Letters to Aristotle and DariusἘπιστολαὶ πρὸς Ἀριστοτέλην καὶ Δαρεῖον
Alexander the Great Letters Letters to Aristotle and Darius PDF
The Letters to Aristotle and Darius are pseudepigraphical epistles attributed to Alexander the Great, forming a significant component of the legendary Alexander Romance tradition. These literary creations, which developed in the centuries following Alexander’s death, are not authentic historical documents but rather dramatizations of his relationships, crafted for didactic and entertainment purposes. The Roman historian Plutarch attests to the wide circulation of such spurious correspondence in antiquity. The letters function to dramatize Alexander’s character as an ideal ruler, illustrate the cultural and military conflict with Persia through the exchange with Darius III, and explore the complex relationship between philosophy and power via correspondence with his tutor, Aristotle, often incorporating descriptions of Asian wonders. The texts are embedded within the manuscript tradition of the Greek Alexander Romance, pseudonymously attributed to Callisthenes, and its numerous translations. They survive fragmentarily across varying manuscript recensions, with no stable, independent version. This pseudepigraphical correspondence profoundly influenced medieval Alexander literature across Europe and the Middle East. It established Alexander as a literary letter-writer, shaped ethical concepts of kingship, and contributed significantly to the Western imagination of Asia through its vivid reports of marvels.
| 1 [5] | Ἀλέξανδρος Ἀριστοτέλει εὖ πράττειν. Οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἐποίησας ἐκδοὺς τοὺς ἀκροαματικοὺς τῶν λόγων. τίνι γὰρ ἔτι διοίσομεν ἡμεῖς τῶν ἄλλων, εἰ, καθ’ οὓς ἐπαιδεύθημεν λόγους, οὗτοι πάντων ἔσονται κοινοί; ἐγὼ δὲ βουλοίμην ἂν ταῖς περὶ τὰ ἄριστα ἐμπειρίαις ἢ ταῖς δυνάμεσι διαφέρειν. Ἔρρωσο. Δαρείῳ. |
| 2 [40] | Οἱ ὑμέτεροι πρόγονοι ἐλθόντες εἰς Μακεδονίαν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἄλλην Ἑλλάδα κακῶς ἐποίησαν ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν προηδικημένοι· ἐγὼ δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἡγεμὼν κατασταθεὶς καὶ τιμωρήσασθαι βουλόμενος Πέρσας διέβην εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν ὑπαρξάντων ὑμῶν. καὶ γὰρ Περινθίοις ἐβοηθήσατε, οἳ τὸν ἐμὸν πατέρα ἠδίκουν, καὶ εἰς Θρᾴκην, ἧς ἡμεῖς ἤρχομεν, δύναμιν ἔπεμψεν Ὦχος. τοῦ δὲ πατρὸς ἀποθανόντος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιβουλευσάντων, οὓς ὑμεῖς συνετάξατε, ὡς αὐτοὶ ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς πρὸς ἅπαντας ἐκομπάσατε, καὶ Ἄρσην ἀποκτείναντός σου μετὰ Βαγώου καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν κατασχόντος οὐ δικαίως οὐδὲ κατὰ τὸν Περσῶν νόμον, ἀλλὰ ἀδικοῦντος Πέρσας, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας γράμματα οὐκ ἐπιτήδεια πέμποντος, ὅπως πρός με πολεμῶσι, καὶ χρήματα ἀποστέλλοντος πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους καὶ ἄλλους τινὰς τῶν Ἑλλήνων, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων πόλεων οὐδεμιᾶς δεχομένης, Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ λαβόντων, καὶ τῶν παρὰ σοῦ πεμφθέντων τοὺς ἐμοὺς φίλους διαφθειράντων καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην, ἣν τοῖς Ἕλλησι κατεσκεύασα διαλύειν ἐπιχειρούντων ἐστράτευσα ἐπὶ σὲ ὑπάρξαντος σοῦ τῆς ἔχθρας. ἐπειδὴ δὲ μάχῃ νενίκηκα πρότερον μὲν τοὺς σοὺς στρατηγοὺς καὶ σατράπας, νῦν δὲ σὲ καὶ τὴν μετὰ σοῦ δύναμιν, καὶ τὴν χώραν ἔχω τῶν θεῶν μοι δόντων, ὅσοι τῶν μετὰ σοῦ παραταξαμένων μὴ ἐν τῇ μάχῃ ἀπέθανον, ἀλλὰ παρ’ ἐμὲ κατέφυγον, τούτων ἐπιμέλομαι καὶ οὐκ ἄκοντες παρ’ ἐμοί εἰσιν, ἀλλὰ αὐτοὶ ἑκόντες ξυστρατεύονται μετ’ ἐμοῦ. ὡς οὖν ἐμοῦ τῆς Ἀσίας ἁπάσης κυρίου ὄντος ἧκε πρὸς ἐμέ. εἰ δὲ φοβῇ μὴ ἐλθὼν πάθῃς τι ἐξ ἐμοῦ ἄχαρι, πέμπε τινὰς τῶν φίλων τὰ πιστὰ ληψομένους. ἐλθὼν δὲ πρός με τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τοὺς παῖδας καὶ εἰ ἄλλο τι ἐθέλεις αἴτει καὶ λάμβανε. ὅ τι γὰρ ἂν πείθῃς ἐμὲ ἔσται σοι. καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ ὅταν πέμπῃς, παρ’ ἐμὲ ὡς βασιλέα τῆς Ἀσίας πέμπε, μηδὲ ἃ βούλει ἐξ ἴσου ἐπίστελλε, ἀλλ’ ὡς κυρίῳ ὄντι πάντων τῶν σῶν φράζε εἴ του δέῃ· εἰ δὲ μή, ἐγὼ βουλεύσομαι περὶ σοῦ ὡς ἀδικοῦντος. εἰ δὲ ἀντιλέγεις περὶ τῆς βασιλείας, ὑπομείνας ἔτι ἀγώνισαι περὶ αὐτῆς καὶ μὴ φεῦγε, ὡς ἐγὼ ἐπὶ σὲ πορεύσομαι οὗ ἂν ᾖς. Βασιλεὺς Ἀλέξανδρος τοῖς ἐκ τῶν Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων φυγάσι. |
| 3 [5] | Τοῦ μὲν φεύγειν ὑμᾶς οὐχ ἡμεῖς αἴτιοι γεγόναμεν, τοῦ δὲ κατελθεῖν εἰς τὰς ἰδίας πατρίδας ἡμεῖς ἐσόμεθα, πλὴν τῶν ἐναγῶν. γεγράφαμεν δὲ Ἀντιπάτρῳ περὶ τούτων, ὅπως τὰς μὴ βουλομένας τῶν πόλεων κατάγειν ἀναγκάσῃ. |