Athenion was a military commander of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra in

Coele-Syria Coele-Syria (, also spelt Coele Syria, Coelesyria, Celesyria) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria (; grc-gre, Κοίλη Συρία, ''Koílē Syría'', 'Hollow Syria'; lat, Cœlē Syria or ), was a region of Syria in classical antiquit ...

in the late 30s BC.

Life

Athenion is only known through the report given by the Jewish historian

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

. But the account of Josephus is very hostile to Cleopatra and reflects in this connection the negative reporting of the memoirs of the Jewish king on the Ptolemaic queen, which found their way via

Nicolaus of Damascus Nicolaus of Damascus (Greek: , ''Nikolāos Damaskēnos''; Latin: ''Nicolaus Damascenus'') was a Greek historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his birthplace, Damascus. He w ...

into the historic works of Josephus. Therefore, Josephus’ unreliable reporting on Cleopatra has to be evaluated carefully. When in 32 BC the preparations for the final war between

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

and

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

were beginning Herod wanted to come to Antony's rescue with an army, but was sent back by Antony to fight against Malichus, king of the

Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern L ...

, instead. According to Josephus Cleopatra is said to have been responsible for this decision of the triumvir, but the German classical scholar Christoph Schäfer does not believe that this is true. After Herod had won the first military encounter against the Nabataeans and threatened to also rout them in a second battle near Canatha, Athenion is supposed to have intervened in favour of the Nabataeans and helped them decisively to defeat the Jewish troops. Christoph Schäfer considers Athenion's allegedly attack on Herod is an invention of Josephus or his sources. He argues that if Athenion really helped the Nabataeans in the battle near Canatha it is not understandable why Cleopatra's general did not interfere in Herodes’ later very successful battles against the Nabataeans, which took place in summer 31 BC. Michael Grant is not so skeptically disposed to the report of Josephus.Michael Grant, ''Kleopatra'', p. 271. Nothing is recorded about the further fate of Athenion.

References

Ulrich Wilcken Ulrich Wilcken (December 18, 1862 – December 10, 1944) was a German historian and papyrologist who was a native of Stettin. Biography Wilcken studied ancient history and Oriental studies in Leipzig, Tübingen and Berlin. He was a disciple of h ...

: ''Athenion 5''. In: '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', vol. II, 2 (1896), col. 2039. * Michael Grant: ''Kleopatra. Biographie'' (= ''Bastei-Lübbe-Taschenbuch.'' Bd. 61416). Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1998, , p. 271. * Christoph Schäfer: ''Kleopatra''. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2006, , p. 200-201.

Notes

{{reflist Ptolemaic generals 1st-century BC births Cleopatra