Marsyas of Pella and Phrygia

Abstract

There is a lot of uncertainty about the attribution of fragments to either Marsyas of Pella or Marsyas of Philippi. This paper challenges the traditional attribution of BNJ 135–136 F 4 (mentioning Midas’chariot with the Gordian knot) to Marsyas of Philippi and argues in favor of the identification of Marsyas of Pella as the author. For ideological and propagandistic reasons, it would fit well into Marysas of Pella’s account of the roots of Argead rule in his first book. By referring to Midas, Marsyas would have been able to link his half-brother Antigonus as the contemporary governor of Phrygia not only with the legendary Phrygian king and his legacy, but also with a Macedonian logos attested by Herodotus, creating a connection between Midas and the foundation of Argead rule. According to this logos, there existed old kinship relations between Macedonians and Phrygians who used to dwell at the foot of Mt. Bermium and were called Briges. This tradition was of propagandistic value and could have served to increase the ideological value of Antigonus’satrapy and main base in the rivalry with the other Diadochs.