Detailed Information
AE-JN111 - Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, and his exploits is one of the most well-known stories to survive from antiquity. Due to the repeated retelling of Alexander’s story, and Alexander’s own mythologizing of his adventures, the lines between the history of his military campaign and his legend have become blurred. Was Alexander the son of Zeus, did he really sleep with an Amazonian queen, was he a ruthless tyrant, or a brilliant military strategist? Throughout this course, we will trace Alexander’s story from his beginnings as a prince of a warlord king, to the head of the largest empire in the known world.
The course will begin by asking what we know about the historical figure of Alexander, and where he came from. In doing so, we will learn that his father, Philip II was an ambitious king, and successful politician/general, who left Alexander the beginnings of the empire, which he would then use to invade Persia. Alexander’s campaign with his army of Macedonian and Greek troops would conquer territories in Greece, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and journey to the border of India. By the time Alexander died in Babylon, in 323 BC, at the age of 32, he sat at the head of a vast empire. In addition to following a historical narrative of Alexander’s exploits, we will unpick what we know about the man, and ask was he a drunkard who flew into rages, was he a philosopher-king or was he an ambitious adventurer who cried when there were no more lands to conquer? At the end of this course, students will be able to trace the historical exploits of Alexander and have a better understanding of the man, and his legend.
Belfield
10 Tuesdays 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Sept 26, Oct 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Nov 7, 14, 21, 28
- Ancient historians’ and biographers’ narratives of Alexander and his exploits.
- The military campaign to conquer Persia.
- Question Alexander’s ultimate plans for social integration throughout his empire
- The political/social importance of Alexander’s myth.
- Analyse the significance of Alexander’s exploits.
- Recognise key historical moments in Alexander’s life.
- Discuss historical developments based on the textual evidence.
- Engage with key topics concerning Alexander’s life and career.
- P. Cartledge, Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past (The Overlook Press, 2004)
- J. Romm, Alexander the Great: Selections from Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius (Hackett, 2005)
With research interests in the power-relations and competing elites of the ancient world, Aideen Carty has a PhD in Classics from UCD. Her published works include the book Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos (2015), and, most recently, her contribution on the topic of international arbitration in Archaic Greece was published in Peace and Reconciliation in the Classical World, edited by E.P. Moloney and M.S. Williams (2017). She has won awards such as a doctoral scholarship from the Irish Research Council, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Freie Universitaet Berlin, cofunded by the EU's Marie Curie programme and the German Excellence Initiative. Trained in task-based learning and communicative methods of teaching, Aideen guarantees a lively and stimulating class. Participants are kept busy and engaged, with material that is carefully tailored to their level of experience.