1. 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

2. BC The “Vulgate” DIODORUS SICULUS tradition Pompeius Trogus CURTIUS
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
The fragments or
Primary sources or
“Alexander-historians” BC
Nearchus
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
Chares
Ptolemy
200
100
The “Vulgate”
tradition
DIODORUS SICULUS
Pompeius Trogus
CURTIUS
100
PLUTARCH
ARRIAN
200
JUSTIN
300
= Primary source of information AD
= Considerable information

3. The Library at Alexandria
…and the new (2001)
The old…

4. Ancient writing materials (1)
On wood (a mummy-tag)
On pottery (an ostrakon tax receipt)
On wax tablets (a birth certificate, 128 AD)

5. Ancient writing materials (2)
On papyrus (recycled as
Mummy cartonnage)
On paper (Hebrew
manuscript of a prayer)
On parchment or vellum
(10th-century Coptic manuscript
of the Old Testament)

6. 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

7. Palimpsests

8. 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]

9. 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
Page from The Recuyell of the
Historyes of Troye, printed by Caxton
in This was the first book
printed in England.
William Caxton’s
printing press

10. Earliest extant manuscript copies of Arrian date to the late Middle Ages…
Arrian ca AD, Plutarch ca 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

11. BC DIODORUS SICULUS Pompeius Trogus CURTIUS The “Vulgate” tradition
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
The fragments or
Primary sources or
“Alexander-historians” BC
Nearchus
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
Chares
Ptolemy
200
100
DIODORUS SICULUS
Pompeius Trogus
CURTIUS
100
The “Vulgate”
tradition
PLUTARCH
ARRIAN
200
JUSTIN
300
= Primary source of information AD
= Considerable information

12. 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)

13. Diodorus Siculus Written and published in the late 1st century BC
A “Universal History”…
… of which Book 17 covers the years 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

14. 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

15. BC DIODORUS SICULUS Pompeius Trogus CURTIUS The “Vulgate” tradition
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.)
The fragments or
Primary sources or
“Alexander-historians” BC
Nearchus
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
Chares
Ptolemy
200
100
DIODORUS SICULUS
Pompeius Trogus
CURTIUS
100
The “Vulgate”
tradition
PLUTARCH
ARRIAN
200
JUSTIN
300
= Primary source of information AD
= Considerable information

16. BC DIODORUS SICULUS Pompeius Trogus CURTIUS PLUTARCH ARRIAN JUSTIN AD
Oral tradition and official documents
(Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.) BC
Nearchus
Callisthenes
Onesicritus
Death of Alexander
Cleitarchus
300
Aristobulus
Chares
Ptolemy
Alexander’s
admiral
Naval officer in
Alexander’s fleet
Alexander’s
chamberlain
200
Alexander’s
official historian
Alexander’s
general
Engineer or
architect
100
DIODORUS SICULUS
[World History]
Pompeius Trogus
[World History]
CURTIUS
[History]
100
PLUTARCH
[Biography]
ARRIAN
200
[History]
JUSTIN
300
[Epitome] AD