Alexander the Great: Myth, Genesis and Sexuality - Hardcover

Ogden, Daniel

3.82

17 ratings by Goodreads

9780859898379: Alexander the Great: Myth, Genesis and Sexuality

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0859898377 ISBN 13: 9780859898379

Publisher: Liverpool University Press, 2011

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What are ancient texts saying to us when they describe Alexander the Great's romantic relationship with his wife Barsine, or comment on his homosexual relationship with Hephaestion? What did it mean when the ancient writers told that Alexander had been sired by a thunderbolt or by a gigantic snake? What did it mean when they represented his mother Olympias as a witch? These questions and others are addressed in Alexander the Great: Myth and Sexuality. In this book, Daniel Ogden discusses the mythologizing of procreation and sex in the ancient traditions surrounding Alexander. From the author's Introduction: 'A quick review of [...] chapter titles will suggest that the first half [...] answers the title's promise of 'myth' and the second half that of 'sexuality', but in fact the entire volume is devoted to what may be termed 'myth' of one sort or another. Its central and unifying subject is the mythologizing of procreation and sex in the traditions surrounding the figure of Alexander the Great: accor

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About the Author:

Daniel Ogden is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Exeter. He has published substantially on the ancient world; his previous books include 'Greek Bastardy in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods' (OUP, 1996), 'The Crooked Kings of Ancient Greece' (Duckworth, 1997), 'Greek and Roman Necromancy' (Princeton University Press, 2001), 'Magic, Witchcraft and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: a Sourcebook' (OUP USA, 2002), 'A Companion to Greek Religion' (edited, Blackwell, 2007).

Review:

"... will repay the attention of a readership far broader than the community of Alexander and Hellenistic scholars to which it is obviously directed."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Odgen's work is quite impressive. It certainly requires a gifted mind to sift through numerous contradictory myths and make them all coherent. He has certainly risen to the task and succeeded to a large degree. As a result, this book is highly recommended."--Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin

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