Irlandos at 12:12, August 23, 2006

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Irlandos at 12:11, August 23, 2006

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'''Nearchus''' (or '''Nearchos''') was one of the officers in the army of [[Alexander the Great]]. His celebrated voyage from India to Susa after [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]'s expedition in India is preserved in [[Arrian]]'s account, the [[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]].

A native of [[Crete]], his family settled at [[Amphipolis]] in [[Macedon]]ia at some point during [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip’s]] reign (we must assume after Philip took the city in 357BC), at which point Nearchus was probably a young boy. He was almost certainly older than Alexander, as were [[Ptolemy I|Ptolemy]], [[Erigyius]] and the others of the ‘boyhood friends’ (see Heckel, "Marshals" p.228); so depending on when [[Androtimos]] came to Macedonia Nearchus was quite possibly ''born'' on Crete.

Nearchus, along with [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy]], [[Erigyius]] and [[Laomedon of Mytilene|Laomedon]], and [[Harpalus]], was one of Alexander’s ‘mentors’ – and he was exiled by Philip as a result of the [[Pixodarus of Caria|Pixodarus]] affair. We don’t know where the exiles went, but they were recalled only after Philip’s death, on Alexander’s accession.

After their recall, these men were held in the highest honour. Nearchus was appointed as satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia in 334/3 BC ([[A]] 3.3.6), one of the earliest of Alexander's satrapal appointments. In [[328 BC]] he was relieved of his post and rejoined Alexander in Bactria, bringing with him reinforcements ([[A]] 4.7.2; [[C]] 7.10.4, but does not mention Nearchus himself). After the siege of [[Aornus]] Nearchus was sent at the head of a reconnaissance mission – especially to find out about elephants!

In 326BC, Nearchus was made admiral of the fleet that Alexander had built at the Hydaspes (''[[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]]'' 18.10). It is interesting to note, however, that his trierarchy was a financial responsibility – that is, Nearchus put up the money for the boats (Heckel, p.229); and there were plenty of other trierarchs in the Indus fleet who were not natural born sailors.

During the voyage some of the ships were damaged, and Nearchus was instructed to remain behind to oversee repairs, before continuing down the river. This perhaps indicates some knowledge of shipbuilding, but he could hardly have been the only one qualified.

However, he did remain in command of the fleet for the voyage from the Indus to the Persian Gulf, which he recorded in detail (and which was used extensively for [[Arrian]]’s ''[[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]]''). Again, although he was the admiral, in command of the fleet, great seamanship was not required – the naval responsibilities were [[Onesicritus|Onesicritus’]].

After many adventures, Nearchus arrived in Carmania, meeting up with Alexander after the latter’s crossing of the Gedrosian desert. Alexander sent him off to complete his voyage – he went as far as the Euphrates before turning back to rejoin Alexander at Susa, in early [[324 BC]].

Nearchus married the daughter of [[Barsine]] and [[Mentor of Rhodes|Mentor]] ([[A]] 7.4.6), and received a crown as recognition of his exertions. He then took the fleet up to Babylon, where he gave Alexander the Chaldeans’ warning not to enter the city.
Nearchus had a place in Alexander’s final plans, as he was to be the admiral of the Arabian invasion fleet; but the plans were cut short by the king’s death.

In the initial arguments over the rule of the empire Nearchus supported [[Heracles (Macedon)|Heracles]], Alexander’s son by [[Barsine]] – the king’s mistress was now his mother-in-law, of course! Once order broke down he joined [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus|Antigonus’]] camp. His last mention is as an adviser to [[Demetrius I of Macedon|Demetrius]] in 313/2 BC; what happened after that we don’t know, although he probably retired to write up his history.

Ancient authorities: Arrian, ''[[Anabasis Alexandri]]'', vi. 19, 21; vii. 4, 19, 20, 25: [[Plutarch]], ''Life of Alexander'', 10, 68, 75: Strabo, xv. pp. 721, 725; [[Diodorus Siculus]], xvii. 104: [[Junianus Justinus|Justin]], xiii. 4.

==External links==
*Arrian, [http://www.und.ac.za/und/classics/india/arrian.htm The Indica] translated by E. Iliff Robson.
*[http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=135&keyword_id=9&title=Nearchus Pothos.org:Nearchus] by Marcus Pailing
*[http://www.livius.org Livius], [http://www.livius.org/ne-nn/nearchus/nearchus.html Nearchus] by Jona Lendering

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:Ancient Macedonians]]
[[Category:Alexander the Great]]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Nearchus, along with [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy]], [[Erigyius]] and [[Laomedon of Mytilene|Laomedon]], and [[Harpalus]], was one of Alexander’s ‘mentors’ – and he was exiled by Philip as a result of the [[Pixodarus of Caria|Pixodarus]] affair. We don’t know where the exiles went, but they were recalled only after Philip’s death, on Alexander’s accession.
-After their recall, these men were held in the highest honour. Nearchus was appointed as satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia in 334/3 BC ([[A]] 3.3.6), one of the earliest of Alexander's satrapal appointments. In [[328 BC]] he was relieved of his post and rejoined Alexander in Bactria, bringing with him reinforcements ([[A]] 4.7.2; [[C]] 7.10.4, but does not mention Nearchus himself). After the siege of [[Aornus]] Nearchus was sent at the head of a reconnaissance mission – especially to find out about elephants!
+After their recall, these men were held in the highest honour. Nearchus was appointed as satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia in 334/3 BC, one of the earliest of Alexander's satrapal appointments. In [[328 BC]] he was relieved of his post and rejoined Alexander in Bactria, bringing with him reinforcements, but does not mention Nearchus himself). After the siege of [[Aornus]] Nearchus was sent at the head of a reconnaissance mission – especially to find out about elephants!
 In 326BC, Nearchus was made admiral of the fleet that Alexander had built at the Hydaspes (''[[Indica (Arrian)|Indica]]'' 18.10). It is interesting to note, however, that his trierarchy was a financial responsibility – that is, Nearchus put up the money for the boats (Heckel, p.229); and there were plenty of other trierarchs in the Indus fleet who were not natural born sailors.
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 After many adventures, Nearchus arrived in Carmania, meeting up with Alexander after the latter’s crossing of the Gedrosian desert. Alexander sent him off to complete his voyage – he went as far as the Euphrates before turning back to rejoin Alexander at Susa, in early [[324 BC]].
-Nearchus married the daughter of [[Barsine]] and [[Mentor of Rhodes|Mentor]] ([[A]] 7.4.6), and received a crown as recognition of his exertions. He then took the fleet up to Babylon, where he gave Alexander the Chaldeans’ warning not to enter the city.
+Nearchus married the daughter of [[Barsine]] and [[Mentor of Rhodes|Mentor]], and received a crown as recognition of his exertions. He then took the fleet up to Babylon, where he gave Alexander the Chaldeans’ warning not to enter the city.
 Nearchus had a place in Alexander’s final plans, as he was to be the admiral of the Arabian invasion fleet; but the plans were cut short by the king’s death.

Nearchus - Revision history

Irlandos at 12:12, August 23, 2006

Irlandos at 12:11, August 23, 2006