History of Alexander, Volume I: Books 1–5

by Quintus Curtius Rufus, John Carew Rolfe (Translator)

Quintus Curtius was apparently a rhetorician who lived in the first century of the Roman empire and, early in the reign of Claudius (41-54 CE), wrote a history of Alexander the Great in 10 books in clear and picturesque style for Latin readers. The first two books have not survived--our narrative begins with events in 333 BCE--and there is material missing from books V, VI, and X. One of his main sources is Cleitarchus who, about 300 BCE, had made Alexander's career a matter of marvellous adventure.

Curtius is not a critical historian; and in his desire to entertain and to stress the personality of Alexander, he elaborates effective scenes, omits much that is important for history, and does not worry about chronology. But he does not invent things, except speeches and letters inserted into the narrative by traditional habit. 'I copy more than I believe', he says. Three features of his story are narrative of exciting experiences, development of a hero's character, and a disposition to moralise. His history is one of the five extant works on which we rely for the career of Alexander the Great.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Quintus Curtius is in two volumes.

Genres: History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 50

Reviews

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of Alexander the Great tends to fall into a category of mythology, someone whose ventures and journeys seem so vast and outrageous as to be unbelievable. And while this accounting may include a great deal of Roman pandering to a former hero of the Greeks, it certainly doesn't go about making Alexander look like a god or a saint. Because the reality is, Alexander did exist, he did conquer, and he did travel farther and accomplish more than anyone expected him to achieve, which is part of the imagined mythology.

To the credit of LOEB, those gaping sections that lack any available text (waiting on the future of archaeology) are filled in with information that helps to add relevant context. Rather than stating the vacancy of pages lost, LOEB makes the missing chapters come alive, as if they were written by Curtius himself. That being said, my only gripe is that "the king" is referenced so many times in short succession, either by Curtius or by the translators, that it's often difficult to figure out which king--Alexander or Darius--the reader should be following.

Now on to Books 6-10...

[Hossam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, I learned the most important things that was mentioned in the Quran about Alexander, that he got several traits for a leader, he reached a spring of hot water at the extreme west, he worshipped God, he was a kind king. All were mentioned in this book.

[Vadim Schulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect cu exceptia faptului ca seamana cu un fel de propaganda atunci cand se spun cifrele celor cazuti la tabara dusmanului si tabara lui Alexandru. Cand la dusmani mor 10k la Alexandru mor 10. La fel ca si TV din ziua de azi.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darius lost his wife, his kids, his job, his house, his money, his friends . . . but his dog stayed loyal till the end.