Introduction

Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC), better known as Alexander the Great, is one of those rare historical figures who has fascinated a legion of writers in both the past and the present. This study explores the very roots of using Alexander as an historical exemplum. The long historical use of Alexander as a rhetorical tool began in the Greco-Roman world. This book aims to demonstrate the scope and magnitude of this phenomenon in that world. It begins with a discussion about the use of history and the supposed exemplarity of the past. Different types of sources are introduced, including those by Latin writers of the Late Roman Republic and the early Principate, by Greek writers who composed their works during the Early Roman Empire, and by Christian writers whose works were composed during the Later Roman Empire. The factors behind Alexander’s fame and his significance in Greco-Roman culture are discussed. The great respect the king enjoyed is demonstrated by the popularity of imitatio Alexandri among notable Romans and by the way Romans used epithets and cognomina for him.