Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions (Hellenistic Culture and Society) [Hardcover]

Frank L. Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2003 | Series: Hellenistic Culture and Society (Book 44)

To all those who witnessed his extraordinary conquests, from Albania to India, Alexander the Great appeared invincible. How Alexander himself promoted this appearance--how he abetted the belief that he enjoyed divine favor and commanded even the forces of nature against his enemies--is the subject of Frank L. Holt's absorbing book.
Solid evidence for the "supernaturalized" Alexander lies in a rare series of medallions that depict the triumphant young king at war against the elephants, archers, and chariots of Rajah Porus of India at the Battle of the Hydaspes River. Recovered from Afghanistan and Iraq in sensational and sometimes perilous circumstances, these ancient artifacts have long animated the modern historical debate about Alexander. Holt's book, the first devoted to the mystery of these ancient medallions, takes us into the history of their discovery and interpretation, into the knowable facts of their manufacture and meaning, and, ultimately, into the king's own psyche and his frightening theology of war. The result is a valuable analysis of Alexander history and myth, a vivid account of numismatics, and a spellbinding look into the age-old mechanics of megalomania.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Details the discovery of a rare series of medallions."--The Bookseller -- Review

From the Inside Flap

"Frank Holt probably knows more than anyone alive about the mysterious Greek kingdoms in Bactria and on the frontiers of India that were one of the odder legacies of Alexander's Eastern conquests. The literary evidence is sparse, the coins remain ambiguous, the topography defeats all but the toughest. Holt's forays into this world are those of a clever and persistent detective: he loves cracking problems, and the tougher they are, the better. This time--very properly beginning by invoking the name of Sherlock Holmes--he has given us what Conan Doyle would probably have called 'The Adventure of the Elephant Medallions.' Debate has raged over the scene these portray ever since the first was discovered. A cavalryman with a lance confronts an opponent on an elephant. Who are they? What is the occasion? Guesses have ranged from Alexander to the Greco-Bactrian monarch Eucratides, from Porus at the Jhelum to Darius at Gaugamela. Using his numismatic and historical skills like a Holmesian magnifying-glass, Holt takes us through the theories, deftly explodes the fallacies, and comes up with a (for me) entirely cogent and satisfying solution. He has also, somewhere along the way, acquired a really marvelous prose style. Not only is the problem in itself a page-turner; Holt also throws in, by way of introduction, the best short impressionistic account of Alexander's career I have ever read. This is high scholarship at its most exciting."--Peter Green, author of Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B. C.: A Historical Biography

"[This book] brings to a wider audience one of the few contemporary pieces of evidence for the image and ideology of Alexander the Great. While relatively well known to experts in the field, the 'elephant medallions' of the title are far less well understood, and have thus played a smaller part, in popular accounts of Alexander than they

probably should. Holt's book offers a well thought out introduction first to Alexander and the Alexander story, second to the entrance of the 'medallions' into modern scholarship, and third to the medallions themselves."--Andrew Meadows, Curator of Greek Coins, British Museum

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520238818
• ISBN-13: 978-0520238817
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,023,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Alexander medallions, February 2, 2004

By 

Richard Sebring "kalliston" (Addison, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions (Hellenistic Culture and Society) (Hardcover)

"Alexander The Great And The Mystery Of The Elephant Medallions", by Frank L. Holt. Published by The University Of California Press.

Holt tells us that there have been 2000 books and papers published about Alexander in the last 40 years. What he kindly omits is that most of them have been rubbish; this one is not. It is a fine and valuable contribution to Alexander Studies admirably thought out and very well written. The University Of California Press has, as usual, well presented and marketed the work which is enjoying a popularity it should not have had otherwise. Basically a study of some unusual coin- like medallions depicting Alexander battling elephant mounted men. Holt gives us what might have been a tedious article in an obscure numismatic journal as a fascinating mystery and, along the way, manages to present an unsullied glimpse of Alexander without any of the contemporaneous tints which have been so blithely applied to him over the years. This is an excellent small book by a fine scholar with a keen analytical mind and an unusual facility for communicating with non scholars without pandering.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For those who like History and a mystery, March 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions (Hellenistic Culture and Society) (Hardcover)

This book is a delightful read. Like a good mystery, I was mystified by the clues as they were presented in the narration and wondered at times "so what?" But that only made the satifaction so much more pleasant when the meanings of the clues were revealed at the end and the medallions tell their story after thousands of years.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darwin's earthworms to the rescue, July 29, 2011

By 

G. Simon (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions (Hellenistic Culture and Society) (Paperback)

This is on the surface a book about the history of a set of Hellenistic medals, which began to be discovered in the late 19th century. They show on one side, a Hellenistic leader / king figure, and on the other a combat between a mounted Hellenistic figure (usually taken to be the figure from the reverse side) and an elephant with two crewmen. There have been numerous interpretations over the years as to who the figure represents, with the majority favouring Alexander the Great, and the elephant fight being the defeat of Porus at the battle of the river Hydaspes. There have been many theories as to what exactly the medals portray, why they portray it, and where they originated. There are also several forgeries in circulation, just to muddy the waters. The author's research takes us from the former Soviet Central Asia, where the first medals were unearthed; the length of Europe; and to America, where many of the medals are now housed. He looks at the history of Numismatics (the study of coins - created by some of the former owners of the Elephant Medallions), archaeology, and the study of the classical and Hellenistic world, and the changes that have affected them since the medals were first discovered. Many of the characters involved knew each other, and even Charles Darwin's study of the behaviour of earthworms plays a part. However, what the author does best is to show the influence that people's contemporary culture can have on their world-view, and how it can affect their view of the past as they project their current world-view on the way people behaved in the past, and colour their reading of historical sources. Some recent Indian academics have tried to prove that Alexander never defeated the Indian king Porus, for example, and others have tried to place him in Darius's army at Gaugamela, and some have even tried to put Darius on an elephant at the battle. At the end of the study, the author then offers his interpretation of the origin and meaning of the medals, using only historical evidence, and reaches an elegant and satisfying interpretation, that fits with the known facts and the behaviour and beliefs of the Hellenistic world.

This is an entertaining and erudite book, and will be a worthwhile read for people interested in the world of Alexander the Great, and also in the study of history, archaeology, coins, and the great debt owed to earthworms.