Alexander the Great
Subtitle: the unique history of Quintus Curtius
By: Elizabeth Baynham.
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 237
Subjects: Alexander, the Great, 356-323 B.C.; Curtius Rufus, Quintus.; Generals -- Greece -- Biography.; Greece -- History -- Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C. -- Historiography.; Greece -- Kings and rulers -- Biography -- History and criticism.
Description: In recent years much attention has been given to evaluating the surviving ancient histories of Alexander and their own sources. In order to understand what any ancient historian preserved about Alexander, it is necessary to explore the historian's approach to the sources, his methods, his own attitude toward his subject, and the degree to which his own times may have influenced his attitudes.

With a fresh approach Baynham examines these issues concerning Curtius' account of Alexander, which, until now, has received very little attention from Alexander historians.

Starting from the view that Quintus Curtius lived in the first century A.D., Baynham explores Curtius' rhetorical, literary heritage, the influence of his predecessors, and the importance of style. Baynham highlights the disadvantages of sorting the Alexander historians according to their sources without making allowance for the authors' own adaptations, intentions, and literary backgrounds.

And she also argues that Curtius' work, although episodic, was a carefully planned narrative, resting on the development of two themes - fortuna and regnum. This allows Curtius to explore a subtext of contemporary issues with implications for our understanding of imperial politics.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-225) and index.
Table of contents: title: Abbreviations; title: Introduction; title: "Roman" Curtius; title: Quintus Curtius' sources and his historical methods; title: Fortuna; title: Regnum in the First Pentad: Alexander and Darius; title: Regnum in the Second Pentad: Alexander, king, general, and tyrant; title: Appendix: the problem of Curtius' date and identity; title: Bibliography; title: Index.