Aelian's VH

[ancientlibrary]

There are four passages in Aelian's VH that
bear on Alexander's death: 3.32 - A version of
the last days/journal narrative in Plutarch, but
shorter; 7.8 - Alexander's grief over
Hephaestion, with indication that some of the
commemorations he ordered were done for him
instead; 12.64 - The narrative about Alexander's
body, which starts with him dead; 13.30 -
Olympias bemoans Alexander's unburied state..If anyone has those passages in electronic
form, it would be fair use to post them. (I know
someone on this board does...) .Does anyone know what the scholarly
consensus is about the Alexander-stories in
Aelian. Concentrating on the ones in which
Alexander is the major figure--some stories
might have been "attached" to other figures--is it
possible they all come from one source, eg.,
Cleitarchus?

[ancientlibrary]

Sorry, that was a reply to the Murder in Babylon
thread. That's the second time I've hit the wrong
button. Sorry guys...

[susan]

Passages from Aelian3.23 ...The following behaviour of Alexander was not good. On the fifth of the month of Dius he was drinking with Eumaeus, they say; then on the sixth he slept because of the amount he had drunk. During that day he was conscious only long enough to get up and discuss with his generals the following dayGÇÖs march, saying that it would start early. On the seventh he banqueted with Perdiccas and drank again; on the eight he slept. On the fifteenth of the same month he drank once more, and on the following day did what he would normally do after a party. He had dinner on the twenty-seventh with Bagoas GÇô the distance from the palace to BagoasGÇÖ house was ten stades GÇô and on the twenty-eighth he slept. One of two alternatives follows: either Alexander damaged himself with wine by drinking so often within the month, or the authors of these stories are telling lies. From them one can infer that such writers, who include Eumenes of Cardia, tell similar tales on other occasions.
Book 7.8 When Hephaestion died Alexander threw armour on to his pyre, and melted down with the corpse gold, silver, and clothing much prized by the Persians. He cut off his own hair, a gesture in the Homeric manner, in imitation of the poetGÇÖs Achilles. But Alexander was more violent and hotheaded than Achilles: he destroyed the acropolis at Ecbatana and knocked down its walls. As far as his hair is concerned, I think he acted in accordance with Greek custom; but when he pulled down the walls, that was a barbaric expression of grief by Alexander. He changed his dress and allowed himself to be completely controlled by anger, love, and tears. Note that Hephaestion died at Ecbatana. A story circulates that these ceremonies, while planned for Hephaestion, were carried out for Alexander on his death, because mourning for the young man was not yet completed when death overtook Alexander. More in next post ...

[susan]

Book 12.64 Alexander, son of Philip and Olympias, lay dead in Babylon GÇô the man who said he was the son of Zeus. While his followers argued about the succession he lay waiting for burial, which even the very poor achieve, since the nature common to all mankind requires a funeral for those no longer living. But he was left unburied for thirty days, until Aristander of Telmissus, whether by divine inspiration or for some other reason, entered the Macedonian assembly and said that of all kings in recorded history Alexander was the most fortunate, both in his life and in his death; the gods had told him that the land which received his body, the earlier habitation of his soul, would enjoy the greatest good fortune and be unconquered through the ages. On hearing this they began to quarrel seriously, each man wishing to carry off the prize to his own kingdom, so as to have a relic guaranteeing safety and permanence for his realm. But Ptolemy, if we are to believe the story, stole the body and hurriedly made off with it to Alexandria in Egypt. The other Macedonians did nothing, whereas Perdiccas tried to give chase. He was no so much interested in consideration for Alexander and due respect for his body as fired and incited by ArtistanderGÇÖs prediction. When he caught up with Ptolemy there was quite a violent struggle over the corpses, in some ways akin to the one over the phantom at Troy, which Homer (Iliad 5.449) celebrates in his tale, where Apollo puts it down among the heroes to protect Aeneas. Ptolemy checked PerdiccasGÇÖ attack. He made a likeness of Alexander clad in royal robes and a shroud of enviable quality. Then he laid it on one of the Persian carriages, and arranged the bier sumptuously with silver, gold, and ivory. AlexanderGÇÖs real body was sent ahead without fuss and formality by a secret and little used route. Perdiccas found the imitation corpse with the elaborate carriage, and halted his advance, thinking he had laid hands on the prize. Too late he realized he had been deceived; it was not possible to go in pursuit. Book 13.30 When AlexanderGÇÖs mother Olympias learned that her son lay unburied for a long time, she groaned deeply and cried in a high-pitched voice: GÇ£My child,GÇ¥ she said, GÇÿyou wanted to reach heaven and made it your aim, but now you do not enjoy even what are surely common rights shared by all men, the right to earth and to burial.GÇ¥ Thus she lamented her own fate and criticised her sonGÇÖs arrogance.
Susan

[Taphoi]

It is probably worth noting that Aelian VH 3.23 is almost certainly not "A version of the last days/journal narrative in Plutarch". One of Bosworth's great contributions to Alexander studies is to have shown fairly convincingly that this passage relates instead to the run-up to Hephaistion's death in October-November 324BC. Prior to Bosworth it was believed that this passage related to Alexander's last days, so you may still find this claim in some books. Best wishes, Andrew

[ancientlibrary]

That's interesting. I said that off-the-cuff based
on rough contents. Do you have a referece for
that argument?

[Taphoi]

Bosworth discusses Aelian VH 3.23 in "From Arrian to Alexander", Oxford 1988, pp. 170-172. Best wishes, Andrew