01-03-2012, 01:33 PM
I do not disagree with any of your comments Michael. Yet, you run the danger of casting too much shadow on a career that spanned decades making Eumenes' motives not just through the war of the Diadochi but throughout his presence in the Macedonian court sound too Macchiavellian. Of course the Macedonians were not in perpetual and unconditional love with Eumenes. My point was that he was generally trusted and well-liked by them, which is what I meant by the use of the word "well-loved". This does not mean that they would abandon their properties and families in order to remain loyal nor that they did not "love" (respect/feel in awe before etc) others more than him (like legendary Craterus for example).
In my opinion, the trust shown to him by both Argead kings in his all too long career is proof enough that he was not just "a true mercenary" (which was the image of Eumenes I disputed) but after Alexander's death, he of course nurtured hopes as to what his place would be in the shaping empires after Alexander's death and with no strong and influential Argead heir. The very fact that he led such illustrious Macedonian forces against other Macedonian generals and his overall role in the schemes of the Diadochi also show that he was accepted/loved/liked/trusted much more than any non-Macedonian could hope for in such an endomacedonian struggle. Under a prism as strict as the one you seem to be applying, Alexander was also not that well-loved by his men and friends, openly engaging in mutinous movements against his plans, scolding him for his conduct, attested to have at multiple occasions planned his assassination and eventually maybe even contributing to his death. Pyrrhus also seems to have been "well-loved" by the Macedonian soldiery although they might in the end prefer Lysimachus...In my opinion, you seem to be overly strict in interpreting the "well-loved" adjective
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In my opinion, the trust shown to him by both Argead kings in his all too long career is proof enough that he was not just "a true mercenary" (which was the image of Eumenes I disputed) but after Alexander's death, he of course nurtured hopes as to what his place would be in the shaping empires after Alexander's death and with no strong and influential Argead heir. The very fact that he led such illustrious Macedonian forces against other Macedonian generals and his overall role in the schemes of the Diadochi also show that he was accepted/loved/liked/trusted much more than any non-Macedonian could hope for in such an endomacedonian struggle. Under a prism as strict as the one you seem to be applying, Alexander was also not that well-loved by his men and friends, openly engaging in mutinous movements against his plans, scolding him for his conduct, attested to have at multiple occasions planned his assassination and eventually maybe even contributing to his death. Pyrrhus also seems to have been "well-loved" by the Macedonian soldiery although they might in the end prefer Lysimachus...In my opinion, you seem to be overly strict in interpreting the "well-loved" adjective
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