Caesar and the Bellum Alexandrinum

An Analysis of Style, Narrative Technique, and the Reception of Greek Historiography
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-3-525-25300-7
Verlag: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Buch, Englisch, Band Band 192, 372 Seiten, mit 2 Karten und 27 Tab., Format (B × H): 160 mm x 237 mm, Gewicht: 754 g

Reihe: Hypomnemata

The book is the first monograph on the Bellum Alexandrinum for 80 years. It demonstrates that the Bellum Alexandrinum is heterogeneous with regard to its style, narrative technique, and the density and quality of the historical information. This suggests that the work is a conglutination of accounts by a number of different authors. The first section is likely to go back to Julius Caesar himself. The analysis sheds new light on the composition of the Corpus Caesarianum, the war of words preceding and following Caesar’s assassination, and the development of Roman historiography in the first century B.C.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hausburg, Bianca C.

Gaertner, Jan Felix

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Historiographie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Lateinische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Geschichte der klassischen Antike
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Rezeption, literarische Einflüsse und Beziehungen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Abbreviations and other conventions

1. Introduction

2. The Bellum Alexandrinum and the Corpus Caesarianum
2.1. The composition and publication of the Bellum Gallicum and Bellum Civile
2.2. The evidence of Suetonius’ Vita Divi Iulii and the Epistula ad Balbum (a) Suetonius’ Vita Divi Iulii (b) The Epistula ad Balbum

3. Language and style of the Bellum Alexandrinum
3.1. The Bellum Alexandrinum and the language and style of Hirt. Gal. 8
3.2. The hypothesis of the anonymous dilettante
3.3. The analytical approach of Landgraf, Zingerle, Dahms, and Pötter
3.4. Objections to the analytical approach (a) Un-Caesarian or Hirtian usages (b) Linguistic features attested in B.Alex. 1–21 and B.Alex. 22–78 (c) An alternative explanation of the Caesarian iuncturae in B.Alex. 1–21 (d) Objections concerning the contents of the Bellum Alexandrinum
3.5. New evidence for the heterogeneous character of the Bellum Alexandrinum (a) Usages which are absent from B.Alex. 1–21, but frequent in B.Alex. 22–78 (b) Usages which are common in B.Alex. 1–21, but absent from B.Alex. 22–78 (c) Relative clauses and connective relatives (d) Sentence-initial ablatives abolute (e) Sentence-initial verbs (f) Connective adverbs and particles (g) Adversative and disjunctive conjunctions (h) Copulative conjunctions (i) Subordinating conjunctions
3.6. Conclusion

4. Literary technique and historiographical method
4.1. The density and quality of the historical information (a) The events in Lower Egypt (B.Alex. 1–33) (b) The events in Asia Minor, Illyricum, and Spain (B.Alex. 34–78)
4.2. The presentation and evaluation of the historical events (a) Political and ethical vocabulary (b) The representation of Caesar and the Caesarians (c) The representation of Caesar’s enemies (d) The representation of Caesar’s generals and allies
4.3. Concepts of historical change: human and divine agency
4.4. The temporal perspective
4.5. The Bellum Alexandrinum and earlier historiography (a) Caesarian diction and Thucydidean motifs in B.Alex. 13–16 (b) Further Thucydidean elements in B.Alex. 1–21 and 22–78 (c) The Bellum Alexandrinum and the ?Thucydidean fashion’ of the 50s and 40s B.C. (d) The account of Euphranor’s death (B.Alex. 25) (e) The influence of Hellenistic historiography (f) The influence of earlier Roman historiography (g) Consequences for the composition, aims, and target audience of B.Alex. 22–78

5. The publication of the Bellum Alexandrinum and its historical context
5.1. The book division after Civ. 3.112 and its political significance
5.2. The Bellum Alexandrinum and three pieces of biographical information
5.3. The political context and function of the Corpus Caesarianum

6. Conclusion

Appendices
Appendix A: The authorship and authenticity of the Epistula ad Balbum and Gal. 8
Appendix B: hostis, inimicus and the date of composition of the Bellum Civile
Appendix C: The book division between Civ. 1 and Civ. 2
Appendix D: The chronology of the events in the two Hispaniae, Africa, and at Massilia
Introduction to appendices E to J
Appendix E: The vocabulary of Hirt. Gal. 8 and the Bellum Alexandrinum 1. Expressions attested in the Bellum Alexandrinum, but not in the Caesarian commentarii or Hirt. Gal. 8 2. Expressions attested in the Bellum Alexandrinum and the Caesarian commentarii, but not in Hirt. Gal. 8 3. Expressions attested in the Bellum Alexandrinum and Hirt. Gal. 8, but not in the Caesarian commentarii 4. Words attested several times in Hirt. Gal. 8, but absent from the Bellum Alexandrinum
Appendix F: The distribution of hapax legomena in the Caesarian commentarii
Appendix G: Significant expressions that occur several times in B.Alex. 1–78 1. Expressions that are attested in B.Alex. 1–21 and 22–78 2. Expressions that occur several times in B.Alex. 22–78, but are absent from B.Alex. 1–21
Appendix H: Significant collocations shared by the Bellum Alexandrinum and Hirt. Gal. 8
Appendix I: Significant parallels between the Bellum Alexandrinum and the Caesarian commentarii
1. Significant parallels between the Caesarian commentarii and B.Alex. 1–21
2. Significant parallels between the Caesarian commentarii and B.Alex. 22–78
Appendix J: Expressions wrongly classified as Hirtian or un-Caesarian in the past 1. Expressions that are paralleled in the Caesarian commentarii 2. Expressions that can be compared to similar collocations in the Caesarian commentarii
Appendix K: Pronouns and connectives in the Caesarian commentarii, the Bellum Alexandrinum, and Hirt. Gal. 8 1. Relative and demonstrative pronouns 2. Copulative conjunctions and enim/nam 3. at, autem, sed, tamen, vero 4. praeterea, ita, itaque, sic, and interim 5. post(ea)quam, cum (+ subj.), and ut (temporale)
Appendix L: Political value-terms and expressions pointing to emotions
Appendix M: Maps

Bibliography
Indices
General Index
Greek Index
Latin Index
Index of Passages

Über Autor(innen)

Gaertner, Jan Felix
Prof. Dr. Jan Felix Gaertner ist Professor für Klassische Philologie mit Schwerpunkt Lateinische Philologie an der Universität zu Köln.