An Elephant for Aristotle

Delightful novel, gently humorous, about how Alexander the Great sends an elephant to his old tutor, Aristotle, along with other curiosities from India; Aristotle has always been curious about elephants. A varied band of men, mostly Thessalians and other Greeks, but also including Persians, a philosopher, a Syrian sutler, and two Indians in charge of the elephant, led by Hipparch Leon of Atrax makes the journey from India to Athens. The novel tells of their adventures on the way--skirmishes with natives, navigating a narrow pass through the mountains where the elephant blocks traffic coming the other way, a stopover in Babylon and its Hanging Gardens, run ins with bureaucracy, a final sea crossing across the Aegean to Athens with final show more reunion of Leon and his family in Leon's home town.

I especially thought clever how the author delineated by dialect where the different Greeks hailed from--northern Greeks such as Leon by heavy use of Scots, Attic Greeks by "posh" words, Ionians by Cockney [dropping H's], and Doric-speaking Greeks by an American Southern drawl. The novel was very readable; the story just flowed along.

Highly recommended. show less

After defeating King Phoros at the Battle of the Hydaspes, Alexander decides to send Phorus' war elephant to Aristotle. This is the story of the successful journey from the Punjab to Athens.

How true this incident is, nobody knows, but Aristotle did describe the elephant as though he had first-hand knowledge of the beast. This may have happened when he lived in Assos, but could equally have happened as de Camp posits.

Well written and a fun read. Recommended.