929:, Andy Gaus noted that "Renault's critics would say that the most invented thing in her books is the tone and prevailing attitude, that she describes ancient life as a constant high drama, whose personages, though historical in name, are tailored to fit romantic descriptions, but not to real human proportions. Her critics are not wrong. Her relentlessly one-sided characterizations would be ridiculous if the setting were not so distant and legendary, and the panoramic sweep of the action between exultation and destruction reminds you of those paperback romances with embossed covers and names like
442:. Eurydike, infuriated at being left behind from the southern war, seizes the Regency for herself, with the help of Kassandros, his brother Nikanor, and their whole clan. Polyperchon sends Arrhidaios back to Eurydike. Olympias invades Macedon. The Macedonians refuse to fight against Alexander's mother. Olympias deposes, imprisons and tortures Eurydike and Arrhidaios. On hearing this, Kassandros delays and slows down his march to Macedon. Olympias murders Arrhidaios and forces Eurydike to commit suicide.
27:
933:...Yet it all works and it's hard to say why. On the one hand it seems that the very grandeur of her subject matter elevates her undistinguished narrative voice. On the other hand, her extensive knowledge of all aspects of ancient life--clothing, customs, warfare, trades, religion, language--enables her to create complete, thoroughly detailed scenes out of the bare accounts furnished by Quintus Curtius and Diodorus Siculus."
404:.) Perdikkas marches towards Egypt, seeking to depose Ptolemy, but the invasion is a total disaster. Perdikkas is assassinated by his own lieutenants. Eurydike seeks to become Queen on her own right, but she is frustrated by the inconvenient arrival of her menstrual period. Peithon and Arridaios/Arybbas become the new co-regents.
131:
410:
319 BC. In the spring, Antigonos One-Eye defeats
Eumenes and drives him eastward. In the summer, the aged regent Antipatros dies. He passes over his own son Kassandros (whom he knows to be cruel and much too ambitious, likely to seize the throne for himself) and appoints his elderly colleague
418:
318 BC. Olympias appeals for help from
Eumenes. Eumenes dedicates a royal tent to the spirit of great Alexander, complete with golden throne, golden crown, and golden scepter. In the power struggle taking place in Greece following the death of
593:
Badia, one of three fictitious characters (the others are Kebes and Konon) invented by
Renault for the purposes of the novel. The former chief concubine of Persian king Artaxerxes Ochos, she is persuaded by Roxane to join a murderous
759:
Konon, one of three entirely fictional characters in the novel (with Badia and Kebes). Konon is a
Macedonian veteran assigned to the job of taking care of Phillip Arrhidaios. He feels unwavering loyalty and affection towards his
653:
Eos, whose name means "dawn". He is a big beautiful white-furred hunting hound, and he is chosen to be the sacrificial victim in a ceremony to reconcile the various
Macedonian factions that have been fighting after the
851:, also known as Ptolemaios, a general of Alexander who has the gift of knowing his own limitations and resists the temptation of contending for the Imperial Throne. Instead, he gets himself appointed
1222:
805:(376 BC to 316 BC), the mother of Alexander the Great. She briefly ruled in Macedon in the interregnum between Eurydike and Kassandros. Her rule was a
614:, Great King of Persia, assassinated by his own generals after he twice ran away from Alexander. Already dead as the novel begins. His real name was
1257:
783:, Macedonian commander of infantry. Enemy of Perdikkas. Places Arrhidaios on the throne, but then is outmanoeuvred and assassinated by Perdikkas.
766:, perhaps the most capable of Alexander's generals. Renault uses this, the correct Greek spelling, but he is more commonly known as Craterus.
624:, son of Antigonos, only a teenage boy at the time of the novel, but later king of Macedon (294–288), and known as the Besieger of Cities –
590:, but Renault changed his name, for the purposes of the novel, to a similar Epirote name to avoid confusion with king Phillip Arrhidaios.
839:, king of Macedon, father of Alexander, of Kleopatra, of Ptolemy, of Kynna, and of Arrhidaios. He is also grandfather of Alexander IV.
407:
320 BC. Under the leadership of
Ptolemy, Alexandria becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Babylon. Egypt prospers greatly.
1237:
662:, is very fond of Eos and objects strenuously to the sacrifice, disrupting the ceremony, with serious consequences for world history.
559:, more commonly known as Antipater, regent of Macedon, too proud and too loyal to seize the throne for himself. Father of Kassandros.
373:, and together they advance their plans for relocating the mummy of Alexander to that city. The daring plan is carried out, and the
91:
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776:, mother of Eurydike. She is more commonly known as Cynane. The date of her birth is unknown, but she died in 323 BC or 322 BC.
586:
Arybbas, Macedonian nobleman, famous for designing and building
Alexander's magnificent funeral chariot. His name was actually
44:
1232:
845:, Macedonian general who served under both Philip and Alexander. Appointed by Antipater to succeed him as regent of Macedon.
427:
is deposed as the ruler of Athens, convicted of treason, and executed by
Athenians hoping to restore democracy to the city.
70:
434:
unopposed. Polyperchon, with king
Arrhidaios in tow, marches against him. Roxane, with her son, flees to join Olympias in
430:
317 BC. In the spring, with an army and navy supplied by
Antigonos, Kassandros (Cassander) crosses the sea and takes
230:
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murders Kynna, but Eurydike survives, and marries Arrhidaios (the marriage is celebrated but not consummated).
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575:, also known as Phillip Arrhidaios and Philip III. King, in name only, of Macedon and of its empire. He has
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694:, she sought to become Queen in her own right. Ambitious, charismatic and courageous, she almost succeeded.
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916:. A client of Kassandros, he accepts all the slanderous lies against Alexander that the usurper tells him.
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1055:
731:(exact date unknown), became king in 305 BC, and died 297 BC. He is more commonly known as Cassander.
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1189:
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503:, presumed (though disputed) son of Alexander the Great. King (in name only) of Macedon and Asia.
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were among the cities he besieged. He failed to capture Rhodes. He lived from 337 to 283 BCE.
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316 BC. Olympias is executed, in a Biblical-style stoning, by the relatives of her victims.
303:
738:. One of three wholly fictional characters in the book (the others being Badia and Konon).
8:
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497:. He dies in the first chapter of the book but nevertheless remains the main character.
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286 BC. Pharaoh Ptolemy completes writing a book to refute the evil lies of Kassandros.
386:
385:
receive news of the death of Alexander and decide it is imperative that Eurydike marry
343:
323:
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and its aftermath, the gradual disintegration of his empire and the start of the
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474:
All human characters are actual historical individuals, unless otherwise noted.
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700:, close lifelong friend of Alexander. Died a few months before the book opens.
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322:. Perdikkas seeks to be appointed as Regent for the king's yet-unborn heir.
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752:. Sister of Alexander the Great. Widow of her uncle Alexandros, king of
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The chapters of the book have the years of the events for their titles:
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712:, the villain of the book, who plots to take over the throne of
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in Athens and tells them monstrous slanders against Alexander.
1031:, Book X, "for events immediately after Alexander's death..."
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873:(Afghanistan). First wife of Alexander the Great, mother of
789:, Macedonian admiral. Boyhood friend of Alexander the Great.
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murders the daughters of Darius and their unborn children.
389:(as pre-arranged) and so advance her claim to the throne.
377:
and golden bier of Alexander are relocated to Alexandria.
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772:, Macedonian princess. Daughter of Philip II, widow of
565:, staff officer of Alexander the Great. Later loyal to
462:
297 BC. Kassandros dies a horrible death from disease.
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or Eurydice, also known as Adeia. Daughter of Kynna (
668:, General and Chief Secretary of Alexander the Great.
330:
acclaimed as king. The dispute threatens to become a
400:defeats and kills Krateros (more commonly known as
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1024:The historical sources listed for this book are:
819:, staff officer of Alexander, later of Perdikkas.
306:. It is the final book of her Alexander trilogy.
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813:by the relatives of those she had put to death.
600:, the beloved of the late Alexander, who helps
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1037:, Books XVIII and XIX, for subsequent events.
799:, betrayer of Eurydike, victim of Olympias.
706:, son of Antipatros, brother of Kassandros.
1223:Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great
1063:
1049:
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972:"Funeral Games (Alexander the Great, #3)"
682:. Granddaughter of two kings of Macedon,
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
350:(son of Roxane) as nominal joint kings.
716:and to exterminate Alexander's family.
358:reach an agreement. The Greeks revolt;
1258:Cultural depictions of Ptolemy I Soter
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455:310 BC. Kassandros murders Roxane and
415:as his successor as regent of Macedon.
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809:. She was killed in a Biblical-style
690:. Queen by virtue of her marriage to
658:. The feeble-minded king of Macedon,
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877:. Murderer of Stateira and Drypetis.
859:. When the time is ripe, he becomes
318:323 BC. Alexander the Great dies in
49:adding citations to reliable sources
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517:. More commonly known as Alcetas.
1238:Novels set in the 4th century BC
212:Print (hardback & paperback)
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951:"Funeral Games by Mary Renault"
36:needs additional citations for
996:Gaus, Andy (12 January 1982).
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448:315 BC. Kassandros visits the
365:322 BC. Perdikkas crushes the
294:is a 1981 historical novel by
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298:, dealing with the death of
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642:, younger daughter of king
549:, and later founder of the
369:. Bagoas visits Ptolemy in
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1131:The Bull from the Sea
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16:Novel by Mary Renault
1248:Novels about royalty
1243:Pantheon Books books
1115:The Last of the Wine
1080:Contemporary fiction
724:family. He was born
304:Wars of the Diadochi
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1228:British LGBT novels
1213:1981 British novels
908:as director of the
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1139:The Mask of Apollo
1107:Historical fiction
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581:mental retardation
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344:Phillip Arrhidaios
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894:, mother of
880:Seleukos or
875:Alexander IV
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925:Writing in
843:Polyperchon
698:Hephaistion
648:Hephaistion
594:conspiracy.
413:Polyperchon
258:823/.912 19
184:John Murray
1207:Categories
937:References
896:Darius III
892:Sisygambis
797:Kassandros
710:Kassandros
644:Darius III
612:Darius III
606:Alexandria
573:Arrhidaios
563:Aristonous
557:Antipatros
481:, king of
470:Characters
371:Alexandria
360:Antipatros
328:Arrhidaios
71:newspapers
1071:Works by
981:19 August
956:19 August
921:Reception
906:Aristotle
837:Philip II
823:Peukestes
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742:Kleopatra
684:Philip II
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535:Antigonos
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332:civil war
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781:Meleager
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672:Eurydike
640:Drypetis
630:Munychia
577:epilepsy
529:Eurydike
440:Molossia
402:Craterus
396:321 BC.
383:Eurydike
324:Meleager
310:Synopsis
151:Language
1020:Sources
871:Bactria
861:Pharaoh
849:Ptolemy
817:Peithon
811:Stoning
793:Nikanor
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245:7554791
154:English
85:scholar
1193:(1975)
1174:(1981)
1166:(1978)
1158:(1972)
1150:(1969)
1142:(1966)
1134:(1962)
1126:(1958)
1118:(1956)
1099:(1953)
1091:(1948)
1007:7 July
914:Athens
910:Lyceum
867:Roxane
853:Satrap
831:Persia
827:Satrap
704:Iollas
678:) and
676:Cynane
634:Rhodes
626:Athens
598:Bagoas
543:Satrap
487:Persia
450:Lyceum
436:Dodona
432:Athens
356:Bagoas
336:Roxane
326:wants
282:
159:Series
141:Author
87:
80:
73:
66:
58:
857:Egypt
770:Kynna
525:Kynna
515:Kynna
495:Egypt
379:Kynna
375:Mummy
220:335pp
217:Pages
167:Genre
92:JSTOR
78:books
1009:2024
983:2018
958:2018
748:and
686:and
632:and
381:and
354:and
346:and
239:OCLC
226:ISBN
186:(UK)
181:(US)
64:news
912:in
855:of
829:of
722:his
493:of
438:in
47:by
1209::
1000:.
974:.
825:,
726:c.
628:,
541:.
489:,
423:,
334:.
1064:e
1057:t
1050:v
1011:.
985:.
960:.
888:.
833:.
756:.
650:.
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608:.
583:.
569:.
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531:.
459:.
114:)
108:(
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99:(
89:·
82:·
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68:·
41:.
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