Friendship, glory, and common death

The Nisus and Euryalus theme in Curtius Rufus’ Historiae Alexandri Magni

Bibliographic Data

ID21370311
AuthorsAndreas Ammann (0009-0002-4409-7580, LMU München , Abteilung für Griechische und Lateinische Philologie , Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 , München Germany 9183 LMU, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume169
Issue1
Pages90-108
Publication date2025-07-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilologus (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-7985 • E-ISSN: 2196-7008
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/phil-2024-0019
OpenAlexW4411059381
LanguageEN
References cited21

Curtius Rufus’ History of Alexander contains three episodes, absent from all other ancient texts on the Macedonian king, that are clearly modelled on Virgil’s famous story of Nisus and Euryalus. This paper considers these passages in relation to the Virgilian model, as well as to one another, and argues that they are more than mere literary embellishment of the historical narrative: they serve as a device for the author to indirectly criticise the king’s increasingly reckless behaviour by showing the detrimental effect it has on his subjects – even if the king himself, protected by his perpetual good luck, always escapes unscathed. Moreover, this paper explores how the depiction of the corrupting influence of Alexander’s felix temeritas (“fortunate rashness”) is utilised by Curtius to present his own pessimistic reading of the story of Nisus and Euryalus

Art · Biology · Curtius rearrangement · Friendship · Glory · Theme (computing) · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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