摘要：This paper considers the classical images used by two Southern Americans in their attempts to
gain hegemony over the cigarette market at a key moment in business history for integration
and oligopoly: 1870¨C1900. I will argue that Major Lewis Ginter and James Buchanan Duke used
these images as part of the ¡®added value¡¯ of their brands to represent strength, ambition and
success, and encourage their consumers to ¡®try something new¡¯, as well as to represent their
respective multinational and global ambitions. Classical imagery represents sophistication and
education, and Ginter and Duke take advantage of the social aspirations of middle-class
consumers who recognize this. Duke especially had benefited from the Carolinan education
system which focussed on the Classics, particularly ancient history, including Xenophon and
Plutarch.1 Hence, he, along with many others, would have readily recognized Alexander the
Great as the canonical conqueror of the world and emulation of Alexander (from Plutarch¡¯s
Julius Caesar onwards) as a statement of personal ambition. I will argue that Alexander the
Great not only represented Duke¡¯s ambitions for global expansion but also inspired several of
his innovative business practices.
