Alexander
Destiny and Myth
Published on 15. March 2004
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-7486-1764-7 (ISBN)
Description
Between becoming king of Macedonia in 336 BC and his death in 323, Alexander the Great conquered not only the Greek city states but also Persia and as far east as the Punjab in India, as far south as Egypt. Claude Mosse describes the progress of Alexander's career in the first part of her book, while the second examines the effects of his conquests on the history of the ancient, medieval and modern world.Central to the book is the myth of Alexander and how the image of Alexander was created and evolved over the centuries. From the illustrious son of Zeus down to the absolute monarch idealised by Louis XIV, from the valiant knight of the crusaders to the Moslem philosopher-king, the author reveals the gamut of contrasts that make up the legend of this extraordinary hero of history and myth.
Reviews / Votes
Engaging - espcially her final account of Alexander's continual reinterpretation in the medieval and contemporary European worlds ... Janet Lloyd offers another of her customarily reliable translations ... the result is something far better than the usual rehash of Alexander's life and legacy. * TLS *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
514 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7486-1764-7 (9780748617647)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Claude Mosse is Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris VIII.
Content
'Some more talk of Alexander'; Paul Cartledge; Introduction; Part I: The Major Stages Of Alexander's Reign; 1. The Graeco-oriental world at Alexander's succession; 2. The beginning of Alexander's reign: the revolt of Thebes; 3. The conquest of the western provinces of the Persian Empire; 4. The conquest of the eastern provinces and the end of the Asian campaign; Part II: The Different 'Faces' Of Alexander; 5. The king of the Macedonians; 6. The hegemon of the Greeks; 7. The successor to the Achaemenids; 8. The son of Zeus; Part III: Alexander The Man; 9. Youth and upbringing; 10. Alexander's personality; 11. Light and shade; Part IV: The Legacy Of Alexander; 12. Alexander's empire: a fragile construction; 13. The invention of a new type of monarchy; 14. The birth of a 'new world'; 15. The Hellenisation of the East, and its limits; Part V: Alexander The Mythical Hero; 16. The image of Alexander in the ancient world; 17. The medieval Alexander; 18. The image of Alexander in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France; 19. The historians and Alexander's image; 20. From The Alexander Romance to novels about Alexander; Conclusion; Alexander's principal Companions; Chronology; The succession of the Achaemenid kings; Bibliography; Supplementary Bibliography; Translator's Note; Index.