Reflecting on the Images of the Macedon Kings Philip and Alexander in Current History Textbooks

Александрова О.И.

doi:10.7256/2454-0676.2023.4.68848

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Pedagogy and education

Reference:

Aleksandrova, O. (2023). Reflecting on the Images of the Macedon Kings Philip and Alexander in Current History Textbooks. Pedagogy and education, 4, 70–78. https://doi.org/10.7256/2454-0676.2023.4.68848

Reflecting on the Images of the Macedon Kings Philip and Alexander in Current History Textbooks

Aleksandrova Ol'ga

PhD in History

Senior Educator, Department of World History, Herzen Russian State Pedagogigcal University

191186, Russia, Saint Petersburg, nab. Moika River, 48

olgaalex@lenta.ru

Other publications by this author

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0676.2023.4.68848

EDN:

ENWLPT

Received:

30-10-2023

Published:

15-11-2023

Abstract: This research is based on images of famous figures of the antiquity era—the King of Macedonia, Philip II, and his son Alexander—and their reflections in the pages of fifth-grade textbooks on world history. Particular attention is paid to the correspondence of the information in school textbooks to historical sources and materials of historical research on these rulers. The completeness of the reflection of the images of the two most famous Macedonian kings is analyzed, as well as a system of tasks and questions that deepen knowledge directly about outstanding historical figures and the turning point of ancient history as a whole. The authors conclude that Philip's personality and activity are almost completely eclipsed by the vivid image of Alexander, which corresponds to general historiographical trends. Philip's era and transformations, which changed the course of Greek and world history, are briefly and casually discussed, or only one of the sides of his military reform is considered. This does not allow us to fully assess the significance of this figure in ancient history and analyze his contribution to the transformation of the Greek world. At the same time, Alexander is presented in textbooks not just as a talented commander but, in fact, as the greatest hero of antiquity. His personality's negative aspects have been smoothed out and are practically not mentioned. In the end, all that remains is a brilliant commander and a talented ruler. It seems that this can lead not only to a distorted perception of specific historical figures' activities but also to the formation of an inherently vicious belief that timely reforms and transformations are of incomparably less value than military campaigns and conquests.

Keywords:

ancient history, Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great, reception of antiquity, textbooks, history in school, education, History of Ancient Greece, Macedonia, History
This article written in Russian. You can find original text of the article here .

References

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5. Vigasin A. A., Goder G. I. & Sventsitskaya I. S. (2020). World History: History of the Ancient World. 5th Grade. Moscow.
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9. Worthington Y. (2014). Philip II of Macedon. Saint-Petersburg, Moscow.
10. Gabriel, R. A. (2010). Philip II of Macedonia: Greater than Alexander. Washington.
11. Anson, E. M. (2020). Philip II, the Father of Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. London & New York.
12. Shifman, I. Sh. (1988). Alexander the Great. Leningrad.
13. For, P. (2011). Alexander the Great. Moscow.
14. Schachermayr, F. (1997). Alexander the Great. Rostov-on-Don.
15. Green, P. (1991). Alexander of Macedon, 356–323 B.C.: A Historical Biography. Berkley.

Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
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The history of antiquity still attracts the attention of not only professional scientists, but also everyone who is interested in history and culture. Indeed, among those achievements of ancient civilization that have not lost their relevance today are theater, museums, philosophy, the Olympic Games, and democracy. Ancient Greek and Roman cultures are currently still the subject of attention not only by art historians. At the same time, historical memory around the events of the distant past is formed, first of all, in school history lessons. In this regard, it seems important to turn to the analysis of current school textbooks on universal history in terms of ancient civilization. These circumstances determine the relevance of the article submitted for review, the subject of which is the images of the Macedonian kings Philip and Alexander in current school textbooks on universal history. The author sets out to show the importance of studying ancient history, to analyze the reflection of the images of the Macedonian kings Philip and Alexander in current school textbooks on universal history. The work is based on the principles of analysis and synthesis, reliability, objectivity, the methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as an integral complex of interrelated elements. The comparative method is also used in the work. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the very formulation of the topic: the author seeks to characterize the images of Macedonian rulers in Russian history textbooks, identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the presentation of information. Considering the bibliographic list of the article as a positive point, its versatility should be noted: in total, the list of references includes over 15 different sources and studies. From the sources attracted by the author, we will point, first of all, to school history textbooks: 1) A.A. Vigasina, G.I. Godera, I.S. Sventsitskaya, 2) V.O. Nikishina, O.V. Strelkova, O.V. Tomashevich, F.A. Mikhailovsky, 3) E.V. Saplin, A.A. Nemirovsky, E.I. Solomatina, S.V. Tyrin. Note that the bibliography of the article is important both from a scientific and educational point of view: after reading the text of the article, readers can turn to other materials on its topic. In general, in our opinion, the integrated use of various sources and research to a certain extent contributed to the solution of the tasks facing the author. The style of writing the article can be attributed to a scientific one, at the same time understandable not only to specialists, but also to a wide readership, to everyone who is interested in both ancient civilization in general and the study of antiquity in Russian schools in particular. The appeal to the opponents is presented at the level of the collected information received by the author during the work on the topic of the article. The structure of the work is characterized by a certain logic and consistency, it can be distinguished by an introduction, the main part, and conclusion. At the beginning, the author determines the relevance of the topic, shows that "the history of the Ancient World is, in fact, the only section of universal history that is taught throughout the academic year and without reference to the history of Russia." The author draws attention to the fact that the figure of Alexander the Great "overshadows in the eyes of students all the achievements of his father (Philip the Great), who brought Macedonia to a new level of development and prepared the whole ground for further conquests." In fact, as the author writes, in Russian history textbooks, "the negative sides of his personality are mentioned very briefly and virtually without any moral assessments, military failures are bypassed, and the management of the state and the structure of the empire are practically not mentioned at all." Moreover, the personality of Philip II is completely depersonalized. The main conclusion of the article is that the replication of the shown images of Philip and Alexander in school textbooks can "lead not only to a distorted perception of the activities of specific historical figures, but to the formation of an inherently vicious belief that timely reforms and transformations are incomparably less valuable than military campaigns and conquests." The article submitted for review is devoted to an urgent topic, will arouse readers' interest, and its materials can be used as part of work on school textbooks on the history of the ancient world. In general, in our opinion, the article can be recommended for publication in the journal "Pedagogy and Education".

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Reflecting on the Images of the Macedon Kings Philip and Alexander in Current History Textbooks