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An afternoon with Giustina MontiSaturday 16th November 2024, 1:15-4:30pm.
Location: Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln - Robert Hardy Building - Room 4.
Members £15.00, Student members £8.00, non members £17.00.
For more information on booking tickets please visit: https://aemes.co.uk/event/39/An-Afternoon-with-Giustina-Monti
- Lecture 1: Greetings from Siwah: Alexander's letter to Olympias.
- Lecture 2: Alexander the Great - Alexander's letters and Achaemenid Persia.
Afternoon programme:
13:15 - Welcome & introduction
13:30– Greetings from Siwah: Alexander's letter to Olympias
14:30 –Questions, refreshments, raffle and break
15:00- Alexander the Great ... King: Alexander's letters and Achaemenid Persia
16:00 – Questions, raffle results
16:30 – Close
Greetings from Siwah: Alexander's letter to Olympias -
In the Life of Alexander 27.8, Plutarch preserves a letter, widely regarded as authentic, that Alexander sent to his mother concerning his journey to Siwah and the reception of certain secret responses from the oracle, which he intended to disclose to her alone upon his return. The talk will provide fresh insights into Alexander’s visit, suggesting that the encounter with the priest of Ammon held significant political importance. We shall see that the ‘secret responses’ were, in fact, astute guidance on adopting a successful eastern policy, indicating that Alexander's primary objective in visiting Siwah was to seek expert counsel on how to manage affairs in the East.
Alexander the Great: Alexander's letters and Achaemenid Persia -
Upon his arrival in Asia, Alexander immediately began writing letters, suggesting that this practice was a customary Eastern habit, likely adopted from Persian traditions along with various other customs. These letters are notably diverse in nature, encompassing correspondence with individuals such as Antipater, his mother, and his friends, rather than being strictly diplomatic. The talk will focus on several letters Alexander wrote to his friends, from which a key concept relevant to the study of Alexander's history emerges: the notion of Achaemenid kingship. This concept, which Alexander embraced after assuming the title of Great King, is reflected not only in the ideological frameworks he adopted but also in his entire persona, extending even to his private life.
About the speaker:
Giustina Monti is Senior Lecturer in Classical Studies (Greek Culture) at the University of Lincoln. Her main research interests lie in Greek Historiography, and she has published articles on Alexander the Great, Herodotus, and Polybius. She is the author of Alexander the Great. Letters: a Selection (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2023), and the co-editor (with K. Scarlett Kingsley and Tim Rood) of The Authoritative Historian: Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Historiography (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022)
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Bishop Grosseteste University, Bishop Grosseteste University, Longdales Road,Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
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