Download the primary written sources

CLAS 0810A
ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE ALEXANDER TRADITION
PART III: THE SURVIVING SOURCES
CLASS 10
SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
THE HISTORICAL ALEXANDER-SOURCES:
THE PRIMARY WRITTEN SOURCES
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
BC
The fragments or
Nearchus
Primary sources or
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
“Alexander-historians”
Chares
Ptolemy
200
100
The
DIODORUS SICULUS
0
Pompeius Trogus
“Vulgate”
tradition
CURTIUS
100
PLUTARCH
200
300
AD
ARRIAN
= Primary source of information
= Considerable information
JUSTIN
The Library at Alexandria
The old…
…and the new (2001)
Ancient writing materials (1)
On wood (a mummy-tag)
On pottery (an ostrakon tax receipt)
On wax tablets (a birth certificate, 128 AD)
Ancient writing materials (2)
On papyrus (recycled as
Mummy cartonnage)
On parchment or vellum
(10th-century Coptic manuscript
of the Old Testament)
On paper (Hebrew
manuscript of a prayer)
Ancient writing materials (3)
Classical-era bookroll or scroll —
Papyrus, used for long works, such as
literary texts or government records
The codex — usually on parchment.
Replaces the bookroll in late antiquity.
Strongly associated with Christian writings.
The Byzantine-era bookroll
(4th-7th centuries AD)
was written and read vertically
Palimpsests
Stemmata and
textual criticism
I: CAT SAT ON THE MAT
II: CAT SAT ON THE HAT
III: CAT SAT ON THE MAT
B: CAT SAT ON THE HAT
A: BAT SAT ON THE HAT
C: CAT SHAT ON THE MAT
D: CAT SAT ON THE BAT
[Black = surviving manuscripts; green = hypothesized lost manuscripts]
Siege of Constantinope, 1453
Earliest surviving manuscript copies of
ancient texts about Alexander are
from the Middle Ages:
e.g., Arrian ca. AD 1200
Plutarch ca. AD 1300
William Caxton’s
printing press
Page from The Recuyell of the
Historyes of Troye, printed by Caxton
in 1474. This was the first book
printed in England.
• Earliest extant manuscript copies of Arrian date to the
late Middle Ages…
• Arrian ca. 1200 AD, Plutarch ca. 1300 AD
• Sack of Byzantium by the Crusaders 1204 AD
• Ottoman Turks take Constantinople 1453 AD
• First moveable-type printing press in England by
William Caxton in 1474 AD
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
BC
The fragments or
Nearchus
Primary sources or
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
“Alexander-historians”
Chares
Ptolemy
200
100
DIODORUS SICULUS
0
Pompeius Trogus
CURTIUS
100
The
PLUTARCH
“Vulgate”
200
300
AD
tradition
ARRIAN
= Primary source of information
= Considerable information
JUSTIN
Justin
• 3rd century AD epitome of Pompeius Trogus’s Philippic
Histories
• P. Trogus was a Romanized Gaul writing at the time of the
emperor Augustus
• His account of Alexander occupied Books 11 and 12
• Drew on similar sources as Diodorus and Curtius
• Contains many fantastic, legendary stories (e.g. about
Alexander’s parentage)
Diodorus Siculus
• Written and published in the late 1st century BC
• A “Universal History”…
• … of which Book 17 covers the years 336-323 BC
• Big gaps in the surviving manuscripts (but the Table of Contents
has survived)
• Valuable for military details lacking in other accounts
• Emphasizes the importance and fickleness of Luck
• Portrays Alexander in terms of the idealized virtues of the
Hellenistic monarch
Quintus Curtius Rufus
• Date not certain, probably 1st century AD (perhaps at time of the
emperor Claudius).
• History of Alexander in 10 books (Books 1-2 lost)
• Wrote in Latin, and so more accessible to readers
• Very popular after the Renaissance, and the main source of
inspiration for artists
• Emphasis on (a) Alexander’s constant good furtune, and (b) the
deterioration of his character after death of Darius III
• Rhetorical, flowery style
• Speeches are an important feature of Curtius’ writing
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
BC
The fragments or
Nearchus
Primary sources or
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
“Alexander-historians”
Chares
Ptolemy
200
100
DIODORUS SICULUS
0
Pompeius Trogus
CURTIUS
100
The
PLUTARCH
“Vulgate”
200
300
AD
tradition
ARRIAN
= Primary source of information
= Considerable information
JUSTIN
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
BC
Nearchus
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
Death of Alexander
Chares
Ptolemy
Alexander’s
admiral
200
Alexander’s
official historian
Naval officer in
Alexander’s fleet
Engineer or
architect
Alexander’s
general
Alexander’s
chamberlain
100
DIODORUS SICULUS
0
[World History]
Pompeius Trogus
[World History]
CURTIUS
[History]
100
PLUTARCH
[Biography]
200
300
AD
ARRIAN
[History]
JUSTIN
[Epitome]