This moderated forum is for discussion of Alexander the Great. Inappropriate posts will be deleted without warning. Examples of inappropriate posts are:
* The Greek/Macedonian debate
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See if you can find a cheap, second-hand copy, Spitamenes, because it's not really worth the cover price quoted on Amazon. As I say, it's OK, but not great.
spitamenes wrote:Hearing about Alexander from other perspectives besides the western points of view has always fascinated me. I wish there were more historical accounts dealing with the Persian campaign from the Persian perspective. I believe all I have run into were trade records and things of that sort. Which do tell certain tales in they're own right, but if there was a Persian "Arrian" for example. Im certain it would have the potential to change many of our ideas of how this campaign actually went down.
So, is there anything of the sort that I have missed out on?
It would be nice to have non-Hellenic perspectives, but you are right that there isn't much. Even what we have tends to come from later periods, influenced more by the Romance than by the history. I still haven't got round to reading the section on Alexander in the Shahnahma, but from what I have read so far it's clearly Romance-inspired.
I suppose I'm fortunate in that I find things like trade records rather interesting. So the Persian records from the time and things like the Babylonian chronicles are indeed interesting; but they only give us the 'facts of life' of the period, rather than giving us the detail of the campaign or how the indigenous populations felt/reacted.
To make a long study short, I had received information from within saying to me, "you are Alexander". I had to find out if it were true and so read a book by an Englishman who was an Egyptoligist, Arthur Weigall, whose book I like best. I then hoped that my spirit guide telling me that I am Alexander was wrong so I set out to find the truth. In the end, I am in the process of writing my own novel, childhood book first draft completed. Through writing the book I have come to love the entire study. Alexander is a totally different person from the historical biographies. I love all the characters . I am super protective of it but am considering self publishing with createspace or query, editor,agent route. I began it last November for NaNoWrimo and finished the first draft last spring. When I write I have a tendency to do a kind of automatic writing. Two real life incidents already appear to resemble some of the book. I appear to be cursed with second sight. The book is only begun but already true life situations resemble parts of it. It is designed for adolescent children to become aware of Alexander's relevance to our times. Thus, it is an easy read. I am about to start part 2 which will begin with Alexander's becoming recognized as his father's successor. Do I conclude that I "am" Alexander? When the book is completed I will be fully exposed as to whether my spirit guide led me to truth of myself or not. I guess that is one of the purposes of the book. I have had many unique experiences since stumbling upon this subject, one of which occurred at the museum de Louvre in Paris. So I continue to learn. Writing the chapters of this novel has been fun. It is a very interesting look at all the childhood experiences that shaped him and his officers who are his closest friends. I love this book.
jan wrote:To make a long study short, I had received information from within saying to me, "you are Alexander". I had to find out if it were true and so read a book by an Englishman who was an Egyptoligist, Arthur Weigall, whose book I like best. I then hoped that my spirit guide telling me that I am Alexander was wrong so I set out to find the truth. In the end, I am in the process of writing my own novel, childhood book first draft completed. Through writing the book I have come to love the entire study. Alexander is a totally different person from the historical biographies. I love all the characters . I am super protective of it but am considering self publishing with createspace or query, editor,agent route. I began it last November for NaNoWrimo and finished the first draft last spring. When I write I have a tendency to do a kind of automatic writing. Two real life incidents already appear to resemble some of the book. I appear to be cursed with second sight. The book is only begun but already true life situations resemble parts of it. It is designed for adolescent children to become aware of Alexander's relevance to our times. Thus, it is an easy read. I am about to start part 2 which will begin with Alexander's becoming recognized as his father's successor. Do I conclude that I "am" Alexander? When the book is completed I will be fully exposed as to whether my spirit guide led me to truth of myself or not. I guess that is one of the purposes of the book. I have had many unique experiences since stumbling upon this subject, one of which occurred at the museum de Louvre in Paris. So I continue to learn. Writing the chapters of this novel has been fun. It is a very interesting look at all the childhood experiences that shaped him and his officers who are his closest friends. I love this book.
Jan,
Greetings! Would you care to let us know what originally caught your interest in Alexander and the campaign?
I saw your post and it interested me. I came early to Alexander through my father. When I was 4 he took me to see an exhibit of ancient Greek and Egyptian art at the now destroyed De Young Museum in San Francisco. He told me all about Alexandria, Egypt, which is where most of the art was from and then taught me about Alexander whom his family, being heavily militarily has always cosnsidered as a must as part of the good upbringing of a solider's daughter. I'm also part Macedonian on my Mom's side and she taught us to be proud of their Hero. She made me do my first serious book report in grade school on Nikos Kizandikas (spelling poor) book on Alexander which as supposedly written for children. I know as an eight year old girl I was curious as to why Alexander had a boyfriend, but that wasn't explained to me until I was older. It just seemed natural when I went to college to study someting connecteed, so I got a dgree in Art History and studied some archeology and have been hooked like a junkie ever since.
A few years ago I got to go to Egypt for research on my writing and when I saw Alexander's Shrine of the Barque just went nuts. I took all the pictures of it I could. Then I went to Alexandria and my guide took me to the Street of the Mosaque of Daniel where Alexander's remains are said to still be though several feet down from the modern street level. She was a Native Alexandrian and said that it is the firm belief in Alexandria that Alexander's remains are there. We stood over the spot where the bedlief is his remains are. The Alexandrians lay flowerss there.
Well, I was told a couple of things about him by dad - the Gordian Knot is one of them. But he was just OK then (like OK, what a genius, bt only OK).
But I got really fascinated when I learned that he went so far as India, and that he traveled through not very well-known places in Central Asia (quite the steppes!) (that might have given him the link to "Herakles the hero", I think...). And, then, I went reading about him, and his courteous ways, and I was like OMG he was sooo kind! (what of reading/knowing about others after him ). The one and only BC gentleman.
My fav scene in that Stone'd movie is the one he is overlooking the snowy Hindu Kush, wrapped on that red wooly cover: That was worth the pains to watch that. (oh there is one more scene - oh, and one other too ).
GO Alex! ^_^
Come live forever with me, or transpire / a flame alone on a funeral pire / We'll build an empire if we so desire, travel the world, and set it on fire.
Oh, and one more thing: there is a 70's Brazilian song, built on the poetical metric of sonnets used in the folk songs of Brazilian northeast (called "cordel") that introduced me first-hand to the Iliad and also Alexander (I remember so clearly that I used to think that those stories were soup opera plots I was right, yeah?).
It is a very nice song, and for those who are interested in all kinds of music, I copy the YouTube link (hope it is allowed...)
The singer in yellow is the one who sings on Alexander and Roshana.
Come live forever with me, or transpire / a flame alone on a funeral pire / We'll build an empire if we so desire, travel the world, and set it on fire.
Jan: From your post i get that you think you might be an incarnation of Alexander or just have extra insight on some of the details that we do not know. I do not really believe in incarnation, but as to the latter i am willing to keep an open mind. However what you said that Alexander was not exactly as history books depict him is partially wrong and correct. We get a really good picture on how Alexander was but maybe not the whole picture. But that also does not mean that Alexander's occasional cruelty was missinterpreted by history. Plutarch tried to justify some of his actions but he also knew and admitted Alexander's cruel behaviour were it could not be just justified. All in all, Alexander was a military man and teaching kids otherwise is a mistake. Teaching them that he was a nobble leader though is more correct.
On to the topic, what fascinated me about Alexander was i guess most of his campaign, but after i read somethings on my own. When we were taught in school about Alexander we were like, ok this is great, he made it up to india and all, but we were in school and there often you do not learn more details that might attract you more to something, and school is aschool, when you are 15 you do not realy appreciate some things until later. I think that historians should get more out of books and tell their students of interesting stories that should get their attention more.
"Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks."
Sir Winston Churchill, 1941.
). The one and only BC gentleman. 
).