One of the best books on alexander, is peter green, alexander of macedon. Although constructed around a historical core, the romance is largely fictional. Paranormal romance vampires, shifters, and other lovers that arent quite human. Since his death in the third century bc, each age has woven its own legends around the figure of alexander the great. So feel free to order books off our website 247 and select instore pickup. These group of stories became very popular in the medieval period but originally stemmed from a greek writer in alexandria in the 2nd century ad, which had major themes. Jan 01, 2016 the only contemporaneous records for him are in the babylonian astrological tablets.
Surviving translations and copies make its reconstruction possible. Sep 20, 2016 alexander the great summary september 20, 2016 april 2, 2019 niklas goeke self improvement 1sentencesummary. After circulating in manuscript form, it was first published in 1680 in venice, and has been continuously in print in greek ever since. These embassadors saw alexander, of course, and had opportunities to converse with him. Alexander romance, any of a body of legends about the career of alexander the great, told and retold with varying emphasis and purpose by succeeding ages and civilizations the chief source of all alexander romance literature was a folk epic written in greek by a hellenized egyptian in alexandria during the 2nd century ad. But before then you have all these other writersfrench, english, scottishwho start to create in their books this 18th and 19thcentury version of alexander the great that is, in many ways, the lens through which everyone who writes a biography of alexander has tended to look.
The legends associated with his exploits have gripped peoples imagination for centuries. List of books and articles about alexander the great. If the hebrew tradition saw him as a preacher and prophet, to the persians he was alternately a true king and an archsatan, while in modern greece he is revered more as a wise man than as a. List of books and articles about alexander the great online. Books about alexander the great, he was a prince, a conquer, a commander and a king score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The following list is just 10 of the books im really excited to read. The greek alexander romance by anonymous, pseudocallisth. These legends all descend from the socalled alexander romance, a greek text written some 2030 years after alexander s death 323 b. A worthy addition to the seemingly endless flood of books on alexander, including, recently, paul cartledges literate alexander the great 2004 and norman f. Alexander the great jacob abbott all you can books. Richard stoneman retells in a fascinating way the life of alexander the great not from the historical records but from the fictional texts of the alexander romance and other legendary sources. The romans and alexandrians relied on their navies differently. The celebrated macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history.
By telling roxanas story, weis gives us a glimpse into the life of a queen and presents an intriguing and unique take on the relationship between. Philip freeman is qualley professor of classics at luther college in decorah, iowa, and a former professor of classics at washington university in st. What are the best biographies on alexander the great. Lane fox is, there has always been something of the romantic in him as well, and it is this sensibility that gives his portrait of alexander a. She was the daughter of the bactrian chief oxyartes and was captured and married by alexander in 327 bce. The alexander romance is an account of the life and exploits of alexander the great. Mar 09, 2009 waldemar heckel is professor of ancient history at the university of calgary. Ip factly books are designed to encourage and bolster independent reading. His publications include whos who in the age of alexander the great blackwell, 2005, alexander the great. Youth and kingship the son of philip ii of macedon and olympias, he had aristotle as his tutor and was given a classical education. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Creating a top ten list for books on alexander the great is not easy, since few ancient historical figures have been written about as much. As always, the research is impeccable, and where he departs from history he acknowledges it something the selfdeluded dan brown could learn to do.
From antiquity to the present day, there have probably been more books written on alexander than on any other man in history, and the present publication rate in english is about one a year, most of them satisfactory and some. Book 1, 19, greek text english translation, alexander and bucephalus. A romance of the camp and court of alexander the great by marshall monroe kirkman 2008, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. Alexander books abacilab abebooks ancaster, on, canada. Stoneman traces alexanders influence in ancient literature and folklore and in later literatures of east and west. Such historical facts about alexander the great became well known only after the renaissance period 01600 ce when greek documents from the 2 nd century were rediscovered.
In her historical fiction novel, realm, vesuvian alexandrea weis takes us back to the ancient world where men revered their gods, conquerors. Alexander had no part in the murder of his father, although he may have resented him because he neglected olympias for. From spain to india, from scotland to ethiopia, the romance of alexander has gained mythical status. The alexander romance, an entertaining story about various episodes real and imaginary in the life of alexander the great, was extremely. His book provides the definitive account of the legends of alexander the greata powerful leader in life and an even more powerful figure in the history of literature and ideas. These included the anabasis alexandri or the campaigns of alexander by arrian. The author knows a great deal about alexander the great. Alexander the great was one of the most successful military commanders in history, and was undefeated in battle. The alexander romance is a book dismissed by many scholars as a simple fairytale becauses its roots come from a long oral tradition with no original sources that can stand up and shout their name.
Another book that looks at the complexities of alexander and the totality of his humanity, from warrior to deep thinker. Bagoas, alexanders eunuch lover, mary renaults the persian boy, and alexander reception. He was selected as a visiting fellow at the institute for advanced study at princeton for january 2012. Tritle, 2003, the wars of alexander the great 2002, and the marshals of. In this succinct portrait of alexander the great, distinguished scholar and historian norman cantor illuminates the personal life and military. In the first authoritative biography of alexander the great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian philip freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. This list has you covered no matter how youre feeling.
The reallife history of alexander the great is a fascinating story. They expected that he would be interested in hearing about the splendors, and pomp, and parade of the persian monarchy. Fire from heaven by mary renault, alexander the great by robin lane fox, the persian boy by mary renault, the campa. Sep 02, 2009 there have probably been more books written about alexander the great than any other figure from history, in a continuous line from antiquity through to the modern day. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient greeks. The hunt for a new past by paul cartledge 384pp, macmillan. Alexander carried aloft by griffins, otranto cathedral floor mosaic, 12th century. History buffs will be familiar with the many accomplishments of alexander the great, who led his macedonian army on an astonishing campaign of conquest across asia and into india, toppling the persian empire in the process. It was widely copied and translated, accruing legends and fantastical elements at different stages. Alexanders military preferred to fight on land over sea.
Alexander the great in fact and fiction professor of classics and ancient history a b bosworth, a. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. After alexanders death in 323, roxana had his second wife, stateira, killed and gave birth to a son, alexander iv, who was accepted as king with alexanders halfbrother. Greeting readers alexanders has begun curbside pickups. From antiquity to the present day, there have probably been more books written on alexander than on any other man in history, and the present publication rate in english is about one a year, most of them satisfactory and some most recently peter greens both scholarly and well written. The roman dalexandre en prose prose alexanderromance is an interesting medieval manuscript that relates many adventures of alexander the great. Alexander the great or alexander iii, 356323 bc, king of macedon, conqueror of much of asia. If you want to learn about one of historys greatest military commanders and uncover some of his secrets of drivedrive. The book of alexander the great or the phyllada has for three centuries been the most popular account of alexander s career in modern greece. See more ideas about alexander the great, illuminated manuscript, medieval art. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The chief source of all alexander romance literature was a folk epic written in greek by a hellenized egyptian in alexandria during the 2nd century ad. Jan 27, 2017 the reallife history of alexander the great is a fascinating story.
If you want to know exactly everything about alexander the great this is probably a good book. The romance of alexander the great by pseudocallisthenes. The best books on alexander the great, as recommended by historian hugh bowden, from the oldest existing biography to the best historical fiction. The greek alexander romance penguin classics richard stoneman, pseudocallisthenes on. It is generally considered the most important source on alexander the great. Floral gilding on the inside edges frames the open book. The romance of alexander is itself not really a single work but a great evolving and heterogeneous collection of texts and manuscripts, often shaped by regional scribes and.
Alexanders behavior was conditioned along certain lines heroism, courage, strength, superstition, bisexuality, intoxication, cruelty. Roxana was the wife of the macedonian king alexander the great. The virtues of war, while not quite on par with pressfields magnum opus, gates of fire, is a fantastic novel. Could someone recommend a good book about alexander the great. Myths and legends the life of alexander the great, exemplar soldier and king. Alexander book company your downtown and soma bookstore. Alexander, depicted by pressfield, is a character i have never read about. The romance was also put into verse, as in a byzantine recension of 88. The chief source of all alexander romance literature was a folk epic written in. Between the 4th and the 16th centuries the alexander romance was translated into coptic, geez, byzantine greek, arabic, persian, armenian, syriac, hebrew and most medieval european vernaculars. The only reason i bought this was because alexander the great kept popping up here and there in so many other books on history and famous people who made history.
Sweet contemporary romance clean stories of romance to warm the heart. You can speak to a bookseller during these hours as well to arrange a pickup or discuss books. Alexander the great by philip freeman, paperback barnes. I live to see bisexual women books representation and 2020 is shaping out to be an amazing year. The appearance of a new book of 550 pages on alexander the great needs justification. But where and when did it first appear and what did it originally look like. The literary sources first appear much later with the roman empire. Books about alexander the great score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Fire from heaven by mary renault, the persian boy by mary renault, alexander the great by robin lane. Current curbside pickup hours are monday through friday from 10 am and 2 pm. Alexander the great is the towering hero of the classical world. Alexander the great might be described by some as one of historys most successful military leaders, but it was his wife, roxana, who was perhaps the only one who knew the man behind the armor. Buy the greek alexander romance classics reprint by stoneman, richard isbn.
Jun 10, 2019 the roman dalexandre en prose prose alexanderromance is an interesting medieval manuscript that relates many adventures of alexander the great. The life and deeds of alexander of macedon supplements to the text notes map. Read pressfields the virtues of war taste the blood in your mouth, and feel the dynamis will ro. This is a genuine original piece, rising above manfridis alexander triology best one is book ii, sands of ammon. Unfortunately the story is lost in minutiae, such as the culture of tribesmen in inner macedonia or some random tomb and all its history that alexander happened to pass by. This is written in a more novel style, very much like freemans later work. This is a very interesting greek romance, very famous and popular. In the twelfth century, alexander of paris alexander of bernay wrote a romance of alexander in french verse. In this seminal biography, paul cartledge, one of the worlds foremost scholars of ancient greece, gives us the most reliable and intimate portrait of the man himself. Alexander the great ebook by sean patrick rakuten kobo. Alexander the great and his graecobactrian successors in the raj receptions of alexander in johann gustav droysen the unmanly ruler. In this book, he looks beyond the life of alexander the great in order to examine the astonishing range of alexanders created by generations of authors, historians, and artists throughout the worldfrom scotland to china.
It was translated from the original greek into many different languages in europe, asia and africa. This is the recommended genre for most new adult books. The legendary adventures of alexander the great is the th book in the penguin epics collection. But i want that the translator mentioned on arabicpersian version of. Alexander the great book by philip freeman official. Alexander had no part in the murder of his father, although he may have resented him because he neglected olympias for another wife. The only contemporaneous records for him are in the babylonian astrological tablets. Pressfield has really found his strengths as a writer and put them to good use here.
Alexander was victorious in the two key battles at issus and gaugamela, and darius was murdered by conspirators soon afterward. They were written in greek, latin, arabic, persian, hebrew, coptic, syriac, armenian, german, french, and many other languages in antiquity, the middle ages, and the early modern and modern periods. Callisthenes of krzysztof nawotka is a guide to a third century ad fictional biography of alexander the great, the anonymous historia alexandri magni. Mar 31, 2018 the subject of this weeks blog is the alexander romance, a group of legendary stories about the life and career of alexander the great. Alexander advanced gradually and conquered territory by territory until darius, the great king of persia, was forced to come out himself to face alexander. The alexander romance, an entertaining story about various episodes real and imaginary in the life of alexander the great, was extremely popular in medieval times.
Steamy contemporary romance tales of love, lust and romance with a focus on plot and character development, but some open door scenes. The greek alexander romance, often referred to as a pseudocallisthenes production, is in one form or another one of the most influential and widely read books of all time. In that romance, candace and alexander spent half a day of pleasure together in bed. Alexander the great in senecas works and in lucans. Alexander the great for kids mixes facts, photos and even includes a video clip section. This is david grants unique backstory of alexander the great and his successors. The result is an extremely rich and welldocumented survey of the various traditions which, at the same time, is also a most enjoyable reading. Alexander the great is one of the latest, most updated, and contemporary books on the life of the ancient, macedonian king, who would extend his empire from a little slide of land in greece through persia, egypt, all the way to india. Alexander the great biography for kids a fun and fascinating way for young readers to discover more about one of historys most incredible figures.
Alexander romance, any of a body of legends about the career of alexander the great, told and retold with varying emphasis and purpose by succeeding ages and civilizations. Alexander the great is one of many biographies aimed at young people written by. Fire from heaven by mary renault, alexander the great by robin lane. Free romance books for kindle freebooksy free kindle books. John boardman is one of the worlds leading authorities on ancient greece, and his acclaimed books command a broad readership. Read alexander the great the macedonian who conquered the world by sean patrick available from rakuten kobo.
The alexander romance is a fascinating, bizarre little book. The greek alexander romance acknowledgments introduction a note on the text the greek alexander romance. In her historical fiction novel, realm, alexandrea weis takes us back to the ancient world where men revered their gods, conquerors were kings and the fate of an empire lay on the battlefield. Apr 08, 2017 the greek alexander romance, often referred to as a pseudocallisthenes production, is in one form or another one of the most influential and widely read books of all time.
987 1420 359 666 1299 544 483 1168 1224 14 1278 447 410 1363 263 1340 827 49 1 1661 1177 37 689 386 769 409 235 149 999 1448 1663 1449 678 1491 1082 1322 171 1044 607 451 560 1490 1055