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I think it's a bit harsh to say "idiotic". Ill-judged, perhaps, especially as Alexander was going into battle and was not one to hold back. Having said that: 1. It was twelve years before the lack of an heir became an issue. 2. Perhaps Alexander judged that he could not delay the invasion...

I would guess Amyntas's age was the reason Philip let him live and Alexander had him killed. When Philip became king Amyntas was an infant. When he died, Amyntas was a grown man who was a number of years older than Alexander and had a strong claim to the throne. Personally I don't really think it's ...

Mutiny is a misleading term for these events. In truth they were strikes rather than mutinies. The soldiers refused to obey some orders, but they did not try to capture or kill Alexander or any of their officers. Both so-called mutinies were resolved in a friendly fashion. The first real mutiny occ...

It is a false syllogism to argue that assassins dislike their victims and Alexander was a victim of assassination attempts, therefore Alexander was generally disliked. That's not an honest summary of my position in this discussion. There were assassination attempts and mutinies. Do mutinies also no...

Since it all ended in tearful kisses, it hardly constitutes evidence for bitter relations between the troops and Alexander. Rather it shows the relationship in its true light as quintessentially "marital" in nature with the characteristic rows and tearful reconciliations. What constitutes...

Initially, the entire palace resounded with woeful wailing, loud lamentation and plaintive plangency. But soon enough, all were numbed by mute melancholy as if in a desolate waste, when in dejection they turned to pondering what might now transpire. The noble youths who customarily cared for Alexan...

I think murder as cause of death tends to be too easily ruled out in Alexander's case. Macedonians had tried to murder him at least twice before. I don't see the logic in denying that there could have been a third attempt. Add the mutinies to the assassination attempts and I think it's safe to say t...

I understand your point of view. Today we try not to glamorise violence, but that doesn't make it go away. Such atrocities are still being committed in some part of the world every day. The drive to get our own way, and it's various manifestations such as aggression and competitiveness, appear to b...

And in the interests of balance, which I can see is a special concern for you, perhaps we should also give some thought to Alexander's beneficiaries: the millions of people in the succeeding centuries that lived longer, richer and more fulfilled lives due to the economic, scientific and cultural bo...

Funny how there's always an excuse for every atrocity Alexander ever committed. Somehow, nothing was never really his fault. I think it would be nice if, for once, people would give some thought to Alexander's victims, and commemorate them, rather than their glamorous killer. The men who never retur...

The death of a conqueror does not inspire much of anything within me I'm afraid... BOO! :D It's Alexander ! ...And he was much more than a simple conqueror :wink: True. A robber, too, and a murderer. An alcoholic. An incompetent administrator and a failed empire builder. Not to mention a delusional...

In my opinion, for someone to be considered a good politician, his or her policies must, most of the time, have achieved the intended goals, and not done so at too great costs. Alexander III was, judging by the actual results of his policies, a poor politician. His attempt at introducing proskynesis...

Perhaps I used the wrong word - when I said "sinister" I just meant "un-natural" ... which portraying Philip as a mythical creature would be. It would be an unrealistic portrait of Philip II, for sure. But since Philip II was the father of a man sometimes portrayed with horns, a...

I agree, they do look like cloven hooves. However, although I'm no expert on ancient footwear, I suspect that they are soft shoes/boots as were worn in the 4th century, and aren't supposed to indicate or suggest anything sinister. Wouldn't have to be an indication of something sinister. The person,...

The person in the middle has cloven hoofs. So if it's Philip II, it's a beardless Philip II with cloven hoofs.