ROMAN VIEWS OF ALEXANDER; D. Spencer: The Roman Alexander. Reading a Cultural Myth. Pp. xxvi + 277, maps, ills. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2002. Paper, £15.99. ISBN: 0-85989-678-1 (0-85989-677-3 hbk)

• Published in: The Classical Review Vol. 54; no. 1; p. 116
• Main Author: Baynham, Elizabeth
• Format: Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.04.2004
• Subjects: Alexander the Great (356-323 BC)
• ISSN: 0009-840X; 1464-3561

116 magical properties of the god. Since Apuleius distinguishes between two kinds of magic and seems to adhere to the Platonic-theological version of it, he is guiltless in his own eyes. S.s book essentially combines two objectives: on the one hand, analysis of selected passages across a range of Latin writers and literary genres from the third century .. to the second century .., and on the other, explanation of Alexanders charisma through the centuries and his overall power as an intellectual example. [...]the preoccupation with power and its prevalence in many other ideological issues is probably the most pervasive theme in the selections. After Pliny and Pacatus come two speeches delivered by two famous Gallic orators of the fourth century outside Gaul, those given by Mamertinus before Julian in Constantinople on 1 January 362, and by Nazarius in praise of Constantine and his sons Crispus and Constantinus in Rome in March 321, and the collection concludes with a speech The Classical Review vol. 54 no. 1 The Classical Association 2004; all rights reserved