Plutarch's Lives: Alexander the Great

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/2/2025, 10:02:40 PM

Added description

Description

Plutarch's Lives: Alexander the Great

Overview

This archived item is a digital text comprising excerpts from Plutarch’s Lives, specifically the biography of Alexander the Great. The material is in ancient Greek (grc), is in the public domain, and originates from the PINAX repository. It is formatted as a series of pages (227–273) that collectively present key episodes from Alexander’s life, from his birth to his death.

Background

Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE) wrote the Parallel Lives in the early 2nd century CE, pairing Greek and Roman figures. His account of Alexander is one of the most detailed surviving biographies of the Macedonian king. The archive is held by the Alexander Institute and was digitized for scholarly use; the original manuscript’s creation date is not recorded in the metadata.

Contents

The text covers Alexander’s early upbringing, his marriage to Roxana, major military campaigns, and significant encounters. Notable events highlighted include:
  • The marriage of Olympias to Philip II and the subsequent dynastic implications.
  • Dreams and prophecies (Olympias, Philip, Aristander Telmessus).
  • Battles of Granicus and Thebes, and the death of Cleitus the Black.
  • Consultations with the Oracle of Delphi, a meeting with Diogenes of Sinope, and a letter to Aristotle.
  • Commissioning of statues by Lysippus and the inscription ordered by Alexander.

The accompanying metadata lists key figures (Philip II, Olympias, Perdiccas, Parmenios, Cleitus, etc.), places (Macedonia, Greece, Persia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Babylon, India), and thematic subjects (military history, classical literature, biography).

Scope

The collection spans the period from Alexander’s birth in 356 BC to his death in 323 BC, covering his campaigns across the Persian Empire, Asia Minor, Egypt, and India. Geographically, it includes Macedonia, Greece, Persia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Babylon, and India. The focus is strictly on the narrative provided by Plutarch; it does not include later historical analyses or other biographical traditions.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@plutarch_lives_alexander:document {creator: @plutarch, language: "grc", subjects: ["Alexander the Great","Ancient Greece","Ancient Rome","Biography","Historical Biography","Military History","Ancient Persia","Classical Literature"]}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @plutarch_lives_alexander:document {title: "Plutarch's Lives: Alexander the Great"}

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_227 -> contains -> @marriage_olympias_philip:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_229 -> contains -> @dream_olympias:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_231 -> contains -> @seal_dream_philip:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_233 -> contains -> @prophecy_aristander:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_235 -> contains -> @battle_granicus:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_237 -> contains -> @battle_thebes:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_239 -> contains -> @death_cleitus:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_241 -> contains -> @oracle_delphi:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_243 -> contains -> @meeting_diogenes:event

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_245 -> contains -> @letter_to_aristotle:document

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_247 -> contains -> @inscription:event

@marriage_olympias_philip:event {description: "Olympias married Philip II of Macedon", participants: [@olympias, @philip]}

@dream_olympias:event {description: "Olympias dreamed that a thunder‑bolt fell upon her womb", participants: [@olympias]}

@seal_dream_philip:event {description: "Philip dreamed of placing a seal, shaped like a lion, on his wife's womb", participants: [@philip]}

@prophecy_aristander:event {description: "Aristander of Telmessus foretold that Olympias was pregnant with a bold, lion‑like son", seer: @aristander_telmessus, subject: @alexander_great}

@battle_granicus:event {description: "Battle of the Granicus River", when: @date_334_BC, location: @granicus, combatants: [@alexander_great, @philip]}

@battle_thebes:event {description: "Alexander’s assault on Thebes", when: @date_335_BC, location: @thebes, combatants: [@alexander_great]}

@death_cleitus:event {description: "Cleitus the Black was slain by Alexander during a drunken quarrel", victim: @cleitus, perpetrator: @alexander_great}

@oracle_delphi:event {description: "Delphi oracle addressed to Alexander", location: @delphi, recipient: @alexander_great}

@meeting_diogenes:event {description: "Alexander met Diogenes of Sinope at Corinth", location: @corinth, participants: [@alexander_great, @diogenes_sinope]}

@letter_to_aristotle:document {author: @alexander_great, addressee: @aristotle, content: "Letter concerning philosophical matters"}

@inscription:document {commissioned_by: @alexander_great, text: "Alexander son of Philip and all Greeks except the Lacedaemonians from the Barbarians who dwell in Asia", destination: @mother: @olympias}

@aristander_telmessus:person {role: "seer", origin: @telmessus}

@telmessus:place {region: @greece}

@aristobulus:person {role: "historian"}

@leonidas:person {role: "foster‑father, tutor"}

@lysimachus:person {role: "tutor"}

@perdiccas:person {role: "general"}

@parmenios:person {role: "general"}

@cleitus:person {epithet: "Black Cleitus"}

@theagenes:person {role: "Thracian leader"}

@theodectas:person {role: "citizen of Phaselis"}

@lysippus:person {role: "sculptor"}

@granicus:place {region: @asia_minor}

@thebes:place {region: @greece}

@delphi:place {region: @greece}

@corinth:place {region: @greece}

@greece:place {country: @united_kingdom}

@asia_minor:place {country: @united_kingdom}

@philip:person {full_name: "Philip II of Macedon"}

@olympias:person {full_name: "Olympias"}

@alexander_great:person {full_name: "Alexander III of Macedon", epithet: "the Great"}

@plutarch:person {full_name: "Plutarch"}

@diogenes_sinope:person {full_name: "Diogenes of Sinope"}

@mother:person {reference: @olympias}

@date_334_BC:date_334_BC

@date_335_BC:date_335_BC

@alexander_great -> mother -> @olympias

@alexander_great -> father -> @philip

@olympias -> married to -> @philip

@aristander_telmessus -> predicted -> @alexander_great {nature: "bold, lion‑like"}

@aristobulus -> recorded -> @battle_granicus

@leonidas -> foster‑father of -> @alexander_great

@lysimachus -> tutor of -> @alexander_great

@perdiccas -> commanded -> @alexander_great

@parmenios -> commanded -> @alexander_great

@cleitus -> killed -> @alexander_great {context: "drunken quarrel"}

@theagenes -> led -> @thracian_forces:organization

@theodectas -> honored by -> @alexander_great {event: @statue_theodectas:event}

@alexander_great -> commissioned -> @statues_by_lysippus:document {artist: @lysippus}

@statues_by_lysippus:document {type: "sculpture", subject: "Alexander"}

@alexander_great -> wrote -> @letter_to_aristotle:document

@alexander_great -> ordered -> @inscription:document

@alexander_great -> consulted -> @oracle_delphi:event

@alexander_great -> met -> @diogenes_sinope:event

@alexander_great -> fought at -> @battle_granicus:event

@alexander_great -> fought at -> @battle_thebes:event

Metadata

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/2/2025, 10:02:40 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/2/2025, 9:58:53 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/2/2025, 9:54:49 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/2/2025, 9:53:52 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Plutarch_Lives_Alexander"

Additional Components (24)

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plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_227.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_229.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_231.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_233.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_235.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_237.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_239.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_241.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_243.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_245.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_247.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_249.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_251.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_253.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_255.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_257.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_259.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_261.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_263.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_265.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_267.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_269.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_271.txt
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_273.txt

Parent

01KBGGN0F5CQA57H09GFW7EB7N

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