In this first volume of the new de Gruyter series ‘Trends in Classics – Key Perspectives on Classical Research’ H. brilliantly guides readers through a ‘critical reappraisal of research on the kingdom of Macedon conducted in recent decades and even further back’ (p. v). The general aim of the series is to review scholarship on a given topic based on current knowledge, and this first instalment tackles the complex discussion surrounding the study of ancient Macedonia. Chronologically the study includes the origin of the kingdom in the seventh century to the Roman takeover of the area in 168 bce. By losing its autonomy, Macedonia also lost its originality, and H. ends soundly with the emergence of Roman Macedonia because the period after simply ‘appeals to a different, Rome-oriented, public’ (p. vi).
The book contains six chapters (including introduction and conclusion), a bibliography, illustrations and an index. Beginning with a short introduction presenting the significance of ancient Macedonia in a modern context, the heart of the book is found in three chapters covering the land (Chapter 2), the people (Chapter 3) and prominent Macedonian personalities (Chapter 4).
Chapter 2 addresses the question ‘where was Macedonia?’, which includes the discussion of the geographical location of Macedonia in archaic, classical and Hellenistic times. Because addressing fundamental geographical questions of ancient places, which here mean the borders, expansions and locations of the important cities of Aigai and Pella, greatly influences our understanding of the historical evolution of Macedonia, this topic is the most sensible place to begin. H. shows that, with the epigraphic material available to us now, we are (more) capable of finding and defining those areas once populated by the Macedonian people.
Chapter 3 discusses the rather anachronistic question ‘who were the Macedonians?’, which moves the discussion into the controversial area of ethnicity and identity, treating the questions of language, cults, beliefs, customs, institutions and the perception of self and others. This analysis tacks well into the recent lively and emotional political discussion between Greece and North Macedonia on the right to use the name, identity, culture and history of ancient Macedonia; this is a debate H. participated in a decade ago, urging the world community to review the historical facts on the geography and identity of ancient Macedonia. Then as now, he argues that the ancient Macedonians were fundamentally Greeks, stressing their north-western Greek dialect, their origin in the Argeads through Argos and the use of the same gods, rituals and beliefs as the rest of the Greeks. To be Macedonian therefore referred to something civic rather than ethnical.
Chapter 4 assesses the scholarship on the two most important Macedonian kings. The chapter begins with some considerations of Macedonians such as Alexander I, Perdiccas II, Archelaus, Amyntas III, Cassander and Lysimachus. H. turns to Philip II and Alexander the Great for quite understandable reasons. For decades, they have aroused controversy among scholars, and thus it makes sense to single them out for their potential to create diverging interpretations (p. 127). The discussion is structured around Philip II's lifespan, reign, the period as a hostage, and his numerous wives, in which H. outlines the different scholarly disagreements. The chapter ends with some considerations on the murder of Philip II and the fascinating burial sites from Aigai. Throughout the chapter, H. effectively shows how and why our complex source material will always create conflicting theories and solutions when we try to understand the achievements of Philip II and Alexander the Great.
The final two chapters touch on how ancient authors have looked at the Macedonians from the outside. The point of departure is Polybius (13.17.12–13). H. uses him to show that even those ancient historians arguing persuasively for their objectivity and preciseness wrote from a specific biased viewpoint, often slandering the ‘average Macedonians’.
The study is not a handbook nor a conventional history of Macedonia; so readers searching for such narratives should look elsewhere. Rather, this book is written for scholars needing an up-to-date account of the current state of research on ancient Macedonia or advanced students who are already familiar with the most important research questions. General readers with no significant knowledge of the numerous scholarly debates will often have difficulties following H.'s many informed discussions.
The book is brilliantly structured, nicely written and has a consistent approach throughout: H. presents the sources, evaluates the scholarly debate and ends with his own interpretations (which he sometimes criticises). As a leading scholar in the field for many decades, H. thoughtfully leads readers through a massive amount of research and through those questions that have taken up the times and minds of historians, philologists and archaeologists in the last few decades (a dense 25-page bibliography visually confirms the quantity). The book meets the objectives of the series fully. It is a great choice for the first instalment. It will be an obvious starting point for those seeking a learned overview of those questions that have defined and still surround the study of ancient Macedonia.
