Alexander the Great : Man and God

by Worthington, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780582772243
• ISBN10: 0582772249
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

Ian Worthington's fascinating account of Alexander the Great's colourful, but ultimately destructive, life is a welcome addition to the legend surrounding the most famous figure in ancient history.He delves underneath the tales of epic success and heroism into the darker side of Alexander's personality; the drinking, murderous rages and paranoia to question whether he really deserves to be called 'Great'.Endorsements:Professor Worthington's Alexander is a bit of a chameleon. He was at once an eminently practical and incomparably successful general and yet a dreamer who saw himself as literally a son of Zeus. His character, personality and temper were not improved by his binge-drinking and he ended by being more of an oriental potentate than a Macedonian warrior king. His most fatal flaw was to allow himself to be haunted by the ghost of his father Philip, with whom he waged a battle of emulation to the premature end of his own life. Ian Worthington's book has many virtues, including a clear narrative that shows intimate familiarity with the primary sources and secondary literature. It is accessibly written in an unemotional style for a wide general readership.Professor Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, Clare College, Cambridge_________________Ian Worthington brings an immediacy to ancient history that is exciting and compelling. The characters live and breathe and there are many vivid moments of drama, such as Philip of Macedon acknowledging the cheering crowds as his assassin plunges in the dagger, that stay in the mind long after you have put the book down. A ripping read.Terry Jones

Author Biography

Ian Worthington is Professor of Greek History at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Table of Contents

List of Plates	p. vi
List of Figures	p. viii
List of Maps	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xiv
Alexander's Reign: The Main Events	p. xvi
Map of Macedonia and Greece	p. xvii
Map of Alexander's Empire	p. xviii
Introduction: Uncovering the Legend	p. 1
Alexander's Inheritance	p. 7
Alexander's Boyhood	p. 22
King at Last	p. 32
The Very Gates of Asia	p. 48
A Bridge of Corpses	p. 67
Son of Ra, Son of Zeus	p. 83
Lord of Asia	p. 93
Conquest and Conspiracy	p. 116
Bactria and Sogdiana	p. 132
India	p. 145
'We'll say Goodbye in Babylon'	p. 172
Death and Disorder	p. 188
Man and God	p. 199
Alexander: The Great	p. 207
Philip's Ghost	p. 218
Notes	p. 222
Bibliographic Essay	p. 234
Index	p. 243
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