Alexandre

by Claude Mossé

Very few men excited our imagination as Alexander, the Great, of Macedonia who, from 334 to 323 before our era conquered the immense Persian empire of Darius and led his men to the unknown banks of the Indo. But who was this man? How important was he? To what extension has he changed the face of the world?

Genres: History, Biography, Ancient History, Greece

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Mossé was born the daughter of a wine merchant in Paris. She is the sister of Eliane Mossé , researcher in macroeconomics, and Arlette Mosse , clinical nutritionist. In the winter of 1941, during World War II and aged 16, she first read a text on liberty and democracy by Demosthenes; since then, she has dedicated her life to Greek history, never having married or having any children.

Her favourite historical subject is 4th century BCE Athens. Mossé belongs to the same school of historical thought with Jean-Pierre Vernant and Pierre Vidal-Naquet. She is professor emeritus at the University of Paris VIII. Her works have been translated into many languages including English, German, Spanish, Italian and modern Greek.

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione sul blog Alessandro III di Macedonia- Alessandro Magno & Ellenismo

[Gianfranco Nerdi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ma insomma, pare che lo scoglio contro il quale si vanno ad infrangere tutti i tentativi moderni di capire Alessandro, o di stabilire una parvenza di verità, siano sempre quelle maledettissime fonti, e quello che noi possediamo sono perlopiù fonti di tipo "secondario" (Plutarco, Arriano, Quinto Curzio Rufo...), che non sono molte. Finora, qui non c'è nulla che non sapessi già, anche se lo stile dell'autrice è piacevole; confesso che ero molto indeciso tra le 3 e le 4 stelle, e considerando che ho già letto le testimonianze più importanti come Arriano, ed altri 2 o 3 libri sulla spedizione di Alessandro, e non ho trovato contributi particolarmente originali, ho cercato di dare una valutazione più sobria e realistica a questa lettura.

Alla fine, qualsiasi tentativo di farsi un'idea della personalità del conquistatore macedone è destinato a naufragare, a meno di nuovi ed assai improbabili ritrovamenti sia di carattere letterario che di carattere archeologico. Per dire, anche nei tempi più recenti, pur disponendo di tecnologie avanzate ed avendo la possibilità di fare ricorso al giornalismo "embedded", è sempre possibile (ed è anche piuttosto facile!) far vedere un solo lato di un particolare evento, distorcendo inevitabilmente la percezione dello stesso; figuriamoci quando disponiamo di 3 o 4 fonti scritte per forza di cose incomplete o abbastanza incerte. E quindi nella conclusione del libro, non emerge in maniera chiara e netta se Alessandro fosse un barbaro assetato di sangue (come lo dipinge Seneca e qualche altro scrittore) o un sovrano equilibrato/illuminato il cui scopo era quello di fondare un impero armonioso. Purtroppo, temo che la cosa sia destinata a rimanere un mistero e non avremo mai una risposta univoca all'enigma che il sovrano macedone rappresenta.

[Lua · Rating 5 out of 5]

De las pocas novelas históricas que me han conseguido encantar. Claude Mossé, es una gran escritora e historiadora.

[Read me two times · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onestamente mi aspettavo di più.

[John Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, especially around reception of Alexander in Jewish tradition and later changing views of the conquerer through to present day

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than a biography this books aims at explain what made Alexander such a compelling character throughout history, but more importantly how his actions helped to change the world.
The book starts with a very brief overview of how Alexander reached the crown of Macedonia and then moves to enumerate his expansionist ventures. In this section there isn't much detail on fights, pillage or similar activities. The goal of this section is reinforced in the coming chapters where there's a more deep analysis of the actions and its consequences. The second half of the book focus more on how the figure of Alexander has been perceived in the following decades and why has he become such an ambiguous character.
Although. somewhat confusing at times, its an interesting book that provides a fascinating insight to the role of Alexander in shaping the world

[Poli · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I like the most about this book is it's attempt to expose the multiple layers of Alexander's Character. Also think that the author did good explaining the politics in the region before Alexander got to power and even what happened after his death with his companions fighting for power.
What I don't like is the several "We'll be back to that later" (or something like that)and
the consequent " As was mentioned earlier" the author uses throughout the book. In my opinion is annoying to have the narrative constantly interrupted with something which will be properly mentioned later.

[Lys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread in 2026.
Way too short on anything to be anything but a run-through.

Knowing more about the topic, its weak points stand out even more.