Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119
Life of Alexander
ἈλέξανδροςPlutarch's Life of Alexander, written as one book with the Life of Caesar, follows the king of Macedonia from the omens surrounding his birth through the conquest of Asia and the march into India to his death at Babylon. Plutarch says at the start that he is writing Lives, not Histories, and that a phrase or a jest can show character better than a battle. He dwells on dreams, omens, oracles and sayings, and cites Alexander's own letters, the court Journals and earlier historians such as Aristobulus, Chares and Onesicritus.
Contents · 19 passages
- 1.1–3.5Birth of Alexander: the serpent beside Olympias and the burning of Artemis's temple at Ephesus980 words
- 4.1–8.4Alexander's boyhood: Lysippus' portraits, the horse Bucephalas and Aristotle at Mieza1916 words
- 9.1–13.3The murder of Philip, the destruction of Thebes and the courage of Timocleia1861 words
- 14.1–17.5Alexander, Diogenes, the Delphic prophetess and the battle of the Granicus1914 words
- 18.1–21.5The Gordian knot, the physician Philip's cup and the battle at the Pinarus (Issus)1891 words
- 22.1–25.5Alexander's self-control, the siege of Tyre and the capture of Gaza1829 words
- 26.1–30.7Alexandria, the oracle of Ammon and the death of Stateira2371 words
- 31.1–34.2The battle of Gaugamela and Alexander proclaimed king of Asia1892 words
- 35.1–38.4Babylonian naphtha, the treasure of Susa and the burning of the Persian palace1489 words
- 39.1–41.5Alexander's generosity and his rebuke of his luxurious friends1344 words
- 42.1–46.2The death of Dareius, the punishment of Bessus and the Amazon queen1374 words
- 47.1–49.8Roxana, the thirty thousand boys and the fall of Philotas and Parmenio1550 words
- 50.1–52.5Alexander kills Cleitus at the banquet and is consoled by Anaxarchus1301 words
- 53.1–56.1Callisthenes, the refusal of obeisance and the plot of Hermolaüs1134 words
- 57.1–59.4Crossing into India: the burned waggons, the oil of the Oxus and Taxiles1191 words
- 60.1–62.4Alexander and Porus at the Hydaspes, the death of Bucephalas and the Ganges1185 words
- 63.1–67.4The wound among the Malli, the Gymnosophists, Calanus and the march through Gedrosia1740 words
- 68.1–72.4Cyrus' tomb, Calanus' pyre, the Susa weddings and the death of Hephaestion1750 words
- 73.1–77.5Omens at Babylon and the death of Alexander1642 words
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English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1919). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 7, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1919 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
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