Four Beasts and a Baby

The ‘Baleful Birth’ Omen of Alexander’s Death in its Hellenistic Context

Bibliographic Data

ID10290261
AuthorsChristian T Djurslev (0000-0001-7891-8805, Aarhus University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume74
Issue1
Pages29-55
Publication date2020-03-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMnemosyne (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-7074 • E-ISSN: 1568-525X
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/1568525x-12342743
OpenAlexW3013701406
LanguageEN
References cited18

The present article hypothesizes that a bizarre omen story of Alexander’s death belongs in a Hellenistic literary context rather than a historical Babylonian one. Several texts, including the Greek Alexander Romance (3.30), relate the birth omen of a stillborn child with living animals for his lower body. The court of Alexander decides to burn the portent. I suggest that the omen should be read as a manifestation of a teras in the Greek paradigm. In support of this argument, I offer comparable evidence from numerous sources, including iconographical material and the animal prophecies, primarily from the Old Testament Book of Daniel . The article ends with some thoughts on how this teras interpretation of the omen story exposes the tale as a Hellenistic construct

Art · Construct (python library · Context (archaeology · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Omen · Ancient Near East History · Botanical Research and Chemistry · Classics · Computer Science · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy

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