Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Abbreviations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Alexander’s Life and Career
- Part II Contexts
- Part III The Historical and Biographical Tradition
- 20 Arrian’s Alexander
- 21 Plutarch’s Alexander
- 22 Curtius’ Alexander
- 23 Ptolemy and Aristobulus
- 24 Clitarchus’ Alexander
- 25 Callisthenes, Chares, Nearchus, Onesicritus and the Mystery of the Royal Journals
- Part IV The Ancient World’s Memory of Alexander
- Alexander’s Timeline 356–321 BC
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
25 - Callisthenes, Chares, Nearchus, Onesicritus and the Mystery of the Royal Journals
from Part III - The Historical and Biographical Tradition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 January 2024
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Abbreviations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Alexander’s Life and Career
- Part II Contexts
- Part III The Historical and Biographical Tradition
- 20 Arrian’s Alexander
- 21 Plutarch’s Alexander
- 22 Curtius’ Alexander
- 23 Ptolemy and Aristobulus
- 24 Clitarchus’ Alexander
- 25 Callisthenes, Chares, Nearchus, Onesicritus and the Mystery of the Royal Journals
- Part IV The Ancient World’s Memory of Alexander
- Alexander’s Timeline 356–321 BC
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World
Summary
This chapter reviews the fragmentary evidence for the five first historians and histories of Alexander: Callisthenes of Olynthus, Chares of Mytilene, Nearchus of Crete, Onesicritus of Astypalea and the royal diaries of the king, perhaps compiled by Eumenes of Cardia. These Greek authors took part of the Asiatic expedition and enjoyed a unique vantage point from which to report on the central events of the campaign. Nevertheless, they often resort to literary convention or even invention along the lines of other great Greek literature, especially Homer and Herodotus. Moreover, they all purport to have had some kind of personal access to the king, and the evidence suggests that they sought to magnify that link in various ways during Alexander’s lifetime and after his death. The chapter is structured around a biographical sketch of each author or, in the case of the Royal Journal, text, and a guide to the content, form and function of each history is supplied.
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- The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great , pp. 406 - 422Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024