Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

THE TRAVELS OF THE ALEXANDER STORY. XIX
leg-ends of his deeds and travels sprang up; it is
most natural to assume that these were written
down for popular use in Greek. During the rule
of the Ptolemies in Egypt literature flourished in
an extraordinary manner, and the pursuit of know-
ledge of all kinds was carried on with an almost
feverish haste. Professional scribes could have had
no lack of occupation, and the works of every
author or„^mpiler, who was a master in his pro-
fession, and had anything new to say, found ready
purchasers. The oldest version of the Alexander °"'^'' ^er-
story known to us was written in Greek and it
professes to have been the Avork of Callisthenes
this, however, is impossible, and the version is
now called that of Pseudo-Callisthenes. Of the
date at which it was written nothing is known, but
it was probably not later than A. D. 200. Several
MSS. of the version are known, and they may be
roughly divided into three groups: i. One MS.
which represents the oldest form of the Alexander
story; 2. MSS. wherein an attempt has been made
to harmonize the true and the fabulous accounts
of the life of Alexander, and wherein the work is
attributed to Alexander; 3. those wherein the histo-
rical facts have been well nigh buried in legends.^
None of these MSS. represents the oldest form
of all of the Alexander story.
' For the Greek text see Miiller, Pseudo- Callisthenes, Paris,
1846; Meusel, Pseudo-Callisthenes nack der Leidener Hand-
schrift herausgegeben, Leipzig 1871.