The role of Alexander the Great in Livy’s historiography

Ligeti, Dávid Ádám (2008) The role of Alexander the Great in Livy’s historiography. Acta Antiqua, 48 (1-2). pp. 247-251. ISSN 0044-5975

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Abstract

In spite of the main goal of the annalistic narration of Livy, the description of the history of Rome, Alexander the Great has an important role in the Ab Urbe condita . In this way, Livy composed the first known counterfactual episode of European historiography (IX 17–19). Moreover, Livy compared the courage, knowledge and the fortune of the Macedonian and the Roman military commanders, and the opposing forces. Livy presents Alexander with his bad traits, therefore the historiographer denies the divinity of the Macedonian king. Livy opposes the few Greeks, who rejected the order of Augustus, and hated the princeps himself.

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