Search found 259 matches

by sean_m
Sat Jun 25, 2016 5:34 pm
Forum: The Diadochi
Topic: Battle of Magnesia
Replies: 55
Views: 99902

Re: Battle of Magnesia

'Tis a pity Agesilaos is no longer with us. He expressed a desire to start an investigation of this battle. That is a great pity :( If I wanted to guess why the battle turned out the way it did, I would start about ten years before the battle and work forward. Because our sources want to blame ever...
by sean_m
Fri Jun 24, 2016 4:28 pm
Forum: The Diadochi
Topic: Battle of Magnesia
Replies: 55
Views: 99902

Re: Battle of Magnesia

Thank you Sean for an excellent and comprehensive answer! I read it twice. :-) Lets not forget also that Antiochos had a pretty good advantage on his right wing but he should have kept on charging instead of heading down to the roman camp. Very carelessly done... Pyrrhus had some great success agai...
by sean_m
Thu Jun 23, 2016 4:49 pm
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: Rugger
Replies: 23
Views: 19591

Re: Rugger

Yes - the units of the phalanx were indeed named after their commanders as were the units of the Companion cavalry. It is tempting to see standards being used for these and possibly a development of that military reformer, Philip. The sources are indeed not much interested in standards and the like...
by sean_m
Thu Jun 23, 2016 8:29 am
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: Rugger
Replies: 23
Views: 19591

Re: Rugger

Austria just suffered an unexpected defeat in that game with the round ball. I notice that the Icelanders have started worshipping Sumerian gods, while the Austrians who are still religious mostly stick with their Trinity ... coincidence? Latin signum and Greek sēmaion are difficult words, because t...
by sean_m
Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:16 pm
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: Rugger
Replies: 23
Views: 19591

Re: Rugger

In theory (knocks on wood) I have a year left.

Sorry I can't help on the rugby front, but I don't follow that sport! Next time I have a glass of something cool and tasty I will think of Agesilaus. The Rhaetians are more excited about that game with the round ball.
by sean_m
Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:56 am
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: Rugger
Replies: 23
Views: 19591

Re: Rugger

Yes, of course it is a tunic and a belt, but here we can see how plain clothes became symbols and afterwards banners and standards! Do you think the first banner was made explicitly to be a banner? The first banner was a trophy, and here we see the transformation of a dress into a war booty and, su...
by sean_m
Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:24 am
Forum: 'Off-topic' forum
Topic: help with translation
Replies: 7
Views: 3836

Re: help with translation

Liddell and Scott did not know, other than a festival, various tribes, etc. The masculine nominative singular, or dictionary form, is λαφριος. There are many words in Classical Greek without a clear Indo-European or Semitic root but I don't know where you check how knowledge of etymology has advance...
by sean_m
Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:04 am
Forum: The Diadochi
Topic: Battle of Magnesia
Replies: 55
Views: 99902

Re: Battle of Magnesia

Hello dear compatriots I wonder if anyone here has an interesting take on the battle of Magnesia. What exactly went wrong there? How the hell could they fail even with Hannibla himself as counselling? Hubris on Antiochus part? Pride perhaps, not fully taking into consideration his advice? And why i...
by sean_m
Sat Jun 11, 2016 12:27 pm
Forum: Discuss Alexander the Great
Topic: Alexander's plans for Arabia
Replies: 5
Views: 6197

Re: Alexander's plans for Arabia

Hey guys, Please can you tell me about Alexander's plans to conquer Arabia before the beautiful Hephaestion broke his heart? The building of ships? Frankincense? Myrrh? Is this only in Arrian or other sources also? What was the exact term used to describe the area or its inhabitants? Thanks heaps i...
by sean_m
Tue May 31, 2016 12:27 pm
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film
Replies: 47
Views: 46637

Re: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film

Drifting closer to the original topic, when I was reviewing the passage of Cassius Dio about the Macedonian phalanx of Caracalla , I noticed that Caracalla owned " hopla (equipment, military 'kit') of Alexander" and " potêria (drinking vessels) of Alexander." The vast majority of...
by sean_m
Fri May 27, 2016 6:58 pm
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film
Replies: 47
Views: 46637

Re: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film

Men of Bronze is simply the latest work in this Dead End line........and I don't recommend it at all to any serious student of ancient warfare. Just as an aside, I was afraid to read "Men of Bronze" for several years, fearing it would be just another assembly of outdated misinformation. O...
by sean_m
Tue May 17, 2016 11:52 pm
Forum: 'Off-topic' forum
Topic: I never promised you a rose garden II
Replies: 2
Views: 3028

Re: I never promised you a roses garden II

You never promised us anything, so thank you for your wonderful posts!
by sean_m
Tue May 17, 2016 4:46 pm
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film
Replies: 47
Views: 46637

Re: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film

I don't enjoy generalizing, but we do have one ancient source (Plut. Al. 32) which says that the man in question ἠσκημένος τὰ πολλὰ χρῆσθαι μαχαίρᾳ παρὰ τὰς μάχας (had been trained in most things to use a machaira in fights). I'm not sure whether "secondary weapon" would have been part of ...
by sean_m
Sun May 15, 2016 9:34 am
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film
Replies: 47
Views: 46637

Re: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film

And back to metalworking ... Unfortunately, quite a lot of the things written about Greek and Macedonian and Thracian arms and armour are not based on solid evidence. When J.K. Anderson quoted a line in Shakespeare about "two rogues in buckram" to support his ideas about the shoulder-flap ...
by sean_m
Sat May 14, 2016 8:00 pm
Forum: Alexander the Great in the Media
Topic: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film
Replies: 47
Views: 46637

Re: The Sword of Alexander in the Batman vs Superman film

Nicator: I live in Austria, and just down the valley there is a beautiful little town where some road workers uncovered an unmarked cemetery . It turned out that that town had been a centre for the T4 murder program, where the Nazis got their start murdering children and old people and the disabled....