Quintus Curtius Rufus - Historical Value of His Work

Historical Value of His Work

W. W. Tarn slated him for his "complete lack of historical principle" - a view that John Yardley suggests has a lot to do with how Curtius discredited Alexander. Historical novelist Mary Renault, in the preface to her biography of Alexander "Fire from Heaven", discusses the various sources which she studied in preparation for her work, expressing considerable exasperation with Curtius who "had access to invaluable primary sources, now lost", which in her opinion he misunderstood and garbled.

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