“Men to whose rapacity neither sea nor mountain sets a limit”: The aims of the Diadochs

Abstract

This paper challenges the widespread belief that the political ambitions of Seleukos, Ptolemy and other Diadochs were limited as compared to those of Antigonos and Demetrios, and that they and their successors maintained some kind of balance of power. By examining the aspirations of the Diadochs in the context of the Near Eastern tradition of empire, it is argued that the Diadochs had no other option than to claim world hegemony. Likewise, Alexander’s universalism and pothos are interpreted as standard elements of imperial ideology.