To Sogdiana and back: Demodamas, the Branchidae, and Apollo Didymeus

The massacre of the Branchidae in Sogdiana still stands as one of the most controversial milestones of Alexander’s career. Modern assessments of this event have been highly polarized, but how was it perceived both by contemporary writers and the citizens of Miletus, the Branchidae’s homeland? Demodamas, as a writer and as a Milesian, gathers both aspects. Barely known through some inscriptions from Miletus and scattered fragments of his work, Demodamas is attested as a Seleucid officer in Central Asia – erecting an altar to Apollo Didymeus – and India, and he could have participated in Alexander’s expedition. It is plausible that he wrote his own version of the massacre and, therefore, he could be regarded as one of the earliest sources about the episode. This paper, first, aims to clarify if his version could be the origin of the extant traditions. Besides this, it seeks to address how the writer’s background could have shaped his version, and the place this story took in the history of Miletus and its somehow thorny dealings with Alexander. To sum up, this paper will assess how Demodamas could have conveyed this episode that happened in faraway Sogdiana and how it was incorporated into the Milesian collective memory.