Philip and his eye...

[conon394]

I'm rather sure someone (can't remember who) posted a question about how Philip II lost his eye. Completely by accident I came across a paper by a historian analyzing and listing the sources for Phillips various wounds and the later myths that grew up around his wounding (who caused his wounds, why etc.). So if the original poster is still around, send a pm and I'll email the PDF.

[Red Harvest]

Thanks for that! Looking through it, it appears almost certain that the injury was caused by an arrow, preponderance of reliable contemporary writings. And the funny part is that a sling is never mentioned (although catapults and javelins were suggested in some contexts.)

My original question was whether or not it was an arrow or a sling that caused the wound. I had a single reference that stated it was a sling, but since I could find nothing else, and I had my doubts about the author, so I posed the question. The author in question is Victor Hanson. On p. 160 of "Wars of the Ancient Greeks" he states that Philip lost his eye to a slinger's bullet. It now appears that my skepticism was warranted. I can find nothing to support Hanson's claim.

[Spino]

Rumor has it Phillip II lost his eye due to an accident involving a Red Ryder BB gun he received as a gift during some pagan winter festival...