Tag: Roxane

Roxane’s Tomb Redux

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

In case you missed the Blogosphere post, there have been developments in the possible identification of Roxane’s tomb. Long time readers of rogueclassicism will recall that we first heard of this claim back in October (Roxane’s Tomb?) and a recent announcement is currently working its way through the various Greek newspapers — most seem based on/derive from an item in Proto Thema (Μέρος του τάφου της Ρωξάνης και του Αλέξανδρου Δ’ ο Λέων της Αμφίπολης ;) and several also include a video from back in November:

On this side of the continent, Dorothy King has broken the story very capably (The Tomb of Roxane, Amphipolis) and I urge folks to go read it and the associated clippings and photos from the City Paper). The skinny is that the famous Lion of Amphipolis once stood on a large mound marking the tomb of some female (since the lion is actually female) and the suggestion continues that this was Roxane’s tomb. An inscription referencing Deinocrates (an architect associated with Alexander the Great) lends some weight to this suggestion.

For my part, the current claim raises some more questions … the monument was trashed, apparently, in the second century A.D. and I’m continuing to search for some reason for this (perhaps we’ll be hearing more in the future on that score). The other issue I have is that the murder of Roxane and Alexander IV (according to Diodorus … quoted in DK’s post) resulted in the ‘concealment’ of the bodies … it doesn’t sound like they were given a royal burial at all and I can’t recall any mention of such in any other ancient source. On the other hand, if it *is* associated with Roxane, is it just hers or for both of them, and if the latter, the single lion seems somewhat incongruous. If not, there should be a similarly-large tomb nearby for Alexander IV, no? Dr King informs us that there will be more announcements in the coming months, and hopefully some of these questions will be cleared up.

UPDATE (a day or so later): See Dorothy King’s latest update; note that the inscriptional reference to Dinocrates apparently isn’t there ~ Roxanne Tomb, Amphipolis – more details

Roxane’s Tomb?

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

From Greek Reporter:

Αrchaeologists from the 28th Ephorate of Antiquities unearthed a tomb in the city of Amphipolis, near Serres, northern Greece, which they believe could belong to the wife and son of Alexander the Great, Roxane and Alexander IV.

The circular precinct is three meters, or nearly 10 feet high and its perimeter is about 500 metes, or 1,640 feet surrounding the tomb located in an urban area close to the small city of Amphipolis. The head of the team, Katerina Peristeri noted that it is too soon to talk with certainty about the identities of the discovery.

“Of course this precinct is one we have never seen before, neither in Vergina nor anywhere else in Greece. There is no doubt about this. However, any further associations with historic figures or presumptions cannot be yet made because of the severe lack of evidence and finances that will not allow to continue the excavations at least for the time being,” she added.

The area has since 1965 been known as Kasta Tom, but these are the first excavations to take place there. The project began without any secured funds, which resulted in only parts of the impressive site coming to light. Analysts suggested that conclusions about the owners of the tomb cannot be drawn without first unearthing the tombs and discovering evidence about their identities.

Nevertheless, local authorities and media rushed into claiming and believing that the tomb belongs to Alexander’s wife and son, who, according to legend, had been ostracized to Macedonia after Alexander’s death. There the 12-year-old Alexander the IV and his mother Roxane were murdered. Tradition has it that the two victims were buried in Amphipolis but no evidence so far has proved this.

Nice to see some skepticism from the folks at Greek Reporter … at this point, we probably have as much evidence that this is the tomb of Roxane as it is the tomb of Xena …

UPDATE (a few minutes later): further adding to the suspicion, it is clear that this excavation started back in 2010 with the express purpose of finding the tomb of Roxane … see the post at Challenging the Past (Looking for the tomb of Roxane) and follow the link to the Greek news item: Ανασκαφές στην Αμφίπολη)