ΠΡΟΣΚΛΗΣΗ

Ο Τομέας Κλασικής Φιλολογίας, σε συνεργασία με το ΠΜΣ Κλασικής Φιλολογίας «Δέξιππος»,

σας προσκαλεί στη διάλεξη της

ΚυρίαςChiaraDiSerio(Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου), 

που θα πραγματοποιηθεί την Παρασκευή 5 Δεκεμβρίου 2025, ώρα 13.30,

στην αίθουσα 209του κτηρίου της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής

με θέμα:

       «Alexander the Great’s Epistolary Tradition: Between Historiography and Literary Fiction».

   Η παρουσία σας θα μας τιμήσει.

Η Διευθύντρια του Τομέα Κλασικής Φιλολογίας

Σοφία Γεωργακοπούλου, Καθηγήτρια Λατινικής Φιλολογίας

Συντονισμός

Αικατερίνη Κορολή                                                             Βάιος Βαϊόπουλος

Περίληψη

Chiara Di Serio (ΠανεπιστήμιοΚύπρου): “Alexander the Great’s Epistolary Tradition: Between Historiography and Literary Fiction”

This presentation draws on the tradition of letters attributed to Alexander the Great in Graeco-Roman literature, including, in particular, Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, Arrian, Curtius Rufus and Justin. The analysis also considers the letters preserved in the Alexander Romance. Although fictitious, these texts nevertheless constitute a significant corpus that may be fruitfully compared with the authentic material.

The first part of the study addresses the substantial tradition concerning the exchange of letters between Alexander and his mother, Olympias. Alexander is said to write to her, for instance, to relay prophecies regarding his return to Macedonia, to report what he learned from an Egyptian priest, or to request from her the trousseau of the mother and wife of the Persian king Darius III, intended as a gift for Darius’ daughter, his future bride. In most of her letters to Alexander, Olympias urges him to be wary of those around him.

The second part of the contribution examines Alexander’s letters to his mother and to his tutor Aristotle as transmitted in the various recensions of the Alexander Romance. These are the so-called “letters of wonders”, which recount Alexander’s journey to the furthest regions of Asia, distinguished by extraordinary natural phenomena, marvellous creatures and legendary peoples.