WHY ARRIAN WROTE THE INDIKĒ: NARRATIVE SUSPENSE AS A DEFENSE OF ALEXANDER.

Abandoning the traditional tendency to focus on the exotic character of Arrian's Indikē, this paper explores how Arrian's work contributes to the delineation of Alexander's character. By drawing from modern theories of suspense, this study argues that Arrian's aim in relating the Macedonian fleet's adventurous voyage in the Indian Sea was to invite his readers through a suspenseful narrative to sympathize with Nearchus's and Alexander's concern about the fate of the troops. The Indikē can thus partly be seen as Arrian's defense of Alexander against those who accused him of neglecting his troops' safety on his return from India to Babylon in 325 B.C.E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]