refers to this hunting tradition in connection with Hermolaus, the ancient sources only
concur that Hermolaus felt bitterly outraged, but they never specify a reason for his anger. 8
Scholars have assumed tha t Hermolaus’ had never killed a boar, and they have
extended this assumption to all the other Pages involved. This error is often justified by
stating that Alexander was prioritising a Persian hunting protocol, over Macedonian
traditions. This explanation incurs the same pitfall, it is a presumption based on general
knowledge rather than the ancient evidence. In Achaemenid culture, the first strike was
always reserved for the king as it symbolised his ability as a ruler, those who attempted to
strike before him were viewed as insulting the king and were often killed. 9 Scholars assumed
this applied to the hunt with Hermolaus because he was punished for striking before the
king. The overarching issue is that the Page’s Conspiracy has often become synonymous wi th
the boar hunting tradition and Alexander’s fusion policy, despite there being no literal
evidence to support either claim.
Scholars are more thoughtful in their evaluation of the role of the Royal Youths in the
conspiracy. The predominant argument is that bonds formed between Royal Youths during
training would have affected their decision to join Hermolaus. The young boys from elite
families were educated in a Macedonian training school, and when they reached the age of
seventeen, they would enter service under the king as Royal Pages. 10 Their duties involved
8 Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 4.13.3-4; Curtius, History of Alexander 8.6.7-9 9 Sabine Müller, ‘In the Shadow of His Father: Alexander, Hermolaus, and the Legend of Philip’ in Philip II and Alexander the Great Carney , Ed. Elizabeth Carney, Daniel Ogden (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 25-32 (p. 28); Am é lie Kuhrt, The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period (London: Routledge, 2007), p. 647. 10 N.G.L Hammond, 'Royal Pages, Personal Pages, and Boys Trained in the Macedonian. Manner during the Period of the Temenid Monarchy', Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 39 (1990), pp. 261-90, p. 266; Jeanne Reames, ‘An Atypical Affair? Alexander the Great, Hephaistion Amyntoros and the Nature of Their Relationship’, The Ancient History Bulletin, 13 (1999), pp. 81-96 (p. 88)
83
Made with FlippingBook HTML5