Search Results
Abstract
This paper discusses the nearly twenty passages in which Cassius Dio mentions Alexander the Great in the extant parts of the Roman History. The purpose is to explore the attitude of the senatorial historian to his Greek past and to contemporary Roman politics. The majority of the references to the Macedonian king are from the Severan dynasty, but Alexander the Great is also mentioned together with Perseus, Caesar, Augustus, Caligula and Trajan. These passages reveal a double image of the Macedonian king as described by Cassius Dio. On the one hand, Alexander the Great is portrayed as the young world conqueror, when mentioned in the context of Perseus, Caesar, Augustus and Trajan. On the other hand, Alexander the Great also functions in the narrative as a reflection in connection with young, despotic emperors such as Caligula and especially Caracalla, who argued that he was a new Alexander. Finally, the paper discusses the curious episode in 221 ce, when a pseudo-Alexander appeared in the Danube region and crossed over to Asia with his Bacchant followers, where they suddenly disappeared.
Abstract
This paper discusses the nearly twenty passages in which Cassius Dio mentions Alexander the Great in the extant parts of the Roman History. The purpose is to explore the attitude of the senatorial historian to his Greek past and to contemporary Roman politics. The majority of the references to the Macedonian king are from the Severan dynasty, but Alexander the Great is also mentioned together with Perseus, Caesar, Augustus, Caligula and Trajan. These passages reveal a double image of the Macedonian king as described by Cassius Dio. On the one hand, Alexander the Great is portrayed as the young world conqueror, when mentioned in the context of Perseus, Caesar, Augustus and Trajan. On the other hand, Alexander the Great also functions in the narrative as a reflection in connection with young, despotic emperors such as Caligula and especially Caracalla, who argued that he was a new Alexander. Finally, the paper discusses the curious episode in 221 ce, when a pseudo-Alexander appeared in the Danube region and crossed over to Asia with his Bacchant followers, where they suddenly disappeared.