After the Persians: memories of the Persian Wars in the Hellenistic period

Abstract

The aim of this PhD thesis is to examine the reception and recollection of the Persian Wars during the Hellenistic period (323 30 BC), emphasising the evolution in narrating and preserving historical events related to the Persian Wars. It endeavours to explore how Greeks perceived and utilised memories of these wars as historical references for conflicts with ‘barbarians’. Previous research has extensively studied Greek perceptions of the Persian Wars in ancient times but has inadequately covered the Hellenistic period, necessitating an investigation into why and how these memories c ontinued to be employed despite the Achaemenid Empire’s dissolution after Alexander the Great s conquest. This PhD thesis aims to illuminate the development of the Persian Wars’ significance in Greek collective memory and identity post Classical period. It argues that from the late Classical period onwards, encounters with groups like Macedonians, Gauls, and Romans, often considered ‘barbarians’ by the Greeks, prompted recollection of the Persian Wars. These wars served as models for confronting these groups, symbolising Greek civilisation and distinctiveness. Variations in recollection were contingent upon contextual factors and the agents employing these images. Additionally, the Battle of Plataia’s memory shaped Greek collective identity through the Eleutheria festival, enhancing the commemoration of Greek victory led by Athens and Sparta against ‘external enemies’. Nonetheless, the diverse memories of the Battle of Plataia persisted among Athenians, Spartans, and Plataians, and they anchored their memories in the landscape of Plataia.

Chapter One serves as a foundational exploration of how memories of the Persian Wars were formulated and evolved during the Classical period. Chapter Two aims to investigate the pivotal role and significance of these memories within the Athenian Macedonian dynamics. It examines how both parties strategically employed these memories as bargaining tools and delves into the constraints associated with this strategy. In Chapter Three , the focus shifts towards the local recollection of the Gallic invasion, juxta posed with the Panhellenic acknowledgement of this event and broader confrontations with the Gauls. It argues that Athenians did not just remember the Gallic invasion as a military event but interpreted it as a struggle for the preservation of Athens’ freedom and democracy, contextualised within the city’s circumstances during the invasion. Chapter Four scrutinises the evolution of commemorative practices linked to the Battle of Plataia and their integration with the Plataian landscape. It contends that the Eleutheria festival not only emphasised the memory of Greek collaboration under the Eleutheria festival not only emphasised the memory of Greek collaboration under Athens and Sparta but also incorporated elements from the fifth century BC. Moreover, Athens and Sparta but also incorporated elements from the fifth century BC. Moreover, it posits that the establishment of Eleutheria potentially reconfigured the Plataian it posits that the establishment of Eleutheria potentially reconfigured the Plataian landscape, segregating local memory within the city walls, while Panhellenic landscape, segregating local memory within the city walls, while Panhellenic monuments remained external. monuments remained external. Chapter FiveChapter Five explores the relationship between Greek explores the relationship between Greek perceptions of Roman hegemony and the symbolism of the Persian Wars. Its central perceptions of Roman hegemony and the symbolism of the Persian Wars. Its central argument emphasises that while the imagery of the Persian Wars consistently influenced argument emphasises that while the imagery of the Persian Wars consistently influenced how Romans were perceived, the manner in which these memories were invoked how Romans were perceived, the manner in which these memories were invoked underwent transformations with Rome’s ascendancy.underwent transformations with Rome’s ascendancy.