The Nature of Alexander [Paperback]

Mary Renault (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1979

The acclaimed biography of Alexander the Great.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; First Edition edition (November 12, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039473825X
• ISBN-13: 978-0394738253
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Alexander the Great
  • #6 in Books > History > Europe > Macedonia
  • #94 in Books > History > Ancient > Greece

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid, well-balanced biography, February 17, 2004

By 

JLind555 - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Nature of Alexander (Paperback)

Mary Renault is best known for her historical fiction, and she is clearly fascinated by Alexander, who was without a doubt the most towering figure of ancient times. Renault scrupulously researched the texts as background for her novels, and the same scholarship is evident in this excellent bio. Starting with the legends that grew up around him in his own lifetime and continue down to this day, Renault explores Alexander not only as a king and a general, but as a man, a figure at once simple and complex, for whom the words doubt and failure simply didn't exist. She takes us through his childhood with his battling parents (what a horror his controlling mother Olympias must have been), his mother's possible role in the murder of Philip, and Alexander's subsequent accession to the throne of Macedon and his campaign to liberate the Greek city-states of Asia from Persian domination. Interestingly, as Renault shows us, Alexander didn't set out to Asia to conquer the known world; it was when he saw the quality of the opposition that he realized he could do a much better job of being Great King than the current title holder.

Renault based most of her biography on Arrian, whose scrupulously level-headed account of Alexander's life and achievements was based on the writings of Ptolemy, who knew Alexander intimately as a friend, a general, and possibly as his half-brother (Philip's philanderings were notorious and Olympias' reaction can be only too easily conjectured). However, whereas Arrian's pro-western bias shows through when he repeatedly refers to the Persians as "foreigners", although it was the Macedonians and their allies who were invading a foreign continent, Renault is free of any such insularity. Where other biographers have excoriated Alexander for "Persianizing", Renault points out that adopting Persian customs was one way of making an alien king seem less foreign to them. (To be fair to Arrian, he himself attributed this honorable motive to Alexander.) Alexander did not share his soldiers' contempt for Persians, both as conquered subjects and as "aliens"; he was clearly drawn to their dignity, their pride in themselves, and their civilized ways which made the Macedonians seem like so many boors. Renault explores in detail some of the more controversial chapters of Alexander's life and reign, such as the murder of Parmenion which followed on the heels of the treachery and execution of his son Philotas (Parmenion's obligation to seek revenge for his son's execution would have splintered the Macedonian army); the killing of the Macedonian general Kleitos in a drunken rage (Renault makes no bones about stating factually that Alexander got drastically drunk on a few occasions, although she stops short of repeating other biographer's accusations that he was an alcoholic), and the torture and execution of the Royal Squires whose plot to kill him as he slept came unraveled when one of them got cold feet. She shows us that manners and morals were not in Alexander's time what they are in ours, and that Alexander must be judged by the times in which he lived.

As difficult as Alexander must have been at times, his army adored him, and his high command stuck with him to the day of his death. Exactly how he died is still in dispute, and Renault explores this at some length. We know from the historical record that the Macedonian regent's son, Cassander, loathed Alexander and the feeling was abundantly mutual, and the specter of possible poisoning has never been dissipated. On the other hand, Renault tells us Alexander deliberately ignored a dangerous illness, and in fact, did everything against his physician's advice to make it worse. As attached as he had been to Hephaistion, Renault suggests that Hephaistion's death some months previously might have sent Alexander over the edge, and like a candle burning at both ends, Alexander simply burnt himself out.

Readers who like factually detailed biographies packed with charts and footnotes should look elsewhere; Renault's biography is notably short on both. Her book is more a character study than a history; we are looking at who Alexander was, not just what he did. Comparing this book to her historical novels about Alexander is comparing apples to oranges, but Renault's genius at bring history to life in her fiction shows through here as well. She sweeps us up into a vivid and turbulent time, and makes us feel how exhilarating it must have been to be a part of Alexander's world.

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alexander revisited, January 20, 2004

By 

Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Nature of Alexander (Paperback)

Last October, I read and reviewed Peter Green's biography of Alexander the Great, ALEXANDER OF MACEDON, 356-323 B.C., to which I gave five stars. It was subsequently suggested to me that Green's book was a "hatchet job", and that I should read Mary Renault's THE NATURE OF ALEXANDER for a more balanced view.

Renault's volume is very readable. In factual substance, it seems to my unscholarly eyes to be pretty much the same as Green's. I certainly didn't learn significantly more about Alexander from the former than the latter, though that portion of Renault's narrative concerning Alexander's death was fleshed out a bit more. Renault, however, strikes me as a much more sympathetic biographer. Whether this adds more truth to her version is, and will remain, indeterminable by me.

In balance, I think I would choose and recommend Green's biography for the simple reason that he includes over a dozen route maps and battle plans that help the reader put Alexander's accomplishments in better perspective. Renault provides none at all, and the absence of such is a significant omission, in my opinion. Alexander led his Macedonians from the north of Greece to the western border of the Indian subcontinent - the edge of his known world - and almost all the way back again. Twenty-five thousand miles in eleven years! It isn't until you see this plotted on a map of the region that the remarkable accomplishment can be appreciated.

THE NATURE OF ALEXANDER reinforced my opinion that Alexander was the greatest military commander of all time and the most charismatic and successful leader of men who's ever lived. At one point, just prior to marching homeward from India, Alexander was gravely wounded by an arrow that penetrated his lung. The rumor spread through the army that he was dead, and he felt it necessary to show himself. Renault quotes Nearchus:

"... he ordered a horse to be fetched him. And when he mounted it ... the whole army clapped their hands repeatedly, and the banks and the river glades threw back the sound. (Near his tent he dismounted), so that the army could see him walking. They all ran to him from every side, some touching his hands, some his knees, some his clothing ..."

What an experience it must have been to march to the ends of the earth with such a King!

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best explanation on Alexander The Great's character, October 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nature of Alexander (Paperback)

How does one begin to understand the nature of one of the most famous figures in world history? What is the reason for the enduring fame of this western conquerer in Asia and the rest of the world? Who is Alexander The Great? Read Mary Renault's The Nature Of Alexander. Mary Renault does more to explain Alexander and the reasons for what he did in her book than all the scholars in their academic works. And she does it very entertainingly too. You'd think you're reading another of her historical romances but this one is true. Anyone who is remotely interested in ancient Greece and Alexander in particular should make this a must-read item in their booklist. This book also comes with a brief chronology of Macedonian kings. The opening chapter of this book is unforgetabble -- it tells of Alexander's death and of how his body was moved to Eygpt. Ms Renault's eye for historical details transports you to the place so much so you feel you're witnessing the incidents yourself. Her canny reading of Alexander's character makes you beleive the often held belief that Ms Renault had somehow transcended time and managed to get in touch with his spirit. Simply brilliant!