A N C I E N T   W R I T I
N G S   O N   A L E X A N D E R   T H
E   G R E A T

P L U T A R C
H

Plutarch (47 - 121
CE) lived in the first
and second centuries CE.  He was a very popular writer in the ancient
world, and remained so centuries after his death.  Plutarch is most
famous for his Parallel Lives,
comprising a total of 27 books.  In each of
these books, Plutarch would match up some famous Greek with a famous Roman
counterpart.  For example, Alexander the Great - v - Julius
Caesar.  He would write a short biography of each man, and then
compare the two at the end, pointing out their strengths and
weaknesses.  Plutarch also wrote a tremendous number of "essays,"
which range from politics to religion to philosophy to war, and everywhere
in between.  These are categorized as Plutarch's
Moralia.  Plutarch doesn't claim to be the most accurate
writer -- for he couldn't possibly get every detail right when writing
about so many different subjects -- but he was and remains the great
"sketch master."

Plutarch   The Age Of
Alexander   Translated by Ian
Scott-Kilvert

This affordable translation of Plutarch by
Ian Scott-Kilvert contains his life of Alexander, along with eight other
lives of men who lived in and around Alexander's time -- thus the title,
The Age of Alexander. It
contains a helpful Chronological Table, starting with the year 405 BCE and
ending with 272 BCE.  The arrangement of the biographies is not what
Plutarch had in mind, since he always compared a Greek with a Roman, but
perhaps it gives a better understanding of Alexander, since you can read
about some of the men around him.

Plutarch
Lives   Demosthenes and Cicero   Alexander and
Caesar   Translated by Bernadotte
Perrin

This Loeb Classical
Library book contains Plutarch's life of Alexander the Great, followed by
his life of Julius Caesar.  It is apparent that Plutarch considered
these two men to be the greatest commanders of the ancient world, since he
set them up one (a Greek) against the other (a Roman).  It is up to
the reader to decide which one is the best, Plutarch's final comparison of
these two men being lost, but his sketch of Alexander the Great remains
the best one to this very day.  This book also contains the lives of
the two greatest orators of the ancient world, the Greek Demosthenes, and
the Roman Cicero.

Plutarch
Moralia   Volume 4   Translated by F. C. Babbitt

This book contains one of the most
influential and controversial essays of the ancient world.  It is
called, On the Fortune or Virtue of Alexander.
In it, Plutarch claims that Alexander was a true
philosopher-king, who united men of all races into a great "loving
cup."  Here is an exerpt:  "But, as he [Alexander] believed that
he came as a heaven-sent governor to all, and as a mediator for the whole
world...  He bade them all consider as their fatherland the whole
inhabited earth, as their stronghold and protection his camp, as akin to
them all good men, and as foreigners only the wicked..."

A R R I A N

Arrian (89 - 170
CE) was a powerful man in
the ancient world.  He lived in the second century CE, when the Roman
Empire was at its height.  He was a friend of the great Roman Emperor
Hadrian; he was the first Greek to hold a consulship in the Empire; in 134
he led an army against the Alani barbarians, who had invaded the empire,
and successfully drove them out; in 145, he became head (Archon) of the
famous city of Athens; the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius held Arrian in
such high esteem that he always had by his side The
Discourses of Epictetus, which was written by
Arrian (Epictetus having been Arrian's teacher).  According to Arrian
himself, one of the most important things in his life was to hand down to
posterity a decent history of Alexander the Great, which would clear up
some of the confusion surrounding the great conqueror.  He
succeeded.  Arrian's is the most excellent history of Alexander we
have.

Alexander the
Great   Selections From
Arrian   Translated by J. G.
Lloyd

This little book is a good introduction to
Arrian.  J. G. Lloyd takes you through a brief overview of the
history of Alexander's life, sampling about 30 short "selections" from
Arrian's history.  Here is part of one concerning Alexander's horse
Bucephalus:  "This horse had once been lost in Uxia, and Alexander
had made an announcement that he would kill every Uxian in the country, if
they did not bring back his horse.  On the announcement it was at
once returned.  Such was Alexander's concern for the horse, and such
was the fear he could inspire in the natives."

Arrian   The Campaigns Of
Alexander   Translated by Aubrey de
Selincourt

This paperback contains a translation of
Arrian by Aubrey de Selincourt.  The translation was done in 1958,
and is, overall, probably the most readable out there.  Here is an
exerpt from his translation of Arrian's preface:  "Wherever Ptolemy
and Aristobolus in their histories of Alexander, the son of Philip, have
given the same account, I have followed it on the assumption of its
accuracy; where their facts differ I have chosen what I feel to be the
most probable and interesting.  There are other accounts of
Alexander's life... it seems to me, however, that Ptolemy and Aristobolus
are the most trustworthy writers on this subject..."

Arrian   Volume
1   Anabasis of Alexander   Books  I -
IV   Translated by P. A.
Brunt

This Loeb Classical Library book is a
must-have for anyone serious about Alexander the Great.  This Volume
1 contains the first four books of Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander. It
provides Arrian's original Greek on the left page, and an English
translation by P. A. Brunt on the right.  The book has 80 pages of
introduction, 100 pages of appendixes, copius scholarly notes, and a
helpful fold-out map of the CONQUESTS of ALEXANDER.  Each section of
Arrian's work is marked by "chapter and verse" like the Bible, so that any
particular words of Arrian can be referred to.

Arrian   Volume
2   Anabasis of Alexander   Books V - VII
Indica   Translated by P. A.
Brunt

This volume 2 is the companion to volume 1
above, containing books 5 - 7 of Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander, and
Arrian's Indica, which tells of the
voyage of Alexander's army down the Indus river, into the Indian Ocean,
then through the Persian Gulf up into the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers.  In the Indica, Arrian
uses as his main source the now lost history of Alexander's Admiral
Nearchus.  The book is full of adventure and peril.  At one
point, Alexander was sure the fleet of Nearchus was totally lost.
When Nearchus himself arrived before Alexander and proved that it was not
so, he broke down in tears of disbelief and joy.

DIODORUS

CURTIUS

JUSTIN

MORE