The Bull-Horned King

Authors

  • Angus Llewellyn Jacobson University of Tasmania

Keywords:

Nikator, Seleucid Empire, Hellenistic Period, Artwork, Creative Piece

Abstract

“Bull horns, Great King?” Aeneas, son of Jacob, considered Antiochus’ orders in puzzlement. He had once the honour of viewing his patron’s father as he marched an endless cavalcade of beasts and men, brazen and battle-born, to victory against his former employer at Lysimachia (281 BCE). Still half a stadion away, Seleucus was plainly of Heraclean strength and stature – especially so for a man of seventy years.  He was, in truth, not dissimilar to the huge trumpeting war machines which accompanied him – massive, mighty, and majestic. But Aeneas could not recall ever spying bull horns erupting from his head.

 

Author Biography

Angus Llewellyn Jacobson, University of Tasmania

Angus Llewellyn Jacobson is an Australian Aboriginal PhD candidate and Graduate Teaching Fellow in Classics at the University of Tasmania. While his thesis focuses specifically on the Seleucid-Antigonid kinship as a mechanism of dynastic preservation and control from the Battle of Ipsus to Antigonus Gonatas’ death, he also possesses a profound interest in numismatics, Greek and Latin literature, royal/imperial ideologies, and Late Antiquity, particularly the reign of Julian. Angus has previously presented his research on Libanius’ Antiochicus and early Antigonid-Seleucid relations in the inaugural lecture of the Seleukid Lecture Series’ 8th edition. In 2025, he was also awarded the Near Eastern Archaeological Foundation’s Catherine Southwell-Keeley Travel Grant, which enabled him to undertake research on key artefacts and archaeological sites related to the Seleucid-Antigonid kinship in Türkiye. When not undertaking research, Angus enjoys digital drawing/painting scenes and portraits from the ancient world and intends to (eventually) compose an English epic poem on a key battle from Seleucid history.

Green background with gold text reading "Epic Threads" and "Volume 1- 2025"

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Published

05.10.2025

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Epic Threads: Epithets

Section

Creative Pieces

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Copyright (c) 2025 Angus Llewellyn Jacobson

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.