Narrator: Abdamon of Sidon
Setting: Eastern Mediterranean, 340–336 BCE
1. Historical Sources
a. Ancient Sources
- Herodotus, Histories (background on the Persian Empire and Phoenician world)
- Xenophon, Cyropaedia (Persian imperial traditions and ideology)
- Diodorus Siculus, Library of History
- Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander (background on Philip's plans and Alexander's succession)
- Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus
b. Modern Sources
- Pierre Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire
- Adrian Goldsworthy, Philip and Alexander
- Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon, 356–323 BC
- Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great
- Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great
2. Author's Notes
a. Historical
- Sidon was one of the principal Phoenician cities of the eastern Mediterranean.
- During this period Sidon was part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
- Persian authority extended from the Mediterranean to Central Asia and was widely regarded as the dominant power of the known world.
- Phoenician cities played an important role in Persian trade and naval power.
- Philip II transformed Macedonia into the leading military power in Greece.
- Philip established the League of Corinth and prepared a campaign against the Persian Empire.
- Many contemporaries viewed the idea of a Macedonian invasion of Persia as unrealistic or unlikely to succeed.
- Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE.
- Alexander inherited the Macedonian throne at approximately twenty years of age.
- Many observers outside Greece initially underestimated Alexander because of his youth.
b. Reconstructed
- Abdamon of Sidon.
- His family and merchant background.
- Conversations in the harbor and taverns.
- The discussion with his father.
- Specific reactions to news from Greece.
- The atmosphere of confidence surrounding Persian rule.
- The belief that Philip's death had ended any threat to Persia.
- The tavern scene in which Alexander's age is discussed.
- Personal reflections and observations not preserved in historical sources.