- Title
- Valerius Maximus and his presentation of Alexander the Great
- Creator
- Bellemore, Jane
- Relation
- East and West in the World Empire of Alexander: Essays in Honour of Brian Bosworth p. 299-316
- Relation
- https://global.oup.com/academic/product/east-and-west-in-the-world-empire-of-alexander-9780199693429
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- The work of Valerius Maximus, Dicta et Facta Memorabilia ('Memorable saying and actions'), comprises nearly one thousand anecdotes, on subjects both Roman (about two-thirds of the corpus) and non-Roman, grouped together to illustrate approximately one hundred themes, mainly philosophical. The corpus has been divided into nine books, each governed by an overall theme. Books One and Two as a whole contain material about religious matters (religio), but the examples in Book Two tend to focus on aspects of state religion, on Roman civic institutions, or to be military in nature (e.g. Roman triumphs). Book Three describes for the most part instances of personal courage (virtus), particularly that seen from an external viewpoint. Although Valerius recounts stories of brave generals, the majority of his examples of virtus focus on the young, both boys and girls. Book Four also contains anecdotes concerning the virtuous qualities of individuals, which in the main appear to be instances of self-control (e.g. abstinence), but early in the book these are illustrative of moderation (moderatio), and then later, of loyalty to family and country (pietas). Book Five continues this theme, that of piety (pietas), which comprises, for the most part, the good treatment of others (e.g. clemency). Book Six provides examples of the good and bad qualities of individuals and their treatment of others (e.g. severity), but the over-riding theme of this book seems to be justice (iustitia). Book Seven examines instances of 'success' (jelicitas), which Valerius shows often arose through cleverness, and, as part of this theme, Book Seven also contains examples of successful military stratagems (7.4). Book Eight contains anecdotes of varying theme, but these have a focus on either knowledge (scientia) or wisdom (sapientia). Book Nine, in contrast, points to individuals who exhibited mainly vices (vitia).
- Subject
- Valerius Maximus; Alexander the Great; Dicta et Facta Memorabilia; anecdotes; Rome
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1318530
- Identifier
- uon:23640
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780199693429
- Language
- eng
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