The Christian Alexander: The Use of Alexander the Great in Early Christian Literature

The aim of the present study is to examine how the legacy of Alexander was appropriated, altered and used in arguments in early Christian discourse (c. 200-600). There is an inventory of all the early Christian references to Alexander in Appendix 1. The structure of the thesis is conceived as an unequal triptych: it is divided into three parts with subdivisions into three chapters of varying lengths (Part III contains two chapters and the thesis conclusion). Each part is prefaced with a short description of its contents. Each chapter within those parts have a preliminary remark to introduce the principal subject area with a brief conclusion in the back of it. Part I explores the Alexander traditions of three geographical centres of the Christian world: Alexandria (Ch. 1), Jerusalem (Ch. 2) and Rome (Ch. 3). It shows how the Jewish tales from these cities, such as the Josephan tale about Alexander’s visit to Jerusalem, were used in a variety of diverging, often contradictory, ways. Part II turns to the writings of the apologists in the second and third centuries. It discusses three prevalent themes associated with Alexander: historiography (Ch. 4), divine honours (Ch. 5) and Greek philosophy (Ch. 6). Part III moves on to the central texts and Alexander themes in the fourth to sixth centuries. It focuses on his role in Christian chronicles, church histories and representations of their world (Ch. 7), and also the rhetorical use of the figure in Christian preaching and public speaking (Ch. 8). Taken together, these three parts form the overarching argument that Alexander did not only fill many diverse roles in Christian representations of the remote past, but also featured in contemporary discourse on Christian culture, identities and societies, as well as in arguments made on behalf of the Christian religion itself. Indeed, the Christians frequently juxtapose the figure with distinctively Christian features, such as the life of Jesus, the Apostles, the church, sacred cities and holy spaces. They incorporate him into discourses on peace, mercy, generosity and abstinence. In other words, they repeatedly made Alexander relevant for what they considered important and, thus, created their own distinct discourse on the figure.A.G. Leventis Foundatio

Battling without Beards : Synesius of Cyrene's Calvitii encomium, Arrian's Anabasis Alexandri and the Alexander discourse of the fourth century AD

This paper explores the literary tradition of the curious chreia that Alexander ordered his men to shave off their beards before battle. The story is represented by various sources from the imperial period but most prominently in the Encomium of Baldness by Synesius of Cyrene. The latter source posits that the story comes from the History of Alexander by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, but this claim cannot be true when Synesius' version is compared to other extant uses of the chreia. This paper exemplifies some of Synesius' methods of working, arguing that we need to invest more energy in appreciating the wider tradition of Alexander in late antiquity to understand our earlier texts.Este artículo explora la tradición literaria de la curiosa chreia que recoge que Alejandro ordenó a sus hombres afeitarse sus barbas antes de la batalla. La historia aparece recogida en varias fuentes de época imperial pero sobre todo en el prominente Encomio de la calvicie de Sinesio de Cirene. Esta Fuente tardía afirma que la anécdota proviene de la Historia de Alejandro de Ptolomeo, hijo de Lago, pero ello no parece verdad si comparamos a Sinesio con el resto de usos de la chreia. Este artículo ejemplifica algunos de los métodos de trabajo de Sinesio, argumentando que necesitamos invertir más energía en apreciar la amplia tradición sobre Alejandro en la antigüedad tardía para comprender nuestros textos más antiguos

Alexander, Agathoi Daimones, Argives and Armenians

Intriguing and complex traditions are preserved about Alexander and the agathos daimon house-snakes of Alexandria by Phylarchus, the Alexander Romance, ps.-Epiphanius and the Chronicon Paschale. These bear upon both a foundational myth and upon a related cultural practice. New light is shed on these traditions by some striking comparative folkloric evidence gathered in Armenia at the end of the nineteenth century. In primis, the Armenians’ practice of addressing their friendly house snakes as ‘Armenians’ suggests that the Alexandrians’ practice of addressing their own friendly house snakes as ‘Argives’ entailed a notion that they were themselves, somehow, ‘Argive’ in origin, a notion that can be evidenced in several further ways.Intrigantes y complejas tradiciones se han preservado sobre Alejandro y las serpientes domésticas del agathos daimon de Alejandría en Filarco, el Romance de Alejandro, Ps. Epifanio y el Chronicon Paschale. Todos ellos parecen conducer a un mito fundacional y a una práctica cultural vinculada. Una nueva perspectiva parece asomar sobre estas tradiciones mediante la sorprendente comparative de evidencias folclóricas armenias recogidas a finales del s. XIX. De hecho, la práctica armenia de referirse a sus amigables serpientes domésticas como “armenias” sugiere que la práctica de los alejandrinos de referirse a sus propias amigables serpientes domésticas como “argivas” supone una noción que habría estado, de algún modo, “argiva” en su origen, una noción que puede mostrarse en muchas diferentes formas

Alexander, Agathoi Daimones, Argives and Armenians

Intriguing and complex traditions are preserved about Alexander and the agathos daimon house-snakes of Alexandria by Phylarchus, the Alexander Romance, ps.-Epiphanius and the Chronicon Paschale. These bear upon both a foundational myth and upon a related cultural practice. New light is shed on these traditions by some striking comparative folkloric evidence gathered in Armenia at the end of the nineteenth century. In primis, the Armenians' practice of addressing their friendly house snakes as "Armenians" suggests that the Alexandrians' practice of addressing their own friendly house snakes as 'Argives' entailed a notion that they were themselves, somehow, "Argive" in origin, a notion that can be evidenced in several further ways.Intrigantes y complejas tradiciones se han preservado sobre Alejandro y las serpientes domésticas del agathos daimon de Alejandría en Filarco, el Romance de Alejandro, Ps. Epifanio y el Chronicon Paschale. Todos ellos parecen conducer a un mito fundacional y a una práctica cultural vinculada. Una nueva perspectiva parece asomar sobre estas tradiciones mediante la sorprendente comparative de evidencias folclóricas armenias recogidas a finales del s. XIX. De hecho, la práctica armenia de referirse a sus amigables serpientes domésticas como "armenias" sugiere que la práctica de los alejandrinos de referirse a sus propias amigables serpientes domésticas como "argivas" supone una noción que habría estado, de algún modo, "argiva" en su origen, una noción que puede mostrarse en muchas diferentes formas

Luchando sin barbas: el Calvitii encomium de Sinesio de Cirene, la Anabasis Alexandri de Arriano y el discurso sobre Alejandro en el siglo IV d.C.

This paper explores the literary tradition of the curious chreia that Alexander ordered his men to shave off their beards before battle. The story is represented by various sources from the imperial period but most prominently in the Encomium of Baldness by Synesius of Cyrene. The latter source posits that the story comes from the History of Alexander by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, but this claim cannot be true when Synesius’ version is compared to other extant uses of the chreia. This paper exemplifies some of Synesius’ methods of working, arguing that we need to invest more energy in appreciating the wider tradition of Alexander in late antiquity to understand our earlier texts. Este artículo explora la tradición literaria de la curiosa chreia que recoge que Alejandro ordenó a sus hombres afeitarse sus barbas antes de la batalla. La historia aparece recogida en varias fuentes de época imperial pero sobre todo en el prominente Encomio de la calvicie de Sinesio de Cirene. Esta Fuente tardía afirma que la anécdota proviene de la Historia de Alejandro de Ptolomeo, hijo de Lago, pero ello no parece verdad si comparamos a Sinesio con el resto de usos de la chreia. Este artículo ejemplifica algunos de los métodos de trabajo de Sinesio, argumentando que necesitamos invertir más energía en apreciar la amplia tradición sobre Alejandro en la antigüedad tardía para comprender nuestros textos más antiguos

Alexander, Agathoi Daimones, Argives and Armenians

Intriguing and complex traditions are preserved about Alexander and the agathos daimon house-snakes of Alexandria by Phylarchus, the Alexander Romance, ps.-Epiphanius and the Chronicon Paschale. These bear upon both a foundational myth and upon a related cultural practice. New light is shed on these traditions by some striking comparative folkloric evidence gathered in Armenia at the end of the nineteenth century. In primis, the Armenians' practice of addressing their friendly house snakes as "Armenians" suggests that the Alexandrians' practice of addressing their own friendly house snakes as 'Argives' entailed a notion that they were themselves, somehow, "Argive" in origin, a notion that can be evidenced in several further ways.Intrigantes y complejas tradiciones se han preservado sobre Alejandro y las serpientes domésticas del agathos daimon de Alejandría en Filarco, el Romance de Alejandro, Ps. Epifanio y el Chronicon Paschale. Todos ellos parecen conducer a un mito fundacional y a una práctica cultural vinculada. Una nueva perspectiva parece asomar sobre estas tradiciones mediante la sorprendente comparative de evidencias folclóricas armenias recogidas a finales del s. XIX. De hecho, la práctica armenia de referirse a sus amigables serpientes domésticas como "armenias" sugiere que la práctica de los alejandrinos de referirse a sus propias amigables serpientes domésticas como "argivas" supone una noción que habría estado, de algún modo, "argiva" en su origen, una noción que puede mostrarse en muchas diferentes formas