Gli intellettuali a corte: storia di una presenza dalla corte macedone alle corti ellenistiche

The presence of intellectuals in the Hellenistic courts appears as a development of what had happened, starting from the end of the fifth century BC in the court of Macedonian kings, which always remained the point of reference for the sovereigns of the kingdoms born from the ashes of Alexander's empire. Already king Archelaus, at the end of the fifth century BC, had been a great patron, welcoming many Athenian intellectuals in Pella and among them Euripides. This patronage tradition had been continued with Philip II, who had invited Aristotle to his court, to be the tutor of his son and heir Alexander. This latter brought with him intellectuals and philosophers to the East, although for some of them, like Callisthenes of Olynthos, the experience ended in tragedy. After Alexander’s death, each dynast built up his own court. Here, it is enough to make reference to the court of Alexandria in Egypt, where, thanks to Ptolemies’ generosity, the most famous Library of the ancient world was organized, located within the so-called Museum, a place aimed to let the greatest scholars of the time meet and study.