#abdalonymus

Abdalomino Hailed as King of Sidon after the Conquest by Alexander of Macedon

Artist: George Scherer

Date: 1853

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Parma, Parma, Italy

Description

Abdalonymus was a Phoenician botanist and gardener of royal descent, who became King of Sidon under Alexander the Great in 332 BC.

After Alexander the Great had subdued Sidon, he gave permission to Hephaestion to bestow its crown on whom he pleased. Hephaestion offered it to two brothers with whom he lodged, but they declined it, alleging that according to their laws it could only be worn by one of royal blood. Instead, they named Abdalonymus, who, notwithstanding his birth, had fallen into such poverty that he supported himself by the cultivation of a kitchen garden.

Fourth video on Hephaistion, this time as diplomatic officer. Some discussion here of the appointment of Abdalonymos as king of Sidon, and why we can't trust the details.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the only direct quote we have from Hephaistion and I think it speaks volumes about his character and about his relationship to Alexander the Great (taking into consideration he later became Alexander's second-in-command).

That entire STORY is probably Curtius moralizing. Ha. If Hephaistion probably did pick Abdalonymus (he was, in fact, the king of SIdon under Alexander), I pretty much take everything else in the account with a grain of salt (or maybe the whole salt shaker).

Go and compare that storyt to the one of Cincinnatus’s first grant of the dictatorship in Livy. He, also, was out plowing his field! It’s a motif, not a real tale of how Hephaistion located him.

Again, NEVER trust a verbatim quote in ancient sources. They’re almost always put in the mouths of the players by the text’s author. :-)