Consult the introductory sections in the course packet. They will explain context.

For chronology and glossary click on the link to the Alexander the Great Web site on the discussion section page.

For a map of Alexander's march east, consult the map of Alexander's campaigns on the map page (see menu).

You are reading excerpts from Plutarch's Life of Alexander. Plutarch was a biographer, not an historian. Thus, he has different interests from those of an historian. This means that he is not primarily concerned with chronologically accurate sequences in his subject's life, or even with searching for the most accurate representation of the individual and the events in which he was involved. Rather he is interested in depicting an individual's character and moral qualities. Thus, Plutarch is willing to tell a good story even if it may not be true, or describe events out of order, if doing so will help to illustrate the character of the individual about whom he is writing. Another problem is that Plutarch is writing over 400 years, in this case, after Alexander lived. He can, however, be extremely valuable, because he used sources, and often mentions them by name, which are now lost to us (e.g. you will notice that he mentions Aristobulus a lot, for whom, see http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_z1b.html#aristobulus). Some of his sources are individuals who travelled with Alexander, others are later writers. For sources he names, also consult the glossary in the web site in the links section of the discussion section page.

Alexander was a Macedonian. Greeks regarded Macedonians as barbarians, i.e. non-Greek. But the royal house of the Argeads traced their ancestry back to Argos through the mythical hero-god Heracles, and were brought up as Greeks culturally. Thus it is fascinating to look at Alexander as he marches thorough Asia to see whether he acts like a Greek aristocrat would toward barbarians, that is, consider them inferior, or whether he is receptive to foreign ways and culture. Think about this as you read.