presenting him with
poison or poisonous water, carried in a curious vessel – a hoof of a specimen of the Equus genus. We can look into the development of this legend
and propose its origins by examining the interaction of two distinct traditions
– the Indo-Iranian tradition of water-cleansing features of a unicorn’s horn
and the Greek legend of the river Styx and its lethal streams.
Keywords: the river Styx; the unicorn cycle; royal gifts; Indo-Iranian traditions; Sources on Alexander the Great; paradoxography.
Keywords: the river Styx; the unicorn cycle; royal gifts; Indo-Iranian traditions; Sources on Alexander the Great; paradoxography.
Тезисы
Numerous authors write of treason
to murder Alexander the Great by gifting him a chalice made of a hoof of a
horse, a mule, or an ass, containing poison or poisonous water. According to
Pausanias’ report, the lethal drink originated from the river Styx, whose
streams were believed to have a fatal effect on humans and animals. The odd
choice of a hoof-made chalice is not accidental – many agreed that was the only
type of vessel able to convey the harmful water of the river Styx. Porphyry of
Tyre gives us a reason to believe that the mention of hoof-made vessels was a
misinterpretation of horn-made chalices, or put otherwise, drinking horns. In Styg.
374F Porphyry of Tyre quotes Kallimachos, explaining that the only ἀγγεῖα
immune to the water of Styx are κεράτινα. It is not hard to spot the cause of
the horn-hoof confusion – members of the genus Equus do not grow horns,
while they possess four hooves. That fact could have made authors with
rationalistic tendencies misinterpret their sources. If we presume the vessel
in question was a drinking horn, we are left with an unusual image – Alexander
the Great perished after drinking the poisonous water of Styx from a horn of a
hornless animal. There is, however, an instance connecting all three elements
of this tale. Quoting Philo the Paradoxographer in Styg. 375F, Porphyry
tells a story of Scythian horned asses. Their horns could transport the water
of Styx, and one of them was given to Alexander the Great. Alexander later
decided to dedicate the horn to Apollo in Delphi. It is obvious from Philo’s
account that the horn was considered a present befitting a great ruler, and
that Alexander himself deemed it a suitable offering for Apollo. Having this in
mind, we should remember the tales of Indian horned asses, told by Ctesias and
Philostratus. Vessels made of those horns had several miraculous features,
such as protecting the imbibers from poisoning, pain, or epilepsy. On account
of these features, they were reserved exclusively for rulers. The mention of
Scythians in Philo’s account is an argument in favor of interpreting the story
of Alexander’s gift through Ctesias’ and Philostratus’ story – unicorns'
water-cleansing abilities are a part of Indo-Iranian tradition, as seen in Bdh.
24. 10-21 and AV 3. 7. Therefore, we see that the horn from Philo’s story represented a
legendary present of Indian rulers, intended to save Alexander the Great from
harm. Various layers of misapprehension transformed the legendary gift into a
device contracted to harm its receiver. After the survey of relevant sources, the author
of this paper hopes to prove that the story of Alexander’s poisoning represents
a transformed and misinterpreted legend of Alexander’s grandest gift.