(2001), pp. 10–11.
279 his lost grave Adriani, A., La tomba di Alessandro: Realita, ipotesi e fantasie (Rome, 2000);
Holt, F., “Dead Kings Are Hard to Find,” Saudi Aramco World 52, no. 3 (2001), pp. 10–11.
CHAPTER 30 Alexander: Mass Murderer or Messiah?
280 forced labor camps For a vivid description, see Conquest, R., Reflections on a Ravaged
Century (New York, 2000), esp. pp. 97–101. Reading Conquest’s book, it becomes impossible to
overestimate the differences between Stalinist Russia and Alexander’s empire. As Conquest points
out (with characteristic irony), the fact that we are not certain of the human cost of the terror within a
few million is itself remarkable testimony to the extent of the Stalinist terror.
281 his own mortality For which qualities of Hitler, see Kershaw, I., Hitler, 1936–45: Nemesis
(London, 2000), pp. 411, 612, 727–727, 777, 36–37, 84, 92, 228.
282 (whose hearts were) Hassig, R., War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica (Berkeley, 1992),
pp. 135–164; Smith, M., The Aztecs (Oxford, 1996), pp. 221–227.
282 became a legend For a nice appreciation of Cyrus’ accomplishments, see Kuhrt (1995), p. 661.
283 come to take possession of Justin, 11.6.1.
284 brilliance of its execution Especially, as we shall see, his defeat of the superior Persian navy
through the capture of the port cities on the coast of Asia Minor (roughly modern western Turkey).
For the strategy, see Keegan, J., The Mask of Command (New York, 1987), pp. 27–28.
284 more than a decade As rightly emphasized by Engels, D., Alexander the Great and the
Logistics of the Macedonian Army (Berkeley, 1978).
285 to devastating effect Stressed by von Clausewitz as the second of his strategic principles of
effective warfare, and discussed by Fuller (1960), p. 299.
285 for later imitators Including especially some of his very own generals.
285 some useful lessons For the phrase, see the underestimated work of Fuller (1960), p. 286.
Because Fuller did not take fully into account source criticism, classicists often have dismissed his
analyses. But his work is full of insights into Alexander’s leadership, which perhaps only an
experienced military officer could have offered.
285 of his adversaries Fuller (1960), p. 297.
286 reconciler of the world For similar conclusions, see Brunt, P., “The Aims of Alexander,” GaR
12 (1965), p. 215.
287 despised the crime Deacy, S., and K. Pierce, eds., Rape in Antiquity (London, 2002).
288 for the people For exegesis of the phrase, see Wills, G., Lincoln at Gettysburg (New York,
1992), pp. 145–146.
288 Montesquieu or Locke For the intellectual background, see Wills, G., Inventing America:
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (New York, 1978), p. 207ff.
CHAPTER 31 Alexander and the Ambiguity of Greatness
289 have duly noted Narain, A., “Alexander and India,” GaR 12 (1965), pp. 155–165.
289 father of all Heraclitus, fragment 53.
290 system of administration As was the system of administration of Alexander’s Seleucid
successors. See Kuhrt (1995), p. 701.
290 Tajikistan, and beyond Fraser, P., Cities of Alexander the Great (Oxford, 1996), pp. 191–201.
290 northern Syria Settled by Greeks from the island of Euboea and the Cycladic islands by 800
B.C.E.
290 Nile Delta of Egypt As established by Psammetichus I (664–610 B.C.E.), by 625 at the latest.
See Herodotus, 2.178.1; and Kuhrt (1995), p. 641.
291 Macedon and Greece On the very complicated sequence of events following Alexander’s death
in Babylon to the carving-up of Alexander’s empire into its three major sections, see Errington, R.,
“From Babylon to Triparadeisos: 323–320 B.C.,” JHS 90 (1970), pp. 49–77; and then generally
Walbank, F., The Hellenistic World (Cambridge, 1993); and now in more detail Bosworth, A., The
Legacy of Alexander (Oxford, 2002).
291 by the Romans For the best comprehensive work on the subject, see Gruen, E., The Hellenistic
World and the Coming of Rome (Berkeley, 1984).
291 successor kingdoms were For the vitality of the Greek city during the reign of Antiochos III, see
the brilliant study of Ma, J., Antiochos III and the Cities of Western Asia Minor (Oxford, 1999).
291 themselves explicitly recognized Millar, F., The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.–A.D. 337
(Cambridge, 1993).
292 very own hand As we have seen in the case of Alexandria and other city foundations. See
Fraser, P., Cities of Alexander the Great (Oxford, 1996), p. 201.
292 the Ottoman Turks Cameron, A., The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity, AD 395–600
(London, 1993).
292 opposition to them Millar, F., The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.–A.D. 337 (Cambridge, 1993).
293 of a Macedonian king Including 2 billion Christians, 1.3 billion Muslims, and 13 million Jews,
out of a world population of 6 billion. For the numbers of Christians, see Sengupta, S., and L. Rohter,
“The Changing Church,” The International Herald Tribune, October 15, 2003, pp. 1, 4.
293 many different perspectives For an interpretation of Mozart’s art framed in these terms (from
which I have here humbly borrowed), see the astonishingly beautiful and moving biography of Mozart
by Solomon, M., Mozart: A Life (New York, 1995), p. 509.
294 soldiers at Gallipoli Jenkins, R., Churchill: A Biography (New York, 2001), pp. 255, 264,
266, 269, 280, 283.
294 of political freedom Jenkins, R., Churchill: A Biography (New York, 2001), pp. 455–456.
294 led to disaster Jenkins, R., Churchill: A Biography (New York, 2001), pp. 565, 573–575.
294 give in to Hitler Manchester, W., The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone, 1932–
1940 (Boston, 1988), p. 6.
294 “considered its redemption” Manchester, W., The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill,
Visions of Glory, 1874–1932 (New York, 1983), p. 6.
294 10 Downing Street Jenkins, R., Churchill: A Biography (New York, 2001), p. 912.
294 on August 5 McCullough, D., Truman (New York, 1992), pp. 448, 456–457.
294 “was the kind” McCullough, D., Truman (New York, 1992), p. 991.
CHAPTER 32 Epilogue: Arrian’s Eulogy
295 “Alexander died” Translation from Robson (1978), pp. 297–303.
Appendix Sources: Flacks, Hacks, and Historians
300 Deeds of Alexander For the fragments of Callisthenes’ lost work, quoted by other writers, see
Jacoby (1962), no. 124, pp. 631–657.
300 to divine parentage For Callisthenes in general, see Brown, T., “Callisthenes and Alexander,”
AJP 70 (1949), pp. 225–248; Pearson (1960), pp. 22–49; and Prandi, L., Callistene: Uno storico tra
Aristotele e i re Macedoni (Milan, 1985).
300 few fragments survive For the collected fragments, see Jacoby (1961), 72F, 15–17, 29, pp.
122–123, 124–125; and in general Bosworth (1988), p. 296.
300 the Macedonians traveled Men named Baeton, Diognetus, and Amyntas, whose work is used by
Pliny, Natural History, 6.21.44–45, 61–63.
300 difficult to assess For the fragments, see Jacoby (1962), 117, pp. 618–622.
300 Eumenes of Cardia Arrian, 7.4.6.
300 Diodotus of Erythrae Athenaeus, 10.434.b.
301 died of a fever Plutarch, 76.1; Arrian, 7.25.1–26.3.
301 used with caution Samuel, A., “Alexander’s Royal Journals,” Historia 14 (1965), pp. 1–12;
Badian
, E., “A King’s Notebooks,” HSCP 72 (1968), pp. 183–204.
301 inscriptions Heisserer, A., Alexander the Great and the Greeks of Asia Minor (Norman,
1980).
301 papyri The most important papyrus is Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1798 (text in Jacoby [1962], 148,
pp. 816–818), which probably was copied sometime during the second century B.C.E. The five
preserved columns of this papyrus probably belonged to a lost history. The surviving fragments refer
to the assassination of Philip, the destruction of Thebes, the story of Alexander’s illness at Tarsus, the
battle at the Issos, and the prelude to the battle at Gaugamela. In some instances the papyrus provides
details about these events that cannot be found in any other sources. Scholars differ widely on the
value of the details provided, as well as on the general skill and competence of the author. For a very
negative assessment, see Pearson (1960), pp. 255–257.
301 coins Price, M., The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus, 2
volumes (London, 1991); and most recently, see Holt, F., Alexander the Great and the Mystery of
the Elephant Medallions (Berkeley, 2003) for a study of the victory medallions created after the
battle of the Hydaspes.
301 sculpture Ridgway, B., Hellenistic Sculpture, volume 1 (Madison, 1980), p. 108ff; Stewart,
A., Faces of Power: Alexander’s Image and Hellenistic Politics (Berkeley, 1993).
301 the royal galley Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 6.84; Arrian, Indike, 18.9;
Arrian, 7.5.6. For Onesicritus in general, see Brown, T., Onesicritus: A Study in Hellenistic
Historiography (Berkeley, 1949); Pearson (1960), pp. 83–111; and Bosworth (1988), p. 296.
301 The Education of Alexander Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 6.84.
301 history of Alexander Lucian, Octogenarians, 14.
301 Gymnosophists Strabo, 15.1.63–65.
301 conquests in India E.g., in Pliny, Natural History, 6.26.96–100.
301 the Pixodarus affair Arrian, 3.6.5–6. For Nearchus in general, see Pearson (1960), pp. 112–
149.
301 mouth of the Euphrates Arrian, Indike, 18.10, 20.1; Diodorus, 17.104.3.
301 have not survived Although they were used both by Arrian and Strabo. For Strabo and Arrian as
sources for Alexander’s life and campaigns, see pp. 304–305.
301 his rival Onesicritus E.g., as seen in Arrian, Indike, 32.9–13, or 7.20.9.
301 (c. 367/66–283) For Ptolemy’s dates and career, see Heckel, W., The Marshals of Alexander’s
Empire (London, 1992), pp. 222–227. For Ptolemy as a source, see Bosworth (1988), p. 297.
301 fall of 330 Arrian, 3.27.5.
301 many important commands E.g., bringing in the regicide Bessus in 329 B.C.E., as described in
Arrian, 3.29.7–30.5.
302 Kleopatra VII, in 30 B.C.E. For Ptolemy and the period after the death of Alexander, see the
useful summary of Bosworth (1988), pp. 174–181.
302 has not survived For the collection of the fragments embedded in other authors, see Jacoby
(1962), 138, pp. 752–769.
302 upon military matters Bosworth (1988), p. 297.
302 of his rivals E.g., in the case of Perdiccas. In his description of Alexander’s assault on the city
of Thebes in 335 B.C.E., Arrian, 1.8.1, quotes Ptolemy, who says that Perdiccas, who had been posted
in the advance guard of the camp with his own brigade and was not far from the enemy’s stockade,
did not wait for Alexander’s signal to commence the battle but of his own accord was the first to
assault the stockade. On the general point, see Welles, C., “The Reliability of Ptolemy as an
Historian,” Miscellanea di studi alessandri in memoria di A. Rostagni (Turin, 1963), pp. 101–116;
Errington, R., “Bias in Ptolemy’s History of Alexander,” CQ 19 (1969), pp. 233–242; and Roisman,
J., “Ptolemy and His Rivals in His History of Alexander the Great,” CQ 34 (1984), pp. 373–385.
302 after Alexander’s death Especially significant is Ptolemy’s description of how Alexander was
led to the oracle of Zeus Ammon at Siwah, as quoted by Arrian, 3.3.5.
302 Aristobulus of Cassandreia Plutarch, Life of Demosthenes, 23.4.
302 some minor capacity Arrian, preface, 1.2; Bosworth (1988), p. 297.
302 eighty-four years old Lucian, Octogenarians, 22.
302 to be sociable Arrian, 7.29.4.
302 about geography E.g., as quoted by Strabo, 11.11.5, on the river Polytimetus in Sogdiana.
302 botany Arrian, 6.22.4, on the myrrh trees Aristobulus saw in Gedrosia.
302 and local customs E.g., Strabo, 15.1.62, on the marriage customs in Taxila described by
Aristobulus.
302 Chares of Mytilene Plutarch, 46.1.
302 at his court As found in Plutarch, 54.3, and Athenaeus, 12.539.a.
302 Alexander into Asia Diodorus, 2.7.3–4.
302 as early as 310 For Cleitarchus in general, see Pearson (1960), pp. 212–242. The fragments of
his lost history of Alexander’s reign can be found in Jacoby (1962), 137, pp. 741–752; Hamilton, J.,
“Cleitarchus and Aristobulus,” Historia 10 (1961), pp. 448–458; and Hamilton, J., “Cleitarchus and
Diodorus 17,” Greece and the Ancient Mediterranean in History and Prehistory (studies presented
to Fritz Schachermeyr), ed. K. Kinzl (Berlin, 1977), pp. 126–146.
302 were derived For the Vulgate tradition, see Bosworth, A., “Arrian and the Alexander Vulgate,”
EntrHardt 22 (1976), pp. 1–46; and Bosworth (1988), pp. 297–298.
302 and overembellishment E.g., Quintilian, Institutes, 10.1.74; Cicero, Brutus, 42.
303 important independent perspective For instance, his view that the Athenian courtesan Thais
initiated the burning of the royal palaces of Persepolis, as reported in Athenaeus, 13.576.d–e.
303 (“Learned Banqueteers”) of Athenaeus Athenaeus, 3.120.d–e, 4.146.c–d, 10.434.a–b,
12.537.d–e; 2.538.a–b.
303 not a pseudonym For the fragments, see Jacoby (1962), 127, p. 667; and on what can be known
about the writer, see Pearson (1960), pp. 67–68.
303 city of Larissa For the fragments, see Jacoby (1962), 128, pp. 667–670; and Pearson (1960),
pp. 70–77.
303 rivers of Asia E.g., Strabo, 16.1.13, on the Euphrates River; and 15.3.4, on the Choaspes,
Eulaeus, and the Tigris.
303 boundary of Asia Strabo, 15.3.4; and Pearson (1960), p. 75.
303 some ancient writers Especially Plutarch, in his essay “How to Know a Flatterer from a
Friend,” 24.CD, who calls Medius the leader and skilled master of the choir of flatterers that danced
attendance on Alexander.
303 Medius of Larissa For the fragments, see Jacoby (1962), 129, pp. 670–672; and Pearson
(1960), pp. 68–70.
303 on the Indus River Strabo, 11.14.12; Arrian, Indike, 18.7.
303 or was poisoned Arrian, 7.25.1.
303 of Epirus (272) For the fragments of his work, see Jacoby (1962), 154, pp. 829–835; Pearson
(1960), p. 262; and generally, Hornblower, J., Hieronymus of Cardia (Oxford, 1981).
303 about its reception Diodorus, 18.8.1–7; and see Bosworth (1988), p. 298.
304 should be mentioned For the fragments of their works, see Jacoby (1962), 142 and 143, pp.
804–813; and Pearson (1960), pp. 246–248, 254–255.
304 manner of speech Dionysios of Halicarnassos, On Literary Composition, 18, p. 120ff; Cicero,
Orator, 226.
304 “fables, things unheard of” Gellius, Attic Nights, 9.4.3.
304 mid
-second century B.C.E. For the fragments of his lost history, see Jacoby (1962), 143, pp.
812–813; and Pearson (1960), pp. 254–255.
304 the god Hermes Athenaeus, 10.486.e; Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus ad Graecos, 4.54.3.
304 near-contemporary sources Goukowsky, P., Diodore de Sicile XVII (Paris, 1976); and
Hamilton, J., “Cleitarchus and Diodorus 17,” Greece and the Ancient Mediterranean in History and
Prehistory (studies presented to Fritz Schachermeyr), ed. K. Kinzl (Berlin, 1977), pp. 126–146.
304 enjoying good fortune For Diodorus and his methodology, see Sacks, K., Diodorus and the
First Century (Princeton, 1990), esp. pp. 204–206.
304 for moral living Sacks, K., Diodorus and the First Century (Princeton, 1990), p. 206.
304 historians of Alexander Dueck, D., Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan
Rome (London, 2000).
304 northern parts of India For Strabo’s contribution to our understanding of Alexander’s
campaigns, see Dueck, D., Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome (London,
2000).
304 some Stoic overtones Dueck, D., Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome
(London, 2000), p. 64.
304 “strongly criticized historians” Dueck, D., Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in
Augustan Rome (London, 2000), p. 73.
305 (probably during the reign) For scholarly analyses, see Egge, R., Untersuchungen zur
Primärtradition bei Q. Curtius Rufus (Freiburg, 1978); Atkinson, J., A Commentary on Q. Curtius
Rufus’ Historiae Alexandri Magni, Books 3 & 4 (Amsterdam, 1980); Gunderson, L., “Quintus
Curtius Rufus,” in Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage, ed. W. Adams and
E. Borza (Washington, D.C., 1982), pp. 177–196; and Baynham, E., Alexander the Great: The
Unique History of Quintus Curtius (Ann Arbor, 1998), pp. 7–8, 201–219.
305 and of Ptolemy Baynham, E., Alexander the Great: The Unique History of Quintus Curtius
(Ann Arbor, 1998), pp. 58, 74–81, 139, 74–76, 82, 84–85.
305 attributions of motive Baynham, E., Alexander the Great: The Unique History of Quintus
Curtius (Ann Arbor, 1998), pp. 46–56.
305 died after 120 In general, see Jones, C., Plutarch and Rome (Oxford, 1971).
305 Greeks and Romans Duff, T., Plutarch’s Lives: Exploring Virtue and Vice (0xford, 1999),
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