The Alexander Tale

p Among the most widely read translated works was the tale of the life and exploits of that famed ancient military leader Alexander of Macedon (known to Western readers as Alexander the Great—TV.) The Alexander Talc was evidently composed soon after its hero’s death (323 B.C.) on the basis of written sources and oral legends of his exploits. In ancient times it was ascribed to Callisthenes, a pupil of Aristotle. But Callisthenes died before Alexander and subsequently this oldest redaction came to be known as the “ Pseudocallesthenian" edition. In the fifth century the Alexander Tale was known in By/antium and in the West, where it was translated into Latin. It was translated into Old Russian in the eleventh or twelfth centuries. This Byzantine chivalric novel was seen in Old Rus as a purely historical talc of the life and deeds of a historical figure.

p Alexander, the protagonist, is depicted as a man extraordinary in all respects. Born as a result of the sorcery of Egyptian Pharaoh Nectanebus, he also has a rather unusual appearance: a lion’s mane (symbolising valour), a snake’s sharp teeth (symbolising wisdom) and one eye turned down, while the other looked to the side. Due to his great physical strength Alexander wins at an Olympic contest, a race on the chariots, over Nicholas, King of Arkania; he also conquers a horse with the head of an ox, a “man-eater”, takes part in many battles and defeats Porus, King of India, in single combat. His quick wits, self-possession and resourcefulness are evident in his struggle with Darius the Great of Persia. Alexander also could sympathise with the grief 137 of his fellows.

p While he proves himself to be a bold, fearless emissary to Darius, he is also capable of magnanimity to his defeated enemies. We see an interesting side of his character in his relations with Darius’ satraps. The latter treacherously wound their sovereign in hopes of winning Alexander’s mercy. Alexander, however, orders that the disloyal servants who have betrayed their ruler be executed.

p Alexander is not only hungry for glory and adventure, but longs to see foreign lands. To satisfy his curiosity he journies to the land of the Rachmans— wisemen with whom he has a philosophical discussion about the meaning of life. The tale constantly asserts the superiority of Hellenic culture to that of barbarian peoples.

p In the tale Alexander’s image is Christianised; he comes to Jerusalem, pays his respect to the patriarch and acknowledges his faith in the One, Invisible God. At the sanctuary of Lusa the hero attempts to gain entrance to Heaven but, upon hearing a voice forbidding this, refrains from carrying out this bold idea.

p The Alexander Tale is composed of a series of episodes describing various events and military exploits in the hero’s life, as well as his travels to foreign lands. The narrator, however, subordinates his material to a religious, moralistic purpose: the demonstration of the vanity of earthly life. Thus the dying Darius tells Alexander not to be seduced by the enticements of victory and good fortune. The Rachmans also speak of the vanity of life. Much of the tale is devoted to descriptions of the numerous battles in which Alexander fought; these are depicted in accordance with the traditions of the military tale.

p The Alexander Tale combines the traditions of the military tale and those of the “journey”. One rather unusual stylistic feature is the inclusion of letters exchanged by Alexander and Darius, Olympiada, Roxana, Porus and Candacia, Queen of the Amazons.

Its descriptions of distant lands, miracles and heroes made the tale beloved by Old Russian readers. As early as the thirteenth century a second Russian redaction 138 appeared supplemented with new descriptions of miracles and extended moralistic passages. In the fifteenth century the so-called “Serbian redaction" appeared which was distinguished from earlier editions by a heavily rhetorical style and a greater emphasis on Christian morality. Thus did the Russian translation of the Alexander Tale stray further and further from the original as it was adapted to the needs of the times.

The Deeds of Digenis

p This translated tale centres around a courageous Christian warrior, the defender of his country’s borders. It has survived in three copies from the eighteenth century (the miscellany of the Yaroslav Monastery of the Saviour, also containing The Lay of Igor’s Host, was destroyed by the fire of 1812—thus a fourth copy from the sixteenth century has been lost to us). Apparently it was translated into Russian directly from the Greek in the eleventh or twelfth centuries.   [138•1 

p The translation is a fairly free rendering of a tenth century Greek narrative poem relating the exploits of Basil Digenis, transformed in our tale to the handsome Devgeny. Many facts of Byzantine history were eliminated in the process of translation, and the depiction of the hero’s loves was substantially altered. The Russian translator turned a Byzantine love novel into a heroic military tale of the struggle between Christian and pagan. At the same time he was attentive to fairy tale elements.

p The Deeds of Digenis is composed of two independent tales. The first tells of Digenis’ parents. His father, Amir, King of Arabia, abducted his Greek mother. Her brothers force Amir to become a Christian and marry her. The second tale describes Digenis’ adventures. The name itself means “born of two" and refers to his Greek and Saracen parentage.

p Digenis is described as a handsome youth: “His face 139 was like snow, and his cheeks bright as poppies; his hair was golden and his eyes as large as cups. He was awesome to gaze upon.”

p Young Digenis’ courage and strength was depicted in the hyperbolic manner of Russian bylinas. One characteristic folk motif found in the tale is the battle against a snake, here four-headed. Like Russian bogatyr Ilya Muromets, Digenis does not anticipate dying in battle, but fearlessly conquers thousands of foes, leaping rivers and boldly engaging in single-handed combat, and outwitting King Filipat and his Amazon daughter Maximiana who wanted to catch handsome Digenis “like a rabbit in a snare”. Digenis wins a bride in a way characteristic of Russian folk tales: he marries the beautiful Stratigovna after sustaining a victory over her father and brothers.

p At the same time Digenis is a pious Christian hero: all his triumphs are attributed to his faith in the power of God.

The style of the tale is a complex combination of oral folk elements and literary traditions. Russian readers were attracted to the heroic image of Digenis and his exciting adventures, all the most so since he was close to images of bogatyrs in bylinas.

Josephus Flavius’ History of
the Jewish War

p In the eleventh and twelfth centuries Hebrew historian Joseph Flavius’ account of the Jewish War was translated as the Tale of the Destruction of Jerusalem. It encompassed a fairly broad range of events from 167 B.C. to 72 A.D.

p Central to the narrative was the dramatic description of the Jewish revolt against the Roman legions. Among the most vivid scenes are the sieges of Jotapata and Jerusalem.

p Scholars have shown that the Old Russian translators freely adapted the Greek original or at best retold it in abbreviated form; at times they added their own supplements.

Another interesting feature of this tale is the use of 140 traditional formulas of military tales, not present in the Greek originals, but corresponding to those found in Old Russian literature, including The Lay of Igor’s Host. Old Russian readers no doubt enjoyed the glimpse of history and colourful descriptions of battles.