Lucius Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor (Ancient Greek:Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Πολυΐστωρ; flourished in the first half of the 1st century BC; also calledAlexander of Miletus) was aGreek scholar who was enslaved by theRomans during theMithridatic War and taken toRome as a tutor. After his release, he continued to live inItaly as a Roman citizen. He was so productive as a writer that he earned the surnamePolyhistor (very learned). The majority of his writings are now lost, but the fragments that remain shed valuable light on antiquarian and eastern Mediterranean subjects.[1]Among his works were historical and geographical accounts of nearly all the countries of the ancient world, and the bookUpon the Jews (Ancient Greek:Περὶ Ἰουδαίων) which excerpted many works which might otherwise be unknown.
TheSuda is the main source of information about Alexander's life.[2] He was born inMiletus,Asia Minor, between 110 and 105 BC and educated byCrates of Mallus inPergamon, before being captured in theMithridatic War and brought to Rome as a slave.[2] He was owned by a Cornelius Lentulus, and became histutor.[3] Alexander was subsequently freed, and givenRoman citizenship bySulla in 81 BC.[2] He taughtHyginus, and according to the Suda wrote books "beyond number".[2] Sometime after 40 BC he died in a fire at Laurentum.[2]
The 10th-centurySuda makes no attempt to list his works, asserting that he composed books "beyond number."[4]
Alexander's most important treatise consisted of forty-two books of historical and geographical accounts of nearly all the countries of the ancient world. These included five booksOn Rome, theAigyptiaca (at least three books),On Bithynia,On the Euxine Sea,On Illyria,Indica and aChaldæan History. Another notable work is about the Jews: this reproduces in paraphrase relevant excerpts from Jewish writers, of whom nothing otherwise would be known (see below). As a philosopher, Alexander wroteSuccessions of Philosophers, mentioned several times byDiogenes Laërtius in hisLives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers.[5] None of Alexander's works survive as such: only quotations and paraphrases are to be found, largely in the works of Diogenes Laertius.Eusebius extracted a large portion in hisChaldean Chronicle.[6]
One of Alexander's students wasGaius Julius Hyginus, Latin author, scholar and friend ofOvid, who was appointed byAugustus to be superintendent of the Palatine library. From what Laërtius describes or paraphrases in his work, Alexander recorded various thoughts on contradictions, fate, life, soul and its parts, perfect figures, and different curiosities, such as advice not to eat beans.
Louis Ginzberg wrote of Alexander's work: “Although these excerpts reveal their author as nothing but a compiler without taste or judgment, and bereft of all literary ability, they possess, even in their meagerness, a certain value.” In his compilation Jewish and non-Jewish sources are cited indiscriminately side by side; and to Alexander, therefore, the world is indebted for information on the oldest Jewish,Hellenic, and Samaritan elaboration ofBiblical history in prose or poetry. The epic poetPhilo, the tragic writerEzekiel, the historianEupolemus, the chroniclerDemetrius, the so-calledArtapanus, the historianAristeas, andTheodotus the Samaritan, as well as an unnamed fellow countryman of the latter often confused with Eupolemus, therhetoricianApollonius Molon (an anti-Jewish writer)—all of these authors are known to posterity only through extracts from their works which Alexander embodied verbatim in his. Of some interest for the ancient history of the Jews is his account ofAssyria-Babylonia, frequently drawn upon by Jewish and Christian authors; in it extracts are given, especially fromBerossus, and also from theChronicles of Apollodoros and theThird Book of the Sibyllines.Josephus made use of the work,[7] and likewise Eusebius in hisChronicles. Probably only Alexander's account of theFlood is taken from Berossus, who is confirmed by the newest Assyrian discoveries, while his account of theConfusion of Tongues is probably ofJewish-Hellenic origin. Another work of his seems to have contained considerable information concerning the Jews. What Eusebius quotes[8] would seem to have been taken from this work, which is no longer extant, except indirectly through Josephus. It may be noted that Alexander twice mentions theBible, which, however, he knew only superficially, as appears from his curious statement that theLaw of the Jews was given to them by a woman namedMoso, and thatJudea received its name fromJudah andIdumea, children ofSemiramis.
The text of the fragments preserved is in very unsatisfactory shape, owing to insufficient collation of the manuscripts. How much of his originals Alexander himself omitted is difficult to say, in view of the corrupt state of the text of Eusebius, where most of his fragments are to be found.Abydenus—theChristian editor of Alexander's works—evidently had a different text before him from that which Eusebius possessed.
Text of the fragmentsΠερὶ Ἰουδαίων is to be found in Eusebius,Praeparatio Evangelica, ix. 17;Clemens Alexandrinus,Stromata i. 21, 130, andMüller,Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, iii. 211–230; prose extracts, from a new collation of the manuscripts, in Freudenthal, “Alexander Polyhistor,” pp. 219–236.
 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Ginzburg, Louis (1901–1906)."Alexander of Miletus". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.citing:| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
