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Revisiting the Roman Alexander*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2015

Kathryn Welch  and
Hannah Mitchell
Hannah Mitchell
Affiliation:
The University of St Andrews, hkm8@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Abstract

Green (1978) overturned the standard view of Romans' desire to compare themselves with Alexander the Great. He especially criticised the too-credulous acceptance of Caesar's ‘Alexander complex’. Gruen (1998) and Martin (1998) extended Green's arguments to include Pompeius. This paper argues that in attempting to redress the balance Green, Gruen and Martin go too far. Alexander was a powerful icon in first-century BC Rome but the desire to be compared to him grew out of specific, not general, considerations. In the case of Pompeius and Caesar, emulation of Alexander was as much about competition between themselves as it was about any third party.

Type
Research Article
Information
Antichthon , Volume 47: Thematic Issue: Culture, Identity and Politics in the Ancient Mediterranean World , 2013 , pp. 80 - 100
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for Classical Studies 2013

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Footnotes

*

We embarked on this joint venture after we discovered that we had independently come to a similar view by different routes. We would like to thank Erich Gruen for his gracious engagement with the paper at the conference in his honour and after it. Other scholars and friends also assisted us to refine the argument and to eliminate errors, among them Alastair Blanshard, Kai Brodersen, Bob Cowan, Jill Harries, Kit Morrell, Andrew Pettinger, Anton Powell, Paul Roche, Andrew Stiles, Martin Stone and Richard Westall. We particularly thank Paul Burton and the anonymous readers of Antichthon for their helpful and searching critiques. All errors and infelicities remain our own.

Translations have been adapted from the following editions: H. Rackham, Pliny: Natural History, Volume II: Books 3–7 (Cambridge MA 1942); D.R. Shackleton Bailey, Cicero: Letters to Atticus (Cambridge 1966) vol. 5; F.W. Shipley, Velleius Paterculus: Compendium of Roman History. Res Gestae Divi Augusti (Cambridge MA 1924); N.H. Watts, Cicero Pro Archia. Post Reditum in Senatu. Post Reditum ad Quirites. De Domo Sua. De Haruspicum Responsis. In Pisonem. Pro Scauro. Pro Fonteio. Pro Rabirio Postumo. Pro Marcello. Pro Ligario. Pro Rege Deiotaro (Cambridge MA 1931).

References

1 Gruen, E.S. ‘Rome and the Myth of Alexander’, in Hillard, T.W.et al. (eds), Ancient History in a Modern University (Grand Rapids MI 1998) 1.178-91Google Scholar. Important studies of Alexander-imitatio in Rome include Tarn, W.W., ‘Alexander Helios and the Golden Age’, JRS 22 (1932) 135-60Google Scholar; DeWitt, N.J., ‘Caesar and the Alexander Legend’, CW 36 (1942) 51-3Google Scholar; Weinstock, S., ‘Victor and bvictus’, HThR 50 (1957) 211-47Google Scholar; Michel, D., Alexander als Vorbild für Pompeius, Caesar md Marcus Antonius (Bruxelles 1967)Google Scholar; id., Divus Julius (Oxford 1971); Weippert, O., Alexander-Imitatio und römische Politik in republik-anischer Zeit (Augsburg 1972)Google Scholar; Richardson, J.S., ‘Review: Weippert, Alexander-Imitatio und römische Politik in republikanischer Zeit’, JRS 64 (1974) 238Google Scholar; Meier, C., Caesar, trans. McLintock, D. (London 1996) 141Google Scholar; Spencer, D., The Roman Alexander: Reading a Cultural Myth (Exeter 2002)Google Scholar; Kühnen, A., Die Imitatio Alexandri in der römischen Politik 1. Jh. v.Chr.– 3. Jh. n.Chr. (Münster 2008)Google Scholar; Spencer, , ‘Roman Alexanders: Epistemology and Identity’, in Heckel, W. and Tritle, L.A. (eds), Alexander the Great: A New History (Maiden MA 2009) 251-74Google Scholar.

2 Gruen, , ‘Myth of Alexander’ (n. 1 ) 191Google Scholar.

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5 Ibid. 2.

6 Ibid. 4-6; Gruen, , ‘Myth of Alexander’ (n. 1) 187Google Scholar. Green makes his low opinion of Pompeius and his appearance very clear in other works: e.g. Alexander to Actium (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London 1990) 578, 658-9Google Scholar.

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21 Spencer, , The Roman Alexander (n. 1) 123Google Scholar. See also Gruen, , ‘Review: Spencer, The Roman Alexander’, IHR 25 (2003) 639-41Google Scholar. Gruen, , ‘Myth of Alexander’ (n. 1) 183, 184, 186Google Scholar, skirts around the reference but does not deal with its central importance. Martin, , ‘imitatio Alexandri’ (n. 7) 42Google Scholar, states that Pompeius was following Roman, not Alexandrian, precedents in using Theophanes as an attendant historian, which is true. However, Cicero's oratorical point rests on a known association, not the exact precedent or even reason for Theophanes’ presence in Pompeius’ camp. Cicero also demonstrates that contemporary Romans associated the cognomen Magnus with Alexander and that Cicero could play with it in a forensic setting without too much explanation. For an analysis of how the structure of Arch. 24 reinforces the comparison and its rhetorical effect, see Gotoff, H.C., Cicero's Elegant Style: an Analysis of the Pro Archia (Chicago IL 1979) 190-5Google Scholar.

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26 Pompeius' three triumphs over three continents were well advertised in his day. See e.g. Faustus' representation (RRC 426.3Google Scholar), along with Dio's description of his seal-ring (42.18.3); cf. Plut, . Pomp. 80.5Google Scholar. Cicero referred to the phenomenon (e.g. Div. 2.9.22Google Scholar). Other references include Prop. 3.11.35; Luc. 8.813-15, 553, 9.177-8, 599-600; Plin, . NH 2.6.13Google Scholar; Plut, . Pomp. 40, 45Google Scholar; Martial 5.74. For a complete list, see Deutsch, M.E., ‘Pompey's Three Triumphs’, CPh 19 (1924) 277-9Google Scholar, and for descriptions of the placards, see Ostenberg, , Staging the World (n. 18) 280-90Google Scholar.

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29 Att. 2.17[37].3; 5.11[104].3; 7.7[130].3; 9.1[167].3; Strabo 13.2.3; Plut, . Pomp. 42.4Google Scholar; Cic. 38.4Google Scholar; Welch, K., “The Office aipraefectus fabrum in the Late Republic’, Chiron 25 (1995) 131-45, at 140-2Google Scholar.

30 Green, , ‘Caesar and Alexander’ (n. 3) 4–6Google Scholar, makes a similar point, but his low opinion of Pompeius and failure to realise his continued popularity leads him to underestimate the task Caesar faced in the post-Pharsalus period. On this issue, see Westall, R., ‘The Forum Iulium as Representation of Imperator Caesar’, Römische Mitteilungen 103 (1996) 83–118Google Scholar.

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43 Green, , ‘Caesar and Alexander’ (n. 3) 14Google Scholar. Even the Gades story, if, as we suspect but cannot prove, it was created by Lucius Cornelius Balbus, would probably have gained currency after Caesar's death, not during his hfetime.

44 Ibid. 14. As part of the same dismissal of Caesar's Alexandrine ambitions, Green suggests that none of the evidence for Caesar wanting to establish a Hellenistic monarchy with Cleopatra should be taken seriously because of the trouble that rumours of the same desire caused Antonius a decade later. It should be pointed out that Caesar aroused such hatred that he was assassinated. The evidence should be given more weight than Green allows.

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49 Townend, ‘Oppius on Julius Caesar’ (n. 27).

50 Geizer, M., Caesar: Politician and Statesman, trans. Needham, P. (Oxford 1968) 251Google Scholar, argued that Hirtius was probably the author of the work, as has, more recently, Hall, L.G.H., ‘Hirtius and the Bellum Alexandrinum’, CQ 46 (1996) 411-15CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Our own view is that, while Hirtius might have intended to undertake the task, and might even have prepared to do so, he would have had little opportunity to do so. If he did not, then Oppius was seen as an obvious candidate to take his place.

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55 Barnes, T.D., “The First Emperor: The View of Late Antiquity’, in Griffin, (ed.) Companion to Julius Caesar (n. 31) 283-4Google Scholar, notes that Alexander, not Caesar, is still the default comparand for the late antique period.