The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great: Being a Series of Translations of the Ethiopic Histories of Alexander by the Pseudo-Callisthenes and Other Writers, with Introduction, Etc

Published in 1896 by Cambridge University Press, this volume represents a significant contribution to the study of the Alexander Romance, a collection of legendary accounts of Alexander the Great's life. Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, a prominent British Egyptologist and curator at the British Museum, undertook the translation of these Ethiopic manuscripts to make them accessible to Western scholars and the public. The work is deeply rooted in the nineteenth-century tradition of philological research, reflecting an era of intense academic interest in the intersections of classical antiquity and Near Eastern literary traditions.

Budge's design for the work focuses on the presentation of the Ethiopic text alongside his English translations and detailed scholarly apparatus. His objective was to provide a comprehensive view of the 'Pseudo-Callisthenes' narratives, which transformed the historical Alexander into a mythical figure of epic proportions. While modern scholars often critique Budge for his speed and occasionally loose translation style, the volume remains a fundamental resource for understanding how the legend of Alexander was adapted and reinterpreted across different cultures and languages throughout history.