The lion monument of Chaironeia: ideological justification of the monument revisited

Author(s):  A.S. Novosilnov, Nizhny Novgorod State University, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia

N. Yu. Sivkina, Dr., Prof., Nizhny Novgorod State University, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, natalia-sivkina@yandex.ru

Issue:  Volume 45, №2

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  In 338 BC, near the town of Chaironeia was one of the most famous battles in the history of ancient Greece. The Macedonian king Philip II defeated the united forces of the Greeks. On the site of the battle was set up the monument topped by a colossal stone Lion. The accepted identities are confirmed (the mound covering a mass cremation, by the Kephisos, is that the Macedonian dead, the Lion monument, that Thebes are dead, in all probability a Sacred group). However, sources have very little information about this monument. We don't know who initiated the erection of the monument: all the Greeks, Thebes, Cassander? The date of installation is unknown: after the battle of Chaironeia or much later than 338 BC? The localization of the graves of the fallen Macedonians and Greeks also raises many ques-tions. The article deals with the question of ideological justification of the monument installation. The authors believe that the Macedonian king Philip II was able to take the initiative of setting this monu-ment. The Lion of Chaironeia was supposed to symbolize the unity of the Greeks and Macedonians

Keywords:  Hellenistic Macedonia, the battle of Chaironeia 338 BC, the Lion monument of Chaironeia, Macedonian king Philip II, Cassander

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