On historical sources in I. A. Efremov's novel “Tais Afinskaya”

The article is concerned with the problem of historical sources identification for Ivan Efremov’s last novel “Tais Afinskaya”, which describes a military campaign unleashed by Alexander the Great from the point of view of one Greek woman. We analyzed both the texts provided by I. A. Efremov directly in the preface to the novel (Plutarch, Diodor Sitsiliysky, Ariane), and also some other materials (Pavsany, Lukian Samosatsky), which influence was revealed in the course of the analysis. The textual analysis of “Tais Afinskaya” showed that the author was generally guided by Plutarch’s “Comparative biographies”, from which he borrowed subject decisions and emotional coloring of episodes. The actual material and additional details were taken from works carried out by Diodor. The works of Arian had no essential stylistic or plot structure impact on this novel.