Aristobulus of Kassandreia
Aristobulus von Kassandreia (German also Aristobulus ; * first half of the 4th century BC; † after 301 BC) was an ancient Greek historian .
Aristobulus' place of birth is unknown; later he lived in Kassandreia . He was probably Hetairos (companion) of Philip II and took part in the campaign of Alexander the Great as a technician. So he was commissioned by Alexander to restore the tomb of the Persian king Cyrus II in Pasargadae .
On the basis of his own notes and memories as well as earlier Alexander historians ( Kallisthenes ), he allegedly did not begin to write a story of Alexander until the age of 84, which was used by Strabon and Arrian . The work has not survived, but over 60 fragments have survived as quotations from later authors. Accordingly, Aristobulus was interested in geographical, botanical and ethnographic subjects.
Aristobulus is used by Arrian in his Alexander story as an important source (although Arrian mainly followed the work of Ptolemy I ), but this does not mean that his historical work was critical and objective. Rather, he saw Alexander very positively overall. So he denies that the king drank a lot. He also seems to have picked up some more popular narratives, especially since he had not witnessed all of the events himself. Nevertheless, the fragments also contain critical remarks about Alexander, whose thirst for conquest was insatiable.
expenditure
- Frances Pownall: Aristobulus of Kassandreia (139). In: Brill's New Jacoby (text with English translation, commentary and research discussion).
literature
- Peter A. Brunt: Notes on Aristobulus of Cassandria . In: The Classical Quarterly . No. 24, 1974, pp. 65-69.
- Klaus Meister : The Greek historiography. From the beginning to the end of Hellenism . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-17-010264-8 , p. 116 ff.
- Eduard Schwartz : Aristobulus 14 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 911-918.
Remarks
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Aristobulus of Kassandreia |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Aristobulus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | between 400 BC BC and 350 BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 301 BC Chr. |