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Full Description
This book offers the first critical edition with an English translation and commentary on some of the letters attributed to Alexander and transmitted by mainly Plutarch and Arrian. The vast majority of the texts examined here are constituted by Alexander's 'private' letters, but the book also includes some letters regarded as official. Thirty-four letters are included, although there are many more letters allegedly written by Alexander, which are definitely forgeries. The doubts about the letters mostly come from the fact that the Romance of Alexander is considered a sort of epistolary novel, thus it has been argued that at some point a collection of Alexander's letters was put together, containing a nucleus of genuine letters, but also expanded
with forgeries. This volume attempts to isolate the letters which are regarded as authentic by the majority of modern scholars, with each letter followed by an outline of previous scholarly discussion of its authenticity.
The book brings to wider attention a much-neglected corpus by employing an innovative approach. The traditional study of epistolography tends to focus on literary rather than historical aspects of the genre, whereas this book, by exploring the culture behind the action of writing at Alexander's court and the diverse approaches in relation to the letters, suggests that different criteria and new ways of writing history, prompted by Eastern standards, were introduced at his court. Furthermore, the collection shows that the step Alexander made, when he assumed the title of Great King, had formal and cultural implications. Finally, the book discusses the provenance of the letters, especially who among the historians contemporary with Alexander knew and handed the letters down.
Contents
Introduction
1. The Sources for the Letters of Alexander
2. How Did the Letters Reach Later Writers? The Archive and the Royal Grammatistes
3. The Formula of Salutation used by Alexander in his Letters
4. The Persian Custom of Writing Letters
5. The Contents of the Letters and their Addressees:
I. The Great King Darius
II. Antipater
III. Olympias
IV. Pedagogues and Friends
V. Alexander's Trust in Doctors: Warning Letters
6. Language 7. History of Modern Scholarship on the Letters Chronological Table Conspectus Siglorum
Letters: A Selection
Commentary
Bibliography: Critical Editions Studies
Index Locorum
General Index
