ALEXANDER THE GREAT: CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORAL TRADITION OF INTERPRETATION

This research discusses the contributions to the oral tradition of interpretation of Alexander the Great. Alexander's role in the Hellenization of peoples beyond the borders of ancient Greece is recognized. The spread of Grecian values and culture owed much to the oral tradition of interpretation. Alexander was especially effective in the promotion of Hellenization because of his abilities as a persuasive speaker. Much of Alexander's effectiveness as an orator stemmed from the teaching he received from Aristotle. These several themes are discussed in this research.

Ancient Athenian politicians used the courts of law, assemblies, and theaters in much the same way as modern politicians use radio and television to interpret values and events and to persuade people to accept those interpretations. Oratorical skills are essential in this approach to interpretation. Oral interpretation is in effect oral presentation. In this context, the effectiveness of interpretation is enhanced by the presence of the speaker and by the ability of the speaker to involve her or his body in the presentation. Whether the body responds to emotion or whether emotions respond to the body is not relevant within the context of oral interpretation because one cannot exist without the other. Alexander was a master at the use of his body in conjunction with his orator

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n of some magnitude." Aristotle said, "tragedy is an imitation . . . of action, life, happiness, and unhappiness . . . . The events and the plot are the end of tragedy, and the end is the most important thing of all." Alexander employed these concepts in his exhortations to his soldiers and to the people in the lands that he ruled. Aristotle also said in his discussion of tragedy that the poet or performer should seek action that involves people among whom there are "ties of affection, as when a brother kills or means to kill or to do some other such thing to his brother, or a son does this to his father." Alexander used story lines to great effect in his oratory. Another important element of tragedy, according to Aristotle, is the "dramatic" rather than the "narrative" form. The characters or narrator cannot merely tell the story, but the story must be presented in action, in dynamic character relationships, in plot advancement, in dramatized events. Alexander was a master of this form of oratory. Aristotle stated that in order for a wellmade tragedy to arouse any fear or pity in us, the presenter must devise a story about the man who is in the middle ground. That is to say, not of the good man moving from good
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Approximate Word count = 1665
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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