Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Abbreviations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Alexander’s Life and Career
- Part II Contexts
- Part III The Historical and Biographical Tradition
- 20 Arrian’s Alexander
- 21 Plutarch’s Alexander
- 22 Curtius’ Alexander
- 23 Ptolemy and Aristobulus
- 24 Clitarchus’ Alexander
- 25 Callisthenes, Chares, Nearchus, Onesicritus and the Mystery of the Royal Journals
- Part IV The Ancient World’s Memory of Alexander
- Alexander’s Timeline 356–321 BC
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
22 - Curtius’ Alexander
from Part III - The Historical and Biographical Tradition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 January 2024
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Abbreviations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Alexander’s Life and Career
- Part II Contexts
- Part III The Historical and Biographical Tradition
- 20 Arrian’s Alexander
- 21 Plutarch’s Alexander
- 22 Curtius’ Alexander
- 23 Ptolemy and Aristobulus
- 24 Clitarchus’ Alexander
- 25 Callisthenes, Chares, Nearchus, Onesicritus and the Mystery of the Royal Journals
- Part IV The Ancient World’s Memory of Alexander
- Alexander’s Timeline 356–321 BC
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
Summary
Nobody knows the identity or background of the Roman author Q. Curtius Rufus, or when he wrote his History of Alexander the Great. This text along with Arrian’s Anabasis, Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, Diodorus Siculus Book 17 and Justin’s Epitome of Trogus Books 11–12 and the Metz Epitome is one of the main ancient sources on the reign and campaigns of the Macedonian conqueror. This chapter surveys current thinking on Curtius’ history, including issues like the historian’s probable sources, his literary structure, intertexuality and his characterization of Alexander. In particular the chapter explores the historian’s excursuses – in which he appears to be speaking in propria persona on Alexander’s personality as well as his portrayal of Alexander’s relationships with women, including the Athenian courtesan, Thais ,and the Amazon queen, Thalestris, and especially, the Persian queen, Sisygambis, the mother of Darius III.
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- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great , pp. 364 - 378Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024