Speaker
Mar 4, 2025: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Leyburn-Northen Auditorium
The Classics Department Presents:
The Herman Ward Taylor, Jr. Lecture
Alexander the Great: What new research tells us and why he still matters.
Alexander the Great lived over 2,300 years ago, but he still fascinates us. This talk examines his storied greatness, drawing on exciting new research and integrating diverse perspectives to show this larger-than-life figure as never before. It asks, in an age of ambitious, competitive, and brutally effective political leaders, what made him stand out? How can we reconstruct the untold stories of the people who made him what he was? And what makes this long-dead historical figure relevant for today’s world? What can we learn from his “successes,” but also his failures and mistakes? I offer a behind-the-scenes look at my research process, key discoveries, and writing journey — which, like Alexander’s, was not a heroic solo endeavor but instead a group effort, and particularly a partnership.