The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great

by Daniel Ogden (editor)

Has any ancient figure captivated the imagination of people over the centuries so much as Alexander the Great? In less than a decade he created an empire stretching across much of the Near East as far as India, which led to Greek culture becoming dominant in much of this region for a millennium. Here, an international team of experts clearly explains the life and career of one of the most significant figures in world history. They introduce key themes of his campaign as well as describing aspects of his court and government and exploring the very different natures of his engagements with the various peoples he encountered and their responses to him. The reader is also introduced to the key sources, including the more important fragmentary historians, especially Ptolemy, Aristobulus and Clitarchus, with their different perspectives. The book closes by considering how Alexander's image was manipulated in antiquity itself.

Genres: History

612 pages, Hardcover

Published January 18, 2024

About the author

Professor of Ancient History; Honorary Research Fellow, UNISA



Principal research areas:

(1) traditional narratives in antiquity;

(2) Greek religion;

(3) Macedonian and Hellenistic Dynasties.

Reviews

[William]

Great essay collection on Alexander the Great: Worked well for me as a detailed academic introduction to Alexander, not only going through the key events but matters of military, finance, administration, also primary sources, reception after his death in the Ancient World etc.

You feel engrossed into the world he inhabited, but also how later ancient and modern perceptions that have warped our understanding of the history (not denying their positive contributions, our earliest writing of Alexander we have nowadays comes 300 years after his death).

It's well written, as a layman it was all easy to understand and appreciate. Its great to get an idea of the Academic literature, debates and up to date opinions etc., it seems that quite recent developments have helped redefine some classic parts of the Alexander story too, which is cool.

Every chapter is around the same length (fairly short actually) with key bits included. Some portions felt a bit disappointing with their scope (Christian/Jewish scope felt very small, maybe due to lack of sources but yeah). But the important ones I felt covered what needed to be covered, however.

A strong recommendation, although I'd recommend pairing it with a biography if you want the "story" of Alexander in focus (only ~120 pages of the book goes through the chronology, although it covers key points and the debates around them).

[Christine]

A wonderful collection of modern who's whos of Alexander scholars. Lots of new archeological updates.