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• published: 22 Feb 2015
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Kingship, and the dominance of the Mediterranean by the great Antigonid, Seleucid, Ptolemaic and Attalid dynasties, defines the Hellenistic period (323-31 BC) and sets it apart from the preceding Classical period, which is often thought of as the golden age of the independent polis (city-state). The relationship between kings and cities is widely recognised as of central importance to any understanding of the period. It was once fairly widely accepted that under royal influence the freedom of Greek poleis (city-states), both those within royal territory and those outside it, was severely curtailed and that without autonomy the poleis effectively ceased to exist. In the last few decades the consensus has moved away from this wholly negative perspective and most scholars now accept that the polis survived intact until at least the Roman Imperial period, if not longer. Important research has been carried out into both international relations and the internal workings of the polis which has showed that the polis remained a significant political force in Hellenistic times. In this light, the nature of royal power and the influence that the kings had over subject and allied cities has been much debated. Just over a decade ago Gabriel Herman asked how it was that a Hellenistic monarch was able to impose his will “upon such vast territories and upon subjects who so overwhelmingly out numbered his own followers?” More recent work has questioned the very notion of monarchs being able to impose their will. James O’Neil has shown that kings had to go to considerable lengths in order to at least appear to work within the existing legal framework of cities to achieve their political goals.John Ma has argued that royal authority over cities was not absolute but was a relationship that had to be negotiated. This paper explores the connection between two areas of change in the Hellenistic polis: the change in political circumstances brought about by the emergence of the great kingdoms that Alexander the Great’s warring generals carved out of his empire following his death, and the change in the layout, appearance and use of the polis’ main public space, the agora. The work has drawn primarily on the epigraphic and literary evidence and has focussed on institutional politics and explicit communications between kings and cities. Much remains uncertain regarding what the balance of power between kings and cities was and how that balance was determined. Consideration of the ways that the public space of the agora was used as a medium and arena for negotiations of political power has something to add here. The key questions that I will address are: How did the agora facilitate negotiations of political power between Hellenistic kings and Greek cities, and how did these negotiations in turn transform the public space of the agora? The intention behind this investigation is twofold. In the first place I hope to contribute to the ongoing historical discussion on royal authority and the political power of the polis in the Hellenistic world. Secondly it is intended as a case study for an approach to ancient public space, which takes its lead from research in geography and anthropology and makes use of archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence.Putting ancient public spaces, such as the agora, in the spotlight can provide important insights into the workings of the ancient polis, and in particular into power-relations. A draft version of 'Kings, cities and marketplaces: negotiating power through public space in the Hellenistic world' by Christopher P. Dickenson is available here: http://www.academia.edu/2950240/Kings_cities_and_marketplaces_negotiating_power_through_public_space_in_the_Hellenistic_world Art: 'The Ambassadors', by Jean Alexandre Michel André Castaigne, 1898-99. Part of the Alexander the Great Illustrations series. Track: Stars and Heroes Artist: Luke Slater Label: Mute Release Date: July 8, 2002