rogueclassicist ~ davidmeadowsJan 30, 2023
How Oliver Stone Took Alexander From Terrible to Great
https://www.cbr.com/oliver-stone-alexander-movie-bad-to-good/
Show threadDavid TaylorJan 30, 2023
@rogueclassicist
Who first started appending "the Great" to names? I'm guessing it was a Greek talking about Cyrus.
Show threadPeter Gainsford
@dahata @rogueclassicist Antiochus III, in fact -- he assumed the title himself, and that probably served as the model for later figures (plus also some retroactive retitlings, as of Alexander).
Jan 30, 2023 at 10:35pmWeb
Show threadDavid TaylorJan 30, 2023
@KiwiHellenist @rogueclassicist
Thanks, so Britannica got it backwards?
"Antiochus now adopted the ancient Achaemenid title of “great king,” and the Greeks, comparing him to Alexander the Great, surnamed him also “the Great.”
Show threadPeter GainsfordJan 30, 2023

@dahata @rogueclassicist Yes -- there's no connection between Alexander and the title 'Great' until at least Plautus, and probably not until Plutarch. (And even there, they're not necessarily using 'great' as a title.)

There is an article on this somewhere that I'll try to hunt down ...

Show threadDavid TaylorJan 31, 2023
@KiwiHellenist @rogueclassicist
I found this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_known_as_the_Great
It must have been a thing when Sulla, however sincerely, called Pompey "Magnus", but the Romans apparently didn't make it a habit.
List of people known as the Great - Wikipedia