Stoneman, Richard (ed.). 2022. A history of Alexander the Great in world culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BC) has for over 2000 years been one of the best recognized names from antiquity. He set about creating his own legend in his lifetime, and subsequent writers and political actors developed it. He acquired the surname ‘Great’ by the Roman period, and the Alexander Romance transmitted his legendary biography to every language of medieval Europe and the Middle East. As well as an adventurer who sought the secret of immortality and discussed the purpose of life with the naked sages of India, he became a model for military achievement as well as a religious prophet bringing Christianity (in the Crusades) and Islam (in the Qur’an and beyond) to the regions he conquered. This innovative and fascinating volume explores these and many other facets of his reception in various cultures around the world, right up to the present and his role in gay activism.
Table of contents:
- List of Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- List of Abbreviations
- Richard Stoneman- Introduction: Formation and Diffusion of the Alexander Legend
- Dorothy J. Thompson- Alexander and Alexandria in Life and Legend
- Olga Palagia: The Image of Alexander in Ancient Art
- Sulochana A. Asirvatham: Alexander, Philosophy and Rome: A Trajanic Moment
- Christian Thrue Djurslev- Christianising Alexander Traditions in Late Antiquity
- Ory Amitay- Alexander in Ancient Jewish Literature
- Maud Pe´rez-simon- The Medieval Alexander: Art and Politics
- Mark Cruse- Alexander the Great and the Crusades
- Susana Torres Prieto- The Slavic Alexander
- Anthony Kaldellis- Alexander the Great in Byzantine Tradition, AD 330–1453
- Richard Rabone- The Spanish Alexander: A Figure of Praise and Blame
- aila Manteghi- The Persian Alexander (1): The Royal Alexander
- Richard Stoneman- The Persian Alexander (2): Amir Khusraw and the Philosophical View of Alexander
- Faustina Doufikar-aerts- Alexander in Medieval Arab Minds: Archetype of Kings, Magnificent Warrior and Custodian of Philosophy and Divine Principles
- Richard Stoneman- Alexander in the Age of Shakespeare: The Monarchicke Tragedies of Sir William Alexander
- Jon Solomon- Alexander the Great in Opera
- Pierre Briant (translated by Richard Stoneman)Alexander in the Long Eighteenth Century (c.1660–1830)
- Josef Wiesehöfer- Images of Alexander in Germany: Hero, Explorer of New Spaces, Cosmopolitanist and Champion of the West
- Lloyd Llewellyn-jones and Shaun Tougher- Alexander the Gay and the Gloryhole That Was Greece
- Index