From Introduction: Much of the commentary is historical and biographical in its emphasis. In making detailed reference to other accounts , I have tried to fill important gaps in Nepos' brief and (in places) abrupt account, to compare the picture of Alcibiades in his account with that of other accounts and to trace sources which he may have used important passages have been quoted in full so that verbal similarities can be seen. A striking feature of Nepos' work is his tendency to describe many non-Roman situations in Roman terms. This reflects not only his vagueness about details (a common fault in his writing), but also perhaps a desire to make his Lives more relevant to his reading public and thus more readable. From antiquity to the present day biography and history have tended to be distinguished from each other, and biography has had the greater popular appeal. Readability is perhaps the most abiding quality of Nepos' Lives and Alcibiades may be the most readable of them all. On the whole Nepos portrays him consistently, although of course he also emphasises the inconsistency which was such an important part of his nature. He has told the story simply, yet dramatically; many of the complicated details about Alcibiades are omitted, yet particular incidents are highlighted, notably the return to Athens and the assassination. Above all, from Nepos' Life there emerges the impression that Alcibiades was unique and worth writing about.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:3621 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Jackson, John Leonard |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, School of Languages |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | 229 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Jackson, John Leonard |
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