Alexander the Great by Richard Stoneman

Alexander the Great by Richard Stoneman

In his brief life, Alexander the Great gained fame as the military genius who conquered the known world. After death, his legend only increased.   Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) precipitated immense historical change in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds. But the resonance his legend achieved over the next two millennia stretched even farther—across foreign cultures, religious traditions, and distant nations.   This engaging and handsomely illustrated book for the first time gathers together hundreds of the colorful Alexander legends that have been told and retold around the globe. Richard Stoneman, a foremost expert on the Alexander myths, introduces us first to the historical Alexander and then to the Alexander of legend, an unparalleled mythic icon who came to represent the heroic ideal in cultures from Egypt to Iceland, from Britain to Malaya.   Alexander came to embody the concerns of Hellenistic man; he fueled Roman ideas on tyranny and kingship; he was a talisman for fourth-century pagans and a hero of chivalry in the early Middle Ages. He appears in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic writings, frequently as a prophet of God. Whether battling winged foxes or meeting with the Amazons, descending to the underworld or inventing the world’s first diving bell, Alexander inspired as a hero, even a god. Stoneman traces Alexander’s influence in ancient literature and folklore and in later literatures of east and west. His book provides the definitive account of the legends of Alexander the Great—a powerful leader in life and an even more powerful figure in the history of literature and ideas.

“The first full-scale study in over 50 years of the Alexander Romance and its legacy in English. . . Particularly interesting is the author’s discussion of the rich medieval Persian Alexander literature—both Zoroastrian and Islamic—and its influence. This fascinating book belongs in every university and college library.”—Choice * Choice *
“The volume is highly informative in its goal of tracing the evolution of thought about Alexander through the centuries.”—Dawn L. Gilley, Bryn Mawr Classical Review -- Dawn L. Gilley * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

Richard Stoneman is Honorary Fellow of the University of Exeter and widely acknowledged as the foremost expert globally on the myths of Alexander.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780300164015
ISBN 10	0300164017
Title	Alexander the Great
Author	Richard Stoneman
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Yale University Press
Year published	2010-02-15
Number of pages	336
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable