Just read your âWhat if⊠Alexanderâ post! Along those lines, what do you think might have happened had Alexander not chosen to assassinate Paremenion, and Parmenion had lived? Do you think he might have actually revolted to avenge the death of Philotas, as Alexander feared? I recall reading that even Parmenion had to tell his son to put a lid on his big mouth sometimes, but I imagine just like any other father, he would have loved his kid. Though obviously Iâm not at all sure.
What ifâŠParmenion hadnât been assassinated by Alexander?
He would have had to retaliate against Alexander.
Why? Family piety.
Family (blood) ties in the ancient world included religiously sanctioned obligation. Yes, even if you didnât like the person. Didnât matter. NOT to fulfill certain obligations would offend the gods. Children owed certain duties to parents. Parents owed certain duties to children. Brothers for brothers, etc. These included a proper burial, and to avenge their murder/death.
But these ties were tightest on oneâs immediate blood relations. Marriage ties may or may not hold. Ergo, among the three who volunteered to torture the truth out of Philotas (so Curtius) is none other than KoenosâŠPhilotasâs erstwhile brother-in-law. He didnât want to go down with the shipâŠand didnât need to. Philotas was not his blood relation. Also, cousins and other more distant relatives might be able to slip such obligations.
The fact Philotas was Parmenionâs last living son only intensified it, especially as itâs unclear if any of Parmenionâs sons had legitimate (not bastard) offspring. It doesnât seem they did. (There may be some question with Philotas. Problem: multiple people in the army were named âPhilotas,â so which Philotas was the father of ___ isnât always clear.)
By executing Philotas, Alexander (may have) cut off Parmenionâs family line. Of course Parmenion would have had to retaliate.
As Iâve argued elsewhere (âCrisis and Opportunityâ), the mess with Philotas was a serious case of FUBAH. It got out of hand real fastâin part because there hadnât been a serious attempt on Alexanderâs life (outside battle) since waaaaay back in Cilicia at the campaignâs start, and that had been a continuation of the succession conflict.
So Alexanderâs advisory council was a kicked anthill. Some were panicked, some saw opportunity. Alexanderâs subsequent pardoning of the sons of Andromenes (all of whom, but especially the eldest, had been good friends of Philotas) speaks to his need to appear just and clement. Philotas really was a victim of his own stupidity and arrogance, but once committed, Alexander couldnât leave Parmenion alive on his supply lines.
Unlike some, I donât believe Alexander was especially gunning for Philotas, much less Parmenion. But others at court very well may have been, particularly Krateros, who was Parmenionâs understudy since, arguably, Granikos, certainly since Issos, where heâd commanded the infantry brigades under Parmenionâs overall command, e.g., officer #2 on the left. Contra Heckel, I donât think Hephaistion had any expectation of being appointed as commander of the Companions, while Krateros very well mightâŠwhich is why Alexander didnât give it to him.
Anyway, I do think this a case where Alexander let matters get away from him, and heâd probably have really liked a reset the morning after. But done was done. To walk it back would have undermined his authority in a different way. Again, the so-called âPhilotas Affairâ (really the Dimnos Plot) was the first serious political challenge to his authority in years. They were scrambling, and the tail wagged the dog.
But if weâre playing âwhat if,â letâs play âwhat if.â The one potential mitigating factor would have been if Nikanor were still alive.
A quick reminder, Parmenion had three sons: Philotas (eldest, bit of an arrogant jerk, commander of the Companion cavalry, probable syntrophos and friend of Amyntas Perdikka, Alexanderâs older cousin); Nikanor (middle child, commander of the Hypaspists, seems to have been more easy-going, older than ATG but not by as much); Hektor (baby, younger than ATG, a friend and favorite of the king).
Hektor drown in the Nile. Weâre not told when or how exactly, but apparently accidental. ATG was heartbroken and gave him a big-ass funeral.
Nikanor died of unstated illness sometime around the armyâs sojourn in Hyrkania, after theyâd left Parmenion in Ekbatana (this is also post-Gaugamela, post-Persepolis, post-Dariusâs murder). No hint of foul play, Alexander gave him a big-ass funeral.
Around 6 months after Nikanorâs death, the Dimnos Conspiracy occurred, implicating Philotas.
As Iâve said elsewhere (see my article linked above), I do not think Philotas involved. Heckel suggests Philotas may not have minded if the plot had succeeded, but wasnât involved otherwise. I donât think even that. I think Philotas was an arrogant idiot who didnât take it seriously. E.g., he was guilty of hubris and stupidity. But he went down for it.
SOâŠletâs imagine Nikanor did not die 6 months earlier.
Matters would have fallen out very differently. First, I doubt Krateros would have thought he could push the way he did. One (unpopular) son of Parmenion was one thing, but going up against two, one of them not as disliked? YeahâŠno. Even if heâd tried, heâd have been voted down.
Nikanor may even have upbraided his brother. (By all appearances, he was more like their father in temperament than Philotas.)
Yes, itâs possible that ATG would have still used the oversight to âget ridâ of the family of ParmenionâŠbut that requires subscribing to Ernst Badianâs view that Alexander had it in for Parmenion all alongâwhich I donât.
Put Nikanor back in the picture, and change the outcome. First, I think Nikanor would have got his brother off. But even if Philotas had been executed, had Alexander not executed Nikanor, then he almost certainly wouldnât have sent an order for Parmenionâs assassination. Nor would Parmenion have retaliated. (After all, his last son would have been in Alexanderâs clutches.)
And history might actually have recorded why Dimnos instigated a plot against the life of the king in the first place. (As it is, we have no f-ing idea because the fall of Philotas and Parmenion ate the real conspiracy.)
