Ps-Callisthenes

This Romance started off as a pretty straight historical document about the life and deeds of Alexander the Great, written shortly after his death.

It didn't stay that way long; as the story diffused through the known world it soon began to pick up more fantastical elements - then more - and more. Different versions are found in different regions (see the Introduction to this edition for a readable overview of these matters) with different elements included and excluded. The tone varies according to the perspective of each author and various inconsistencies and repetitions exist.

The editor/translator tackles this in the following way; first it's the Greek Alexander Romance he's translating - material not found in Greek manuscripts is excluded. Second - it's more fun to include as much as possible, so he conflates the manuscripts. Third, where incidents are retold in a different sequence in some manuscripts, the alternative versions are put in an appendix with notes in the text as to where each would have appeared.

All of that seems to work out pretty well for a general reader rather than a scholar and the translation seems fine, too.

The tale itself is told with gusto and is great fun; the various fantastical episodes put me in mind of the Thousand and One Nights and are the primary attraction: If you want a serious book, choose something else, because this one has sorcerors, oracles, giants, Amazons, Centaurs and even naked philosophers (the latter being most likely real) to name just a few and not the daftest things you will encounter.

On the other hand, if you want to read it precisely because it is full of preposterous adventures, as I did, you will not be disappointed! The episode with the flying women is a favourite of mine.… (altro)