Legends of Alexander the Great

by Richard Stoneman

'How can a man become a god?' So enquired Alexander the Great of the Brahmin sages of India. And how did they reply? 'By doing what it is impossible for a man to do.' And that answer set a keynote for the Conqueror's entire career, which was characterized throughout by Alexander's attempts to achieve the to scale the fresh heights and make the incredible real and tangible on earth. He wrestled an Indian monster larger than an elephant, fought ants the size of foxes and contested bats with human teeth. He became a Jewish convert, sailed up the Ganges and visited the Earthly Paradise. Already a legend in his own lifetime, the glittering figure of Alexander preoccupied European, Jewish and Arabic folklore until the 15th century. Richard Stoneman, who is one of his leading modern interpreters, here presents a range of Greek and Latin texts which recount the Conqueror's adventures in the east. Essential reading for students of late antique and medieval literature, these stories are still unsurpassed for sheer entertainment, opening a window onto a rumbustious world of legend as rich as that of the Arabian Nights.
This revised edition offers a substantial new introduction by the editor.

Genres: Mythology

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1994

About the author

"I was born just a few miles from Exeter and have been an Honorary Fellow in the department since 1996. I spent thirty years as a classics editor, most of those years for Routledge; since retiring from that role in 2006, and returning from London to live in Devon, I have been taking an active part in university affairs, including teaching, research and a planned conference.

The core of my research interests has been the continuity of the Greek world and Greek tradition up to the present day. I have written anthologies and travel guides reflecting this interest. Since the early 1980s the main focus of my research has been Alexander the Great, especially in later legend. I have recently participated in several international conferences on the Ancient Novel and on Philip and Alexander. I am currently writing a biography of Xerxes and a study of Megasthenes.

Besides Latin and Greek, my languages include fluent German and adequate French, Italian and Modern Greek. I am taking classes in Turkish and Persian.

I am also Chairman of Westminster Classic Tours (www.westminsterclassictours.com), a company which runs gület tours to classical sites around the Turkish coast and Greek Islands.

In 2009 I was appointed Consulting Editor in Classics to I.B. Tauris Publishers in London, and am actively seeking new authors for their classics programme, and for the series I edit, 'Understanding Classics'.

In 2010 I organised a conference at Exeter University, in conjunction with the Institute of Arab and islamic Studies, on 'The Alexander Romance in Persia and the East'. There were delegates from every continent."

Reviews

[Clara Biesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew Alexander the Great wrote a letter to Aristotle? This book is a collection of primary sources which might be kind of dry but instead it's a wild fantasy.

[Jack Trewin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is worth it alone for Alexander's letter to Aristotle about his travels. it's a remarkable letter which conjures some indelible images of the wealth of people, tribes and animals he and his army encountered whilst in India.

following this, the focus on the Brahman tribe and Alexander's meeting with its leader is fascinating to put his actions into context. the Brahmans' way of life is very particular and goes completely against Alexander's seemingly endless quest for glory and domination.

highly recommended

[Nefeli Georgiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction was not a skip! It was interesting to see that Alexander the Great took the form of the ideal knight and explorer in courtly Medieval Europe as Alisaundre. I did not know that in England and Scotland tales told of his ship ending up there, thus being a distant ancestor of the famed knight Arthur, or that Scottish kings named Alexander claimed to be his descendants. Alexander's Letter to Aristotle about India was full of gripping (albeit exaggerated and kind of problematic in the modern sense) descriptions of the land of India, its animals, its people, its plants, its environment. White lions larger than bulls, serpents thicker than columns,, the Odontotyrannus (tooth tyrrant), dog-headed men, the Sun and Moon prophetic trees... The neverending battles with these beasts entertain the reader. The Life of the Brahmans was another excellent section to read, full of descriptions of the naked philosophers, which seem to be Buddhists based on their lifestyle of only eating fruits and vegetables and meditating, however this is questioned by the descriptions that in the months of July and August they cross the Ganges to have intercourse and procreate with the women living on the opposite side. Alexander's supposed dialogue with the Brahmans is extremely philosophical and a pleasure to read! "Desire nothing and everything will be yours, and you will lack nothing. Desire is the mother of penury; penury is the result of indiscipline treated with bad medicines. It is miserable because it never finds what it seeks, it is never content with what it has, but is tortured with lust for what it does not have... the sky is my roof, the earth my bed, the woods my table, fruit my food, rivers my cup-bearers. I do not eat flesh like a lion, the flesh of other animals does not rot within me. I do not become a grave of dead animals. Providence gives me fruit for food, as mother gives milk to her child.... you are worse than wolves and lions and the most savage beasts; for if wolves and lions could eat fruits they would not look for meat"... so many interesting quotes. in the correspondence of Alexander and Dindimus, Alexander gives thought-provoking criticism and counter-arguments to Dindimus 'boasting' of the Brahmans superior way of life. First he tells him that by critising mens' customs and traditions as sinful, they must think that they are Gods themselves, so far removed from this lowly kind,so they are closer to stupidity than wisdom. Alexander also tells him that their life is not blessed but punished- their land does not have the resources for them to build things- they are prisoners. The land is so far removed, no strangers can come. He compares them to beasts, who are unable to take pleasure in anything good

[Nick Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much any book about Alexander the Great, one of the most famous individuals in human history, is going to be interesting and edifying, even if he was ultimately a genocidal tyrant. In this case though the editors choice of texts is questionable. Most of the tales herein relate directly or indirectly to Alexander’s encounters with the Brahmins in India and are vehicles for moralising about the vanity of Alexander’s quest for fame, worldly power and wealth. As a result, there is a lot of repetition of the same messages which becomes tedious after a while. Had there been a greater variety of material from the many legends concerning Alexander and his mythical adventures, it would have been a much more rewarding read. Fascinating as the Alexander myths are, the more factual accounts of his life by Arrian, Curtius Rufus, Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus are compelling and remarkable enough, without the need to embellish them with supernatural elements.

[Jossalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

wanted to read some of the original sources for Alexander