Because Ideas Matter...
The faculty and staff of Butler University's College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences presents
Recommended Readings
The Campaigns of Alexander
by Arrian (translated by A. de Sélincourt and revised by J.R.
Hamilton), Penguin, 1971
Reviewed by Tiberiu Popa
Few military and political leaders have
been quite as inspiring and perplexing as Alexander of Macedonia,
better known as Alexander the Great. His conquests changed the
political and cultural map of much of the Middle East in profound
and lasting ways. There was no shortage of admirers and detractors
of the young king in antiquity, which accounts in part for a
considerable number of detailed biographies and of literary
portraits. Arrian's Campaigns… (divided into seven sections or
'books') is not among the oldest, but is certainly among the most
interesting and comprehensive attempts to track Alexander's
exploits from southern Europe to Egypt, across the Persian empire,
to the Ganges and finally to Babylon, where, on his way back to
Macedonia, Alexander died in somewhat mysterious circumstances.
What makes this narrative especially worth reading is that Arrian
himself was a rather prominent military and political figure under
the Roman emperor Hadrian, which allowed him to better appreciate
Alexander's tactical and strategic genius. One should also note
that Arrian is responsible for the survival of Epictetus' ethical
doctrine; his exposure to Epictetus' Stoic outlook is manifest in
his frequent assessments of the moral significance of some of
Alexander's more controversial actions. I would add that one of the
most surprising features in his portrayal of the Macedonian king -
and king of Asia - is Alexander's insatiable and quasi-scientific
curiosity, which had probably made him a worthy student of
Aristotle. De Sélincourt's translation renders Arrian's quirky
Greek with precision but has also benefitted from Hamilton's
revision. Anyone interested in Alexander's personality or in the
very complex and somewhat elusive concept of leadership, will take
great delight in reading this work.
- Tiberiu Popa is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Butler
University.