Reading for Emperors.

[dean]

Hello,
I was just reading the comment about Julius Caesar- saying how he wept on how he'd done nothing worthy of future glory at such an advanced age- while Alexander ruled the world in his twenties.Caesar wouldn't have been able to go to W H Smiths to pick up the latest Penguin revised edition of Arrian in paperback, or even Curtius for that matter...So I was just wondering how exactlyy did Alexander's feats reach Rome-, were there copies of Ptolemies writings available for example? J.Caesar was a man of letters; a writer, and surely a reader too. So I was just wondering what would have been "his" reading material regarding Alexander- (and not only his but Trajan's and Nero's amongst others.)Best regards,
Dean.

[amyntoros]

Hi Dean,ItGÇÖs likely that Caesar and the later emperors you mentioned all had easy access to the original sources as well as to Diodorus (and Curtius for those emperors after Claudius or Vespasian). During CaesarGÇÖs time, Cicero, writing to his brother Quintus, makes mention of reading a work by Callisthenes. He didnGÇÖt think too much of him, by the way. (The reference numbers are from Perseus.) Cicero. CXXXIV (Q FR 2.II [13]) TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN THE COUNTRY) GÇ£Accordingly, I return to Callisthenes and Philistus, in whom I see that you have been wallowing. Callisthenes is a commonplace and hackneyed piece of business, like a good many Greeks.GÇ¥ :-)Plutarch, who died sometime early in HadrianGÇÖs reign, quotes from a great many sources and letters that were still extant. And Arrian, probably writing even later, obviously had access to Ptolemy and the others. I imagine that the libraries of the emperors (who cared about such things) were even more complete.Best regards,Amyntoros

[marcus]

Indeed. The Romans were great Hellenophiles ... to the point where they couldn't bear to leave so many great artworks in the hands of the Greeks, who obviously wouldn't take care of them, so they carted them off to Rome ... but the love of all things Greek meant also that they brought back all the Greek literature. Many Romans also went to the East to study - Rhodes was a popular university island (I believe Cicero went there for a time, but I could be wrong about that). And it can't be said that Alexander *hadn't* made enough of a mark over there, and after Rome had defeated Alexander's people at Cynocephalae, I am sure they were gagging to read of his exploits and to point out how Rome was best.ATBMarcus

[tino]

The Romans were indeed quite versed in Hellenistic culture. Out of the early emperors Augustus main tutor was a Greek, Tiberius spent many years at the aforementioned Rhodes, Nero granted Greece it's freedom and competed in the Olympics (a farce of course). Of the later emperor's some like Marcus Aurelius composed their famous work in Greek (the Meditations) and of course Julian the Apostate spent most of his life in the Greek 'East'. Interestingly, the famous 'Et tu Brute' that Caesar uttered was said by Seutonius to be said in Greek...

[marcus]

Yes, I'd forgotten that Tiberius spent time on Rhodes, too.Good point about Marcus Aurelius - it was the "intellectual" thing to do, to write one's work in Greek (post-Augustan Age, before which they wanted to write in Latin because of their nationalist/imperial notions - couldn't be seen writing in the language of the people they had conquered, after all).ATBMarcusPS: Good point about Caesar - I'd completely forgotten that. Cheers

[dean]

Hello,Yes it is true- that Marcus Aurelius wrote his meditations in Greek- excellent point.Interesting comment about Augustus, supposedly he was a patron of letters;- and the arts did flourish under his reign. Was it not under his reign that two Latin masterpieces came into existence- Ovid's Metamorphosis(which I want to disect a bit for info on Troy when I get chance.) and of course, Virgil's Aeneid.Best regards,
Dean.