Robin Lane Fox Alexander the great
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2023 12:25 pm
Hello,
I have just finished reading Alexander the great by Robin Lane Fox.
I would give it a five star rating as he has certainly done his homework and written a wonderful book to boot.
I know Alexander's story but the detail was quite impressive that he brings to the table in this tome.
There were numerous points that made me step back and think for a moment.
I have yet to check but he mentions that in total in the sources there are 5 different ways Callisthenes was killed/executed. Only one can be correct but why five?
He also mentions that Mazaeus more than likely had a prearranged deal with the Macedonian side before the battle of Gaugamela.
He points out that it is highly likely that Mazaeus helped steer things in Alexander's direction due to his lacklustre command of the right wing and also his lightning reinstatement as satrap of Babylonia just seven days after the battle.
There are many details in the book such as these. Observations such as, on his death bed, if he was unable to speak how was it possible for him to communicate he wanted his empire left in the hands of "the strongest".
The book is a true achievement in my opinion.
In the last chapter, Lane Fox discusses Alexander's legacy one of them being the use of Greek and how Alexander's conquest permitted its proliferation. Also mentions that if it hadn't have been for this use of Greek as a lingua franca Christianity may not have left Judea.
Out of coincidence, the next book I am reading, in this case, about inconsistencies in the bible states in St Mark that Pontius Pilate asks Jesus if he is, in fact, the king of the Jews" to which he answers in Greek "su legeis" - if you say so.
If here we have Jesus in Jerusalem whose mother tongue would have been aramaic, being tried by a Roman governer whose mother tongue would have been latin and here both asking and answering questions in Greek.
Anyways, before I digress, all in all an excellent book.
Best regards,
Dean.
I have just finished reading Alexander the great by Robin Lane Fox.
I would give it a five star rating as he has certainly done his homework and written a wonderful book to boot.
I know Alexander's story but the detail was quite impressive that he brings to the table in this tome.
There were numerous points that made me step back and think for a moment.
I have yet to check but he mentions that in total in the sources there are 5 different ways Callisthenes was killed/executed. Only one can be correct but why five?
He also mentions that Mazaeus more than likely had a prearranged deal with the Macedonian side before the battle of Gaugamela.
He points out that it is highly likely that Mazaeus helped steer things in Alexander's direction due to his lacklustre command of the right wing and also his lightning reinstatement as satrap of Babylonia just seven days after the battle.
There are many details in the book such as these. Observations such as, on his death bed, if he was unable to speak how was it possible for him to communicate he wanted his empire left in the hands of "the strongest".
The book is a true achievement in my opinion.
In the last chapter, Lane Fox discusses Alexander's legacy one of them being the use of Greek and how Alexander's conquest permitted its proliferation. Also mentions that if it hadn't have been for this use of Greek as a lingua franca Christianity may not have left Judea.
Out of coincidence, the next book I am reading, in this case, about inconsistencies in the bible states in St Mark that Pontius Pilate asks Jesus if he is, in fact, the king of the Jews" to which he answers in Greek "su legeis" - if you say so.
If here we have Jesus in Jerusalem whose mother tongue would have been aramaic, being tried by a Roman governer whose mother tongue would have been latin and here both asking and answering questions in Greek.
Anyways, before I digress, all in all an excellent book.
Best regards,
Dean.