Download CLAS 0810A ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND

CLAS 0810A
ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE ALEXANDER TRADITION
CLASS 13
October 1, 2014
ARRIAN
Who was he?
How reliable a source on Alexander?
Pompeii,
House of the Vettii
1st century AD
Painting of Alexander as
Zeus, perhaps based on
an original by Apelles
Pompeii,
House of the Faun
1st century BC
The Alexander Mosaic
Probably based on a large-scale painting
by Philoxenos of Eretria, commissioned in 317/316 BC
According to Pliny, it was taken to Macedonia,
then Rome, in 168 BC
Original painting now lost, but presumed to have been
the source for this lavish mosaic
(19 x 10 feet, one million tesserae)
French Alexander Romance manuscript, 1445
Greek 100 drachma coin, 1992
Andrea de Verrocchio, 1483-5
Theophilos Khatzimikhail, 1900
Léon Davent, 1450-56
Mughal Shahname, 1610
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
BC
Nearchus
Callisthenes
Cleitarchus
300
The fragments or
Onesicritus
Aristobulus
Chares
Ptolemy
Primary sources or
“Alexander-historians”
(authors in brown)
200
100
The “Vulgate”
Tradition
DIODORUS SICULUS
0
Pompeius Trogus
(authors in red)
CURTIUS
100
PLUTARCH
200
300
AD
ARRIAN
= Primary source of information
= Considerable information
JUSTIN
Who was Arrian?
Flavius Arrianus Xenophon
Born ca. 85-90 A.D. in Roman province
of Bithynia
Greek, but a Roman citizen
In 108 A.D. went to Nikopolis
In Epirus…
…to study at the philosophical
school established there by
the Stoic philosopher
EPICTETUS
Who’s he?
NIKOPOLIS
Arrian’s collection of Epictetus’s
Discourses in 8 books (only 4 survive)
12 books containing Epictetus’s
conversations (all lost)
The Encheiridion
(the Epictetus Handbook)
An army career… helped along by friendship with Emperor Hadrian
He served on the Danube, in France, North Africa
Appointed Consul of Cappadocia in 118 AD
Commanded two
legions
134 AD, repels the
Alans (a tribe from
steppes of Kazakhstan)
Order of Battle against the Alans (extant)
— how to fight a war against nomadic tribesmen
Circumnavigation of the Black Sea (lost)
— a military intelligence handbook
Tactical Manual (only the parts about cavalry tactics survive)
— a gift to Hadrian on his 20th anniversary as emperor
• Retired to Athens in 138 AD (just before Hadrian’s death)
• Became an Athenian citizen, held high office there
• Devoted the rest of his life to writing
• Last heard of in 172/3 AD
• Definitely dead by 180 AD
Many writings from this late phase of Arrian’s career:
— Philosophical
— Topographic or ethnographic
— Historical
— Military
Many of them written in the style of, or to rival, his namesake
XENOPHON
e.g., the Cynegiticus
(On Hunting)
Xenophon’s Anabasis (in seven books)
(literally, “the march up-country”)
Expedition of Greek mercenaries under King Cyrus (401-399 BC):
The Persian Expedition
So the account of Alexander’s expedition
by Flavius Arrianus Xenophon…
…is called the the Anabasis Alexandrou
…and is also composed in seven books
Other late works:
Indica (about the return of Alexander’s fleet from India)
The Events after Alexander (only a summary survives)
A Parthian History (about Trajan’s wars: lost)
A History of Bithynia (lost)
Arrian’s literary context
— the so-called “Second Sophistic” of 2nd century AD
— a renewed use of Greek as a literary language in the Roman empire
— the philhellene emperor Hadrian partly responsible
— conscious imitation of literary languages and styles 5 or 6 centuries old
— key figures include:
Arrian
Appian
Pausanias
Galen
Lucian
Some reasons why it’s good that Arrian
is our longest surviving historian of Alexander
— Wrote in his sixties (so, a mature thinker)
— Had already written a lot (so, an experienced writer)
— Had great familiarity with the great Greek historians (Herodotus,Thucydides,
Xenophon), and imitates their standards and style
— Gives evidence that he is very familiar with all the then-extant Alexander historians
— Had considerable military and administrative experience himself (in fact, in areas that
had been a part of Alexander’s empire)
— His philosophical training gave him a distinctive “angle” on Alexander
Arrian himself regarded his Anabasis Alexandrou as his masterpiece
(see Arrian 1.12 = Romm textbook, pp. 35-36)
So, what are Arrian’s
— Strengths?
— Weaknesses?
— Omissions?