Customer Reviews

Antigonos the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State (Hellenistic Culture and Society)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a remarkably interesting scholarly biography of the man I've always found to be the most interesting of the Successors of Alexander. Antigonus the One-Eyed originally seemed one of the least likely of Alexander's generals to come into the dead King's inheritance, but thanks to his shrewdness, military skill, and the mistakes of others, within ten years of Alexander's death he had taken control of two-thirds of the dead King's former realm. Twelve years later, all of the other Successors united against him in a great coalition, and Antigonus went down fighting (at the age of 80) at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 B.C. The ancients saw Antigonus's life as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and vaulting ambition; Billows takes a more positive view.

If your interest in this book comes from the standpoint of an ancient history buff rather than an academic, you should understand that Billows's book started out life as a dissertation, and it's really two books in one. The first book -- which consists of the first 190 pages -- is essentially a well-researched biography that treats Antigonus's life and career in chronological order. The second book -- consisting of the last 120 pages -- treats Antogonus's foreign relations, economic and social policies, etc., and will be of more interest and utility to scholars. Billows argues that Antigonus should be better known not merely because of his dramatic life story and his status as the founder of the Antigonid line that eventually ruled Macedon from 277-167 B.C., but also because he laid the foundations upon which Seleucus I built the Seleucid Empire. It seems to me there is some truth to this, but Billows may push the argument farther than it can really be sustained, given that Antigonus controlled large swatches of the area that became the Seleucid Empire for as little as five or six years.

The University of California Press is to be commended for including excellent maps of the vast area of the Middle East across which Antigonus played out his life story, as well as including detailed plans of such Diadochoi battles as Paraitakene, Gabiene, and Gaza that show the composition of the rival armies in detail. The account of Antigonus's dramatic struggle with the wily Eumenes of Cardia -- a running series of battles and campaigns fought over a huge stretch of the Middle East -- is a high point of the book. Finally, the detailed bibliography in Billows's book will point the scholar or ancient history buff to numerous other references and scholarly discussions of individual battles and commanders.

3.5 stars.

Let's be very clear: AtOE is not for the general reader. It's a rather dry work geared for an academic audience. It presumes a certain level of knowledge about the times and the geography. (At least a few maps were included.) That being said, it's a useful resource; material on the Diodochi seems rather sparse. The first half of the book is a narrative of Antigonos's life while the second half deals with the manner of his administration. The two were obviously cobbled together and not conceived as a single project.

Recommended (if you have a particular interest in the subject).

For anyone interested in immersing themselves into the early Hellenistic period, this book that focuses on the life of Antigonus the One-Eyed is a good place to turn to. I expected a dry scholarly biography and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of space and detail allotted to military and naval campaigns and battles. These battles were interesting in many respects, including the fact there were clever, tactically adept Macedonian generals on either side of the battle matching wits against each other - men who had fought alongside Alexander. The book left me with a vivid impression of the wealth of the Hellenistic kings. Antigonus and the others had access to treasuries crammed with thousands of talents from which they could easily outfit armies and build fleets.

This is one of the best books I have read on any aspect of the Hellenistic world. Richard Billows takes the evidence as far as it can be taken in presenting an accurate and fascinating account of the life and times of Antigonos the One Eyed. Billows references his facts and explains his logic throughout the book and he notes where his views and interpretations differ from those of other scholars. In addition to his very strong background in the subject, Billows uses and cites primary sources throughout his work, while noting that even primary sources can be skewed to biased points of view. This is a must read book for all who are interested in Antigonos Monophthalmos, his contemporaries, and the era in which they lived.