Rivalry and Destruction in Macedonian Funerary Monuments: The Evidence of a Newly Excavated Sculptural Assemblage from Pydna (15 min)

Presenters

Rachel M. Kousser, City University of New York

Abstract

Alexander the Great and his successors created ambitious, high-profile sculptures—fo example, the Macedonian king's Granikos Monument at Dion and Krateros's dedication at Delphi—that were celebrated in literary sources, but are now no longer preserved. A recently excavated funerary commission from Pydna offers a rare glimpse of an original monument from this era.  The Pydna memorial has been discussed in terms of its excavation context and iconography, and has been associated with a high-ranking officer from Alexander's army. Drawing on textual and archaeological evidence for burials in the late fourth century B.C.E., this paper analyzes the Pydna monument within the broader context of the competitive funerary commissions of Macedonian aristocrats in the age of Alexander.

Among Macedonian funerary monuments, the Pydna memorial is exceptional on several counts.  Associated with a double-chamber tomb and dated by numismatic evidence ca. 316 B.C.E., it was a grandiose above-ground sculptural assemblage, prominently sited on the road from Pydna to Methone. Thirty-five meters long and likely containing around 30 life-size or colossal marble statues, it included depictions of battle, hunting, and warriors' farewell within an Ionic architectural setting. Stylistically, its descriptive naturalism and technically sophisticated marble carving suggest comparisons to contemporary Athenian funerary monuments, while its hunt and battle scenes associate it with Macedonian courtly prototypes such as the paintings and chryselephantine couches from the Royal Tombs at Vergina. But the Pydna memorial stands out for its enormous scale and visual prominence, unprecedented for the funerary monument of a nonroyal individual at this time. In this way, it showcases the innovative, competitive character of late classical Macedonian funerary art. At the same time, the memorial's destruction—it was attacked and taken down within antiquity, and likely shortly after its completion—suggests the resentment such a monument could foster during the struggles following Alexander's death.