FYS 1176 - Alexander on the Road

Credits: 4.00
Alexander the Great has received a lot of attention in the last decade partly because new perspectives have come to light from nonwestern sources (Egyptian, Persian, Babylonian, for example) and partly because his invasions of Iran and central Asia as far as India are relevant to western involvement in those areas today. The class will examine important historical and archaeological evidence to identify major themes in the current studies of Alexander. Topics will include Alexander’s youth in Macedonia, Macedonian royal women, Alexander’s friendships and sex life, his military leadership and the logistics of his army, the eastern cultures that he met, the cities that he founded, the new world era that he inspired, and his growth to mythical status. Later views of Alexander will be taken from the Alexander Romance and other sources as disparate as Napoleon’s biography and Oliver Stone’s recent film, Alexander.
McDaniel Plan: First-Year Seminar, International Western, Textual Analysis