
Cover -- Beyond Alexandria -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Overview Map -- Introduction: Seleucid Literature On The Hellenistic Stage -- Introduction -- Seleucid Literature -- Royal Ideology And Court Literature -- What Is Literature? -- 1. Mapping The Realm -- Introduction -- The Literature Of The Generals -- Mapping The Realm: Mental Maps And The Spectre Of World Empire -- Patrocles: The Ends Of The Earth -- Demodamas: In The Footsteps Of Kings -- Megasthenes: Measuring The Immeasurable On The Hellenistic Stage: Knowledge And Appropriation In Geography -- 2. Babylon, City Of Kings -- Introduction -- Traditions About Babylon -- Berossus And The Babylonian Elites In Hellenistic Times -- The Kings And The City -- Adorning The City -- Preserving Kingship -- The Voice Of The Local Priests: Manetho And The Ptolemies -- 3. The Lock Of Berenice: Seleucid Crisis And The Ptolemaic Response -- Introduction -- Ptolemaic Ideology Of Royal Love In Callimachus' Lock Of Berenice -- Seleucid Narratives About Royal Love -- Cultural Polemic: The Lock Of Berenice And Barbarian Asia Cultural Polemic And The Third Syrian War -- Imperial Asia Past And Present -- Metapoetics And Interstate Rivalry -- 4. Poets And Politics At The Court Of Antiochus Iii -- Introduction -- Simonides: The Galatian Threat And The Struggle For Asia Minor -- The Galatians As Kingmakers In The 270s -- The Galatians In Asia Minor -- Euphorion Of Chalcis And The Literary Court -- Euphorion Of Chalcis As A Hellenistic 'poeta Doctus' -- Euphorion: A Seleucid Poet? -- Looking West: Hegesianax And The War With Rome -- Hegesianax Of Alexandria Troas And The Origins Of Rome Conclusion: The Fame Of The Seleucids -- Bibliography -- Index Marijn Visscher. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Electronic Reproduction. Oxford Available Via World Wide Web.
This work investigates how literature functioned as a tool of imperial ideology and cultural negotiation within the Seleucid Empire. Marijn Visscher examines the intersection of Greek literary production and the diverse cultural landscapes of the Hellenistic world, specifically focusing on how court writers and local elites constructed narratives of power. By analyzing geographical texts, royal propaganda, and poetic responses to political crises, the author argues that the Seleucid court actively utilized literary output to legitimize its authority and define its place in the broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern context.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars in the field of Hellenistic history recognize this text as a significant contribution to the study of cultural politics in the Seleucid court. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's rigorous engagement with primary source material, making it a valuable resource for specialists in ancient literature and imperial history.
Page Count:
272
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0190059095
ISBN-13:
9780190059095
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