Alexander the Great

It has been said about Alexander the Great (b. 356–d. 323 bce) that his name marked the end of an old world epoch and the beginning of a new one. Alexander’s empire that stretched from the Danube to India indeed ushered in the Hellenistic age, when Greek culture expanded and merged with Asian and African cultures in the territories he conquered and even beyond. While Alexander’s military record has gained him lasting fame, views of his character, his treatment of compatriots and subjects, and even the merits of his accomplishments have varied greatly since Antiquity. The...

It has been said about Alexander the Great (b. 356–d. 323 bce) that his name marked the end of an old world epoch and the beginning of a new one. Alexander’s empire that stretched from the Danube to India indeed ushered in the Hellenistic age, when Greek culture expanded and merged with Asian and African cultures in the territories he conquered and even beyond. While Alexander’s military record has gained him lasting fame, views of his character, his treatment of compatriots and subjects, and even the merits of his accomplishments have varied greatly since Antiquity. The continuing interest in Alexander has produced numerous works of scholarship and fiction that this bibliography does not presume to cover. Instead, preference is given to recent scholarly works, in which older studies are cited, as well as to works deemed influential, innovating, or useful, although the decision about their significance is bound to be controversial. The bibliography is arranged by topics, with less consideration to the chronology of the campaign. It also does not include works on ancient Macedonia and the Achaemenid Empire. All dates in this entry are bce unless noted otherwise. Lists of common abbreviations of authors and works used by scholars can be found in the Oxford classical dictionary or the bibliographical journal L’Année Philologique.