How long has Alexander been Great?

[blech]

Hey evberybody, this is my first time ever visiting this site. I am writing an essay on Alexander the Great and forming an opinion on not whether he was great, but why he is called great. I am looking into diffent authors such as Arrian, Callisthenes, PLutarch, Ptolemy etc etc... But i seem to have a shortage of material to find. Does anyone know where ther is a website where some primary sources can be found, or even commentary on them. And also, does anyone know when the first instance of Alexander being called 'great' was? That would really help me.
Thanks alot!!!Daveemail me at ibanez_guy@hotmail.com

[marcus]

Hi Dave,Welcome to Pothos. First of all, the earliest reference to him as "the Great" is a Roman one, 150 years or so after Alexander's death (actually, I don't know exactly how long after, off the top of my head). To be honest, the was no need to give him an epithet for a long time - merely saying "Alexander" was sufficient!You won't find much in the way of primary sources - although there are some inscriptions, they won't really help you answer your question. All the extant ancient histories/biographies were written long after his death. Depending on how much time you have, you would need to read Arrian, Curtius and Plutarch (at least), and it would be helpful to read Diodorus (Book 17) and Justin (Books 11 and 12) also. But I suspect that you don't really have the required time. So the best thing to do is to find two or three good modern books, many of which have summing-up chapters - Peter Green, Robin Lane Fox, NGL Hammond; and, for a different view, Ian Worthington.Even better would be to read a short but good biography first (Richard Stoneman has written an excellent one) and to make your own mind up based on what you learn about his career, then support it with what you read in those other authors.ATBMarcus

[amyntoros]

Hi Dave,I can't add anything to Marcus' recommendations, but incase you donGÇÖt have easy access to all the books I thought I'd let you know that Susan Holmes has a website with some of the primary sources. (Susan, I have more than one link to your site. Which one do you prefer people use?)http://websfor.org/alexander/home/home.aspPlutarch's Life of Alexander can be found on the web at:http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/R ... htmlMarcus was very close in dating the epithet, Alexander the Great. (Not bad for off the top of your head, Marcus. IGÇÖve always been poor at remembering dates!) It was first used in a play by Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254-184 B.C.) He started writing plays in 209 B.C. so you have a 25-year approximation for the date. The line from the play (nothing exciting) can be found at:http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/7282/70.htmlBest regards,Amyntoros