The Nature of Alexander

The Nature of Alexander

"The Nature of Alexander" (1975) is the only nonfiction work by celebrated novelist Mary Renault (1905-1983).

The book is a biography of King Alexander the Great, ruler of Macedon, Egypt, Israel, Persia, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, Mesopotamia, Pakistan and other lands. Renault wrote several novels in which Alexander appears: "The Mask of Apollo" (1966), "Fire From Heaven" (1969), "The Persian Boy" (1972), and "Funeral Games" (1981). She felt these were not enough to tell the whole story of Alexander, and so she completed her nonfiction biography.

The book makes no attempt to be impartial or neutral, but rather unabashedly advocates Alexander as a truly great man. For example, she rejects the usual terminology of the "murder" of Kleitos, pointing out that legally, "murder" refers only to a killing with premeditation, which absolutely was not the case when the King killed Kleitos in a drunken brawl, after much drink and much provocation. She also points out that the beauty of the mummy of Alexander was still much admired even many generations after his death. She refutes many slurs against Alexander, both ancient and modern. The hardcover edition is beautifully illustrated.

Editions

* Pantheon Books (1975) ISBN 0-394-49113-0

ee also

*Phobos (mythology)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Nature of Order — The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe (ISBN 0 972 65290 6) is a four volume work by Christopher Alexander published in 2003 2004. In his earlier work, Alexander attempted to formulate the principles… …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander the Great's personal relationships — Alexander the Great s lifelong companion was Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble. Hephaistion was Alexander s closest friend, and held the position of second in command of Alexander s forces until his death, which devastated Alexander.… …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander the Great — This article is about the ancient king of Macedon. For other uses, see Alexander the Great (disambiguation). Alexander the Great Basileus of Macedon …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander the Great — 356 323 B.C., king of Macedonia 336 323: conqueror of Greek city states and of the Persian empire from Asia Minor and Egypt to India. * * * or Alexander III born 356 BC, Pella, Macedonia died June 13, 323 BC, Babylon King of Macedonia (336–323)… …   Universalium

  • The Cantos — by Ezra Pound is a long, incomplete poem in 120 sections, each of which is a canto . Most of it was written between 1915 and 1962, although much of the early work was abandoned and the early cantos, as finally published, date from 1922 onwards.… …   Wikipedia

  • The Religion of Russia —     The Religion of Russia     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Religion of Russia     A. The Origin of Russian Christianity     There are two theories in regard to the early Christianity of Russia; according to one of them, Russia was Catholic from …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • ALEXANDER OF APHRODISIAS° — (end of second century–beginning of third century C.E.), Greek philosopher, commentator on the writings of aristotle , and author of independent works. Alexander was important for his systematization of Aristotle s thought and for the formulation …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Alexander Frumkin — Alexander Naumovich Frumkin (Александр Наумович Фрумкин) (October 24, 1895 ndash; May 27, 1976), Russian/Soviet electrochemist, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1932, founder of the Russian Journal of Electrochemistry… …   Wikipedia

  • The Dunciad — Alexander Pope The Dunciad /ˈd …   Wikipedia

  • The Blessed Trinity —     The Blessed Trinity     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Blessed Trinity     This article is divided as follows:          I. Dogma of the Trinity;     II. Proof of the Doctrine from Scripture;     III. Proof of the Doctrine from Tradition;… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”