Antony's Letter to Hyrcanus and the Battle of Philippi

Abstract

This thesis introduces a letter from Mark Antony thus far absent from the scholarly discussion on the Battle of Philippi. The introduction of this letter helps to correctly situate the battle and better understand how the narrative writers on the battle interacted with the tradition. Chapter 1 follows the narrative history of the battle and provides the context required to understand how the armies of the Caesarians and Liberators met and then fought in October of 42 BC. A discussion of the previous scholarship follows. Chapter 2 aims to understand what makes Appian different, and in his difference, how did he impact our understanding of the battle. This chapter reveals that Appian made a mistake in his understanding of the geography, but, as a skilled writer, created an internally consistent narrative. This fact has shaped our understanding of the battle for over a century. Chapter 3 argues for Antony to take Appian’s place. This Chapter begins with arguments for understanding Antony’s letter as authentic and follows it with an analysis of each narrative on Philippi in light of what Antony said about the geography. As a result, Antony’s letter should now take the principal seat from Appian, whose account, although tactically sound, does not reflect the geography and must be set aside.