ATG Trivia continued...

[nick]

http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=56Please add your comments, feedback, suggestions...Regards -
Nick

[kate]

Hi Nick,Thanks for the list. It made me laugh!Cheers'Kate

[chris]

Hi NickI think the page is both informative and light hearted. I suppose the difficulty is knowing what to include - what is a genuine "myth", and of interest, rather than pure fancy. Don't ask the BBC or The Times! Chris

[chris]

Hi...categories perhaps...from "Fact" to "Myth" and "Rubbish!"Chris

[ruthaki]

Oh thank heavens someone has posted something to dispute these silly myths. I've read plenty indicating that Philip Arridaios suffered from fits of some kind (probably epilepsy) but I doubt very much Alexander could have efficiently led his army if he had any such disabilities as mentioned. Enough that he had to cope with a number of serious war wounds! Dyed hair? Really? Left handed? who could prove that? Thanks, Nick for posting what is probably more like 'the truth'. Cheers

[Nicator]

Hi Nick,Let's not forget about the myth every person with less than a full knowledge of ATG continues to spew whenever the subject comes up...e.g. Alexander was gay. It's bi-sexual people! That he had two horns, one black eye and one grey (or something to that effect), that he believed himself a god.

[nick]

Hi Nick -Yes, of course, I have to add the "gay myth" too!But about the others:
- the horns are an ancient myth, that exists in folk tales since Antiquity; this is not new internet 'bogus' - it is part of the 'aura' of Alexander and a direct sign of 'divinity'
- the colored-eyes are there in the Romance and many Medieval works - also part of the image of Alexander that grew over the agesRegards -
Nick

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Nick,What about the myth that he was in fact defeated by Porus? There is also the myth invoving a Rakhi(arm band for protection of a brother from his sister) which appears not totally absurd in view of what I have written about the daughter of Pixodarus and Sasigupta (http://www.geocities.com/ranajitda)Regards,Dr. Pal

[S]

Greetings Nick,
Be certain to treat the gay vrs hetero "myth" with equity. Jeanne's article deals as factually as possible with the standards of the times, and should be read and re-read by everyone until their modern views are channeled appropriately. As much as it is "myth" that ATG was gay, it is also a "myth" that he was hetero.
Both sides tend to forget that the mores of the times differed from our modern view, sometimes drastically.
Regards,
Sikander

[nick]

Hi Sikander -Are you happy with the brief text that is on the page now? I inserted the link to Jeanne's article right when I wrote the text. (Mind you, I'm Dutch. Even Jeanne's liberal approach seems quite conservative to me!);-)Regards -
Nick

[Nicator]

Hello Nick,You wrote "But about the others: - the horns are an ancient myth, that exists in folk tales since Antiquity; this is not new internet 'bogus' - it is part of the 'aura' of Alexander and a direct sign of 'divinity' - the colored-eyes are there in the Romance and many Medieval works - also part of the image of Alexander that grew over the ages"I'm aware of the context and nature of each of these above mentioned "myths"...didn't know we were just discussing bogus pop culture myths, sorry for the misunderstanding.As a side note, Michael Grant proposes that the two-horned myth comes not from Alexander, but from one of his successors (who wore a two-horned helmut). Through the ages the two became entangled and falsely ascribed to Alexander. Obviously, we can't know for certain whether or not he believed himself a god...probably not. The different colored eyes may have some basing in fact, depending on whose interpretation you choose to ally yourself with. I, as mentioned before, find Renault's diagnosis (that he had sustained a concussion) to be accurate and trustworthy on the basis of her being a nurse. I have also read the symptom in separate and non-biased sources that the eyes can and do change color during a serious concussion. Often with one pupil turning black and extremely dialated. Yours, Nick

[Nicator]

This one comes to mind...Alexander had a bi-polar disorder. later Nicator

[S]

Greetings Nick,
Text is okay. I still think header should read "He was Gay/He was Straight" to make it clear that *neither* would apply as they are perceived today! But that is just my personal feeling.
Thanks for all the work you do on the site, though!
Regards,
Sikander

[amyntoros]

I would hesitate to put "Alexander had a bipolar disorder" on a list of myths. The problem here is that he did exhibit some strong traits of the disorder.I am pretty certain that I first saw this mentioned in ATG The Invisible Enemy by John Maxwell O'Brien. I remember thinking that this was the first time I had seen this in print. I skimmed through the book today, but can't immediately find the reference. Since first reading O'Brien, I have seen it mentioned by a couple of other prominent writers of today.Though I am not bipolar, I do have some knowledge of the disorder because my 13-year-old son was diagnosed with refractory (does not respond to medication) childhood onset bipolar disorder at the age of five. After years of medication failed to help, treatment involved couseling and behavioural analysis and modification. At the time of his diagnosis, there was little information on this disorder in children, and I had to research every source available and learn everything I could about bipolar disorder. It doesn't surprise me that some authors might see Alexander has having this condition, though I have not yet seen his name added to any of the lists of bipolar people. (George Washington and Winston Churchill are among the numbered). Even with the information I have on the illness, I am not advocating that Alexander was bipolar - in my opinion, that is something that ought only to be argued by psychiatrists or psychologists. But if you post this as a "myth" you have to be able to accurately refute the claim and I think you might be inviting a debate on the subject. But any kind of debate it could generate would be better served on a medical forum. Its the kind of subject that invites a paper from a professional.Okay, that's my two cents worth. Hopefully, I will not become known as the member who claimed Alexander was bipolar! That definitely isn't my stance on the subject. :-)Linda Ann

[nick]

Hi Nick -Yes, critics of the mainstream Muslim interpretation that Dhul-Qarnain (the Horned King) was Alexander point towards Cyrus the Great or Gilgamesh as the actual "horned" ruler.I am totally confident that the "horned king" myth might have existed before Alexander's conquest and was passed on to his person.The difference in eye-color: I can't help to picture David Bowie as the obvious candidate for Oliver Stone's movie.Regards -
Nick