“The Depiction of Alexander the Great in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita.” (original) (raw)

This study investigated a few examples of Livy’s depiction of Alexander in relation to Rome and the narrative of his history. Livy addresses the impact and importance of Alexander in a diverse fashion, sometimes with flattery and other times with insult. His respect for Alexander is palpable. Yet his criticisms can be vicious. The subject of Livy’s history and his own fascination with Alexander lends itself to such inconsistency. The conflicts between Rome and the Hellenistic states created after Alexander’s death, during the late third and second centuries B.C.E., are at the center of Livy’s work. These aspects undoubtedly had an effect on his portrayal of Alexander and offer us a unique perspective on the relationship created by the Romans between Rome and the great Macedonian. This study hopes to illustrate that because of a major part of Livy’s history, namely the rise of Rome to Mediterranean dominance, and because of the political atmosphere in which Livy was writing, namely the complete submission of the Mediterranean basin under Augustan Rome, Livy, despite his generally positive opinion of Alexander, ultimately created scenarios where he portrayed the Romans as superior to the Macedonian king. Louisiana State University HGSA Annual Graduate History Conference, March 2012.