Transcript CLAS 0810A
CLAS 0810A: Alexander the Great and the Alexander Tradition October 17, 2014 PART V: Alexander the Man… What Kind of Man? PLUTARCH and the Nature of Ancient Biography Update on the Amphipolis Tomb (www.theamphipolistomb.com) Pebble mosaic floor in the second chamber Now fully excavated… Of what does it remind you? Very closely similar to the Macedonian wallpainting in the Tomb of Persophone in the great tumulus at Vergina Hermes (psychopompos) Leads the deceased to underworld Pluto (god of the underworld) abducts Persephone in his chariot A red-headed Persephone, wearing a white chiton, gestures in despair towards the world of the living above Pluto The chariot horses “Restorable damage” Mosaic is bedded on 8-10 cm of plaster, laid over a bed of cobbles Greek meander border Oral tradition and official documents (Diaries, letters, Ephemerides, “Last Plans”, etc.) BC Nearchus Callisthenes Onesicritus Cleitarchus 300 Aristobulus Death of Alexander Chares Ptolemy Alexander’s admiral 200 Alexander’s official historian Naval officer in Alexander’s fleet Engineer or architect Alexander’s general Alexander’s chamberlain 100 DIODORUS SICULUS 0 [World History] Pompeius Trogus [World History] CURTIUS [History] 100 PLUTARCH [Biography] 200 300 AD ARRIAN [History] JUSTIN [Epitome] PLUTARCH Born ca. 50 AD, died ca. 120 AD From Chaeronea in Boeotia The battlefield Lion Monument The plain of Chaeronea Site of the battle in 338 BC in which Alexander fought and which gave Philip II control of Greece “Captive Greece took fierce Rome captive” (Horace) A priest at Delphi, 1st-2nd century AD An ancient list of works attributed to Plutarch contains 227 titles Of these, there survive: 50 ‘biographies’ [the Parallel Lives] 78 miscellaneous works [the Moralia] • on moral, political, philosophical, or scientific topics • written in the form of essays or dialogues • Among them are the two youthful, rhetorical declamations De Alexandri fortuna aut virtute (‘On Alexander’s luck or virtue’) • Essay on Love • Precepts of Marriage • Consolation to his wife on the death of their infant daughter Two 14-century manuscripts containing extracts from Plutarch, Mt. Athos, Greece Title page of one of Erasmus’s translations of Plutarch Plutarch’s ‘biographical’ works Lives of the Caesars [only 2 survive, of Otho and Galba] Parallel Lives [48 survive] Arranged in pairs — one Greek, one Roman (thus Alexander is paired with Julius Caesar) Comparative summary at the end (a synkrisis), emphasizing points of difference and offering moral judgement The very idea of comparing Greek with Roman in this way appears to have originated with Plutarch Biography = bios [a life] + graphia [writing] Biographia first appears only in a late 5th century AD fragment of Damascius’s Life of Isidorus, preserved in a 9th century manuscript Autobiography [biography of oneself (Greek autos)] is not an ancient Greek word at all, but a modern invention that first occurs in 1809 Plutarch called his work a ‘Life’ — the Bios Alexandrou What is the difference between writing: • history • the history of an individual • biography • a biographical historical novel? e.g.: W.W. Tarn, Alexander the Great (Historical monograph) Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon: A Historical Biography (Biographical narrative history) John Maxwell O’Brien, Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy. A Biography (Narrative biography with a single theme [alcohol]) Mary Renault, The Nature of Alexander (An historical but highly romanticized biography) Mary Renault, Fire From Heaven, The Persian Boy, Funeral Games (Historical novels) Plutarch’s clear statement about his intentions (Life of Alexander, ch. 1) “My subject in this book is the life of Alexander the king and of Julius Caesar… …my preamble shall consist of nothing more than this one plea: if I do not record all their most celebrated achievements or describe any of them exhaustively, but merely summarize for the most part what they accomplished, I ask my readers not to regard this as a fault. For I am writing biography [sc. ‘a life’], not history, and the truth is that the most brilliant exploits often tell us nothing of the virtues or vices of the men who performed them, while on the other hand a chance remark or a joke may reveal far more of a man’s character…” • Central purpose = characterizing and giving examples of the arete of his subject [moral excellence and practical efficiency] • A man’s character could not change (so, apparent changes explained as the emergence of true nature from deliberate concealment) Plutarch’s birth-to-death narrative scheme in his Alexander: 1 2-3 4-5 6 7-8 9-10 11-14 15 16… etc. 77 Preface Ancestry, parents’ marriage, sceptical treatment of prophecies etc. Physical appearance, character as a boy, education The taming of Bucephalas Aristotle’s arrival as tutor; speculations about what he taught Alexander Domestic troubles caused by Philip’s marriage to Cleopatra; his murder Alexander’s campaigns in Illyria and Greece Preparations for the Persian expedition, crossing of Hellespont Alexander’s deeds recounted in chronological order… …up through his death (and the story he was poisoned) • But there are also digressions, e.g.: 21-23 28 Alexander’s treatment of the Persian captive women discussion of his continence, self-control, and other habits Alexander’s visit to the Siwah oasis oracle remarks on his attitude to his own “divinity” • And omissions, e.g.: Very little space is devoted to military matters — the Battle of Issus is discussed in just one sentence, to show how Alexander took advantage of luck (20.8); the many battles against King Porus receive only two sentences (60.10-11). How much of Plutarch’s own views of Alexander do we get? Not much! He allows his portrait of Alexander to emerge via narrative and anecdote But he does comment (usually in favorable terms) on what he regards as the more important aspects of his character, e.g.: • (28) makes clear his view that Alexander did not believe in his own divinity —but used others’ belief in it for political purposes • (23) offers his opinion that Alexander was not addicted to drink Take a look at the longest of all the digressions (39-42) to see what you make of Plutarch’s personal opinions FINALLY: is this a biography in any modern sense of the word?