Re: Alexander's movie

[davej]

That is a big question. The Persians never really had come to terms with the Greek way of fighting, The Athenians greatly outnumbered set the trend for kicking the crap out of the poor old Persians. During the Persian war the Greeks had superior equipment (even though they were a much poorer nation). The Greek Hoplite became the mainstay of Mercenary armies for centuries after. Their equipment and tactics remained unbeaten until ironically enough Alexander at Charonea.
The vulnerability of the Persian Empire was apparent from the end of the 4th century. At the battle of Cunaxa, Xenophon an his Ten thousand troops won the battle but lost the war, what is most interesting about the march of the ten thousand after the battle is that the Persian shadow the army all the way to the coast, almost like herding. (Why??) Good question my guess is they did not want to risk another engagement, they did attack them from time to time just to keep them under control and together (like cracking a whip to herd cattle. It revealed how easy it could be (not taking anything away from Alexander's monumental achievements. Aegasilaus and his Spartan army where in Persia at the same time could have easily captured the Eastern satrapies if not for Persian induced trouble at home.
So why did Alexander beat the Persians, even with superior numbers you need discipline, our records show that in the main only the Persian or Medes could be really relied on (after all the others where subject people), The Persians in the main failed to adapt to the new fighting methods (Darius use of Chariots at Guagamela after the failure at Cunaxa).
Finally I am not a Beatles fan but "money can't buy me love" sums up why Darius could not buy his way out of trouble. He had attempted to this by bribing the Greeks to revolt. After the sacking of Thebes understandable nobody (except the Spartans were keen).ThatGÇÖs what I think anyway.

[Nymph]

Achilles,Mr. Adrianopoulos is obviously NOT Greek.

[NickWelman]

Dear dr. Pal -
And what about this city called "Pimprama" - it is mentioned in the Romances (Pseudo-Callisthenes tradition) as Porus' capital...
Is there any clue to the origin of this name?
Regards -
Nick

[NickWelman]

Thank you, Frederico. I checked Plutarch and I am happy we found it. What I noticed now is that the cyber text of Plutarch on e-Classics is abbreviated. Peritas is not in there. Maybe I am ignorant, but I have always asumed that the cyber texts of our classical sources on the web were integral translations. It now appears to be only a summary. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

[Alexander]

For a complete online text of Plutarch's Alexander, go here (and click on the green "Alexander")
http://www.geocities.com/alextopten/webbios.html

[NickWelman]

Yes, great. Better than the one that usually shows up in the search engines.
Thanks,
Nick

[xxx]

We don't know what breed of dog Peritas was. The Molossians were famous for their mastiffs, not greyhounds. Many dog breeds claim to be the one Peritas belonged too, including numerous Greyhound sites. All we know is that it was a favorite dog that he raised by hand and was named after the Macedonian month of January. For those wondering what a Molossian mastiff would look like, a close representation would be an Anatolian Shepherd, i.e. a mastiff people haven't messed with too much yet (but they're beginning). As for lion hunting, that would be a use of the typical hunting dog (altho in Macedon they'd get tested against boar) and there are numerous stories of Alexander encountering hunting dogs in India. To get an idea of the typical 'hound' of the time in Macedon, see the Stag Hunt mosiac from Pella, where we have a 35-45 lb. 'yellow Pariah Dog type' , i.e. not unlike a Dingo, your classic domestic dog gone wild, i.e. to be larger would be inefficient.

[Maximagnus]

I guess he is an extraordinary actor. He could well be The Glorious Alexander.

[Maximagno]

don-¦t underestimate my dear Leo like Darious did it to Alexander. Remember how The King of Kings ended.

[maximagno]

Mel is the one. He transmites passion and make unequal battle scenes.

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Nick,
The Palace of Porus is in fact a million dollar question. Unfortunately the Indian sources are silent on Porus. This is not so much due to the so-called insignificance of Alexander in Indian history but to a sustained misinformation campaign launched by the generals and Sasigupta or Chandragupta which probably led to the destruction of many documents. The name Pimprama, in my opinion should belong to the Lower Indus area or Seistan whereas all other data point to the north. In my opinion Chandragupta who is identified with Androcottos by Indian writers is the same as Andrcottos. He surely took over the kingdom of Porus and significantly his relics show a preference for the Sun-god. This is why I thought that the name Suryapura may be significant. But due to the blunder of Jones Indian history has been so disfigured that nothing seems definite. However, this is a fascinating topic.
Regards,
Dr. Pal

[Dr. Pal]

Dear Nick,
Sorry, I mistyped Andrcottos. I mean Androcottos was the same as Andragorus.
Regards,
Dr. Pal

[NickWelman]

Dear Beth -
I visited Taxila and the Taxila Archeological Museum in 1999. I did not notice anything (art, tools, inscriptions) dating back to the Alexander era. The old city was a curly Indian town when Alexander arrived. It began to florish during the Hellenistic era, when an entirely new city was built next to the original one, with a neat grid plan, temples etcetera. My brief observations are in the Information section (Pilgrimage - Alexander's Travel Guide). I am not of much help, but this is what I know.
Regards -
Nick

[ina]

really so little? curly indian town? what about the buddhist monastery and library and university? and the buildings of gubernatorial business? do check it out, again, if necessary!

[Greek Boy]

Maybe becouse he owned Maccedonia and Greece from Philip and tooked over the all nown world then..Name One Hwo can do that today..