Is Plutarch a reliable source on Alexander?

Is Plutarch a reliable source on Alexander?

Although he lived four centuries after Alexander, Plutarch used many contemporary sources; but he was well aware that these sources were unreliable, and warns his reader of this by phrases such as ‘it is said…’

What did Plutarch say about Alexander the Great?

1 1 It is the life of Alexander the king, and of Caesar, who overthrew Pompey, that I am writing in this book, and the multitude of the deeds to be treated is so great that I shall make no other preface than to entreat my readers, in case I do not tell of all the famous actions of these men, nor even speak exhaustively …

What does Arrian say about Alexander?

Arrian regarded Alexander as ‘a hero totally unlike any other human being’.

What did Plutarch claim Alexander died from?

Both Plutarch and Arrian believed that Alexander died of a disease, and Plutarch rather brusquely rejected the idea that he was poisoned. However Justin (the summarizer of Pompeius Trogus) emphatically supports that idea, and we know from other evidence it was prevalent in the years just after Alexander’s death.

What is Plutarch famous for?

Plutarch of Chaeronea in Boeotia (ca. 45–120 CE) was a Platonist philosopher, best known to the general public as author of his “Parallel Lives” of paired Greek and Roman statesmen and military leaders.

When did Plutarch write about Alexander?

Since Plutarch wrote around 100 A.D., over 400 years after Alexander, he can hardly be considered a primary source. At the same time, he appears to have been very careful in his research, and may be the best source now extant.

How did Alexander react to hephaestion death?

When he died suddenly at Ecbatana around age thirty-two, Alexander was overwhelmed with grief. He petitioned the oracle at Siwa to grant Hephaestion divine status and thus Hephaestion was honoured as a Divine Hero. Hephaestion was cremated and his ashes taken to Babylon.

Is Arrian a primary source on Alexander?

The problem of the ‘primary’ literary sources on Alexander is well known: all of them are only known from fragments found mostly in the ‘secondary’ sources, i.e. writers who wrote on the king centuries after his death, like Strabo, Curtius Rufus, Pliny the Elder, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin.

When did Arrian write about Alexander?

The writing is about the successors of Alexander the Great, circa 323 – 321 or 319.

What is Plutarch’s philosophy?

Plutarch seeks, in accord with his interconnected philosophy, a harmony of self with the world and a harmony of self with practical living. Plutarch proceeds to offer a list and interpretation of signs which we can be assured indicate moral progression.

What did Hephaestion look like?

He had mis-matched eyes (one blue, one brown), a twisted neck, red hair, and a ruddy complexion. He looked neither Macedonian nor kingly according to any model of the time. Hephaestion, by contrast, was taller and more conventionally handsome — some even dared say pretty.

Why did Arrian write about Alexander the Great?

He intended this work to be his masterpiece, believing Alexander to be a splendid subject who had not been adequately represented theretofore. He wanted to write a factual account free of mythology and romance.

What was the purpose of the Anabasis of Alexander?

The Anabasis gives a broadly chronological account of the reign of Alexander the Great of Macedon (336–323 BC), with a particular focus on military matters. After a short Preface concerning Arrian’s sources, the seven books describe the reign of Alexander the Great.

What is Plutarch’s life of Alexander?

This can be either Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, Suetonius’s Augustus, Suetonius’s Caligula, or Suetonius’s Domitian. source.. The primary objective of Plutarch was to write about morality, and he focused on the moral values of Alexander.

What is Plutarch best known for?

Plutarch ( / ˈpluːtɑːrk /; Greek: Πλούταρχος, Ploútarchos; Koine Greek : [ˈplutarkʰos]; AD 46 – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi.

What was Plutarch’s primary objective in writing about Alexander the Great?

source.. The primary objective of Plutarch was to write about morality, and he focused on the moral values of Alexander. His intention was not to write about the historical events but bring out the aspect of intellectuality, wisdom, body, and soul.

Who wrote the lives of Plutarch?

In 1683, John Dryden began a life of Plutarch and oversaw a translation of the Lives by several hands and based on the original Greek. This translation has been reworked and revised several times, most recently in the 19th century by the English poet and classicist Arthur Hugh Clough (first published in 1859).