Death of a tyrant

[Alexandria]

Cover story: Death of a tyrant
RICHARD GIRLING INVESTIGATES Alexander the Great died in mysterious circumstances at the age of 32. Now, 23 centuries later, the case is reopened Once upon a time there was a long-haired homosexual midget with a very bad temper. When he drank too much, which was often, he was prone to bouts of extreme and uncontrollable violence. His destiny, which he pursued with the zeal of a madman, was to rule the world. Given time, he was bound to come to the attention of the police. But even he, a master of the unexpected, would have blinked at some of the evidence on the investigators' file. Crows, owls and hawks dropping from their perches in the Bronx zoo. Horses being 'euthanised' across the United States. A mad rhinoceros breaking its neck. Soldiers paralysed by their soup.He was 32 when life finally caught up with him and his enemies could enjoy the spectacle of his exquisitely lingering death - a death that, in the opinion of a leading forensic psychiatrist, had been made inevitable by the loss of his long-term gay lover.According to an inscribed clay tablet in the British Museum, Alexander the Great breathed his last on June 11, 323BC. The event is laconically recorded - "there were clouds and the king died" - though there can have been no doubt about its world-changing enormity. Nobody at the time knew what had finished the tyrant off, but - given that his last conscious act had been to drink himself stupid - there was more than a suspicion that strong Macedonian wine had done its worst.But it leaves open the crucial question: why did he take 12 days to die? Modern pathology suggests very few causes of death that fit the pattern, and none of them involves red wine. Some of them, however, do involve poison. If you are an experienced 21st-century policeman, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes your antennae twitch. You have a death. You have suspicious circumstances. You have a lot of people with good reason to dance on the victim's grave. You have a case.Not a hopeless one, either, for although there is no body to examine, and no crime scene, there is plenty of evidence that has never faced the scrutiny of a professional investigator wise in the ways of unnatural death.John Grieve, CBE, QPM, BA(Hons), M Phil, is wise in other ways too. When he retired in May 2002 he was deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. What he left behind him was not so much a track record as a comet tail. A re

[Alexandria]

What he left behind him was not so much a track record as a comet tail. A reputation for the unorthodox, plus cerebral tastes in literature and art, his rumpled appearance and lugubrious manner, brought the inevitable comparisons to Inspector Morse. He groans at the memory. "When journalists want me to be Morse," he says, "I drive an old Jaguar, drink warm beer and like opera. The fact is, I don't drive, I like rock'n'roll and I don't touch beer because I'm a diabetic."There are more important differences too: his career in the Met took him to places that Morse could only have had nightmares about. As head of anti-terrorism he cracked two of the IRA's top operational units and effectively put an end to the mainland bombing campaign. As head of the Yard's Racial and Violent Crime Task Force he had the unenviable but vital task of formulating the Met's response to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. Further back, he had pitched himself against the criminal gangs of London's East End, and knocked off murderers and drug dealers with the efficiency of a crime-seeking missile.The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens, did not risk controversy when he described him as "one of the best, if not the best, detectives ever to have worked at Scotland Yard".And now here he is, at the invitation of a film company, leading a worldwide investigation into a fatality that occurred 323 years before the birth of Christ. He treats the job the only way he knows: seriously. "It is an opportunity," he says gravely, "to stop and think about the philosophy of investigation."To hear him speak, you might believe he never thinks about anything else. Sitting in the west London conference room of the film company he is working with, Atlantic Productions, he is in no mood to be hurried. His intention, he says, is to assemble enough evidence to put before a jury - and by "evidence" he means exactly that. He'll not be satisfied with conjecture, no matter how eminent the historian putting it forward, and he is not going to cut corners. "I don't care how obvious it may look to other people," he says. "I'm maintaining an open mind." It's not that he dismisses historical orthodoxy: rather that he regards it as just another tool in the box. At dictation speed he recites the list of specialisms he will bring into play: "Forensic science, pathology, psychiatry, logic, medicine, botany, ethics, epidemiology, history, toxicology, archeology..."Like any policeman at a briefing,

[susan]

I read this article , from the Sundaty Times, last night. I don't think that we can expect blinding revelations from the program if the article is anything to go by - as well as the terrible first sentence, the cover title was "Alexander the Grape" and the Alexander sarcophagus was described as his tomb in Alexandria. I think we can expect several such programs over the coming year.Susan

[marcus]

Where on earth did this come from?All the bestMarcus

[susan]

Sunday times magazineSusan

[kate]

The tone of this article was ridiculous- all that rubbish about Alexander being a midget etc - but the actual information about Alexander's death wasn't bad. Maybe not a big surprise to members of this forum, but of interest to many Sunday Times readers I would imagine. Hopefully, the TV programme will take a more balanced view and at least be worth watching for the background scenery and illustrations.Cheers,Kate

[marcus]

Do we know *when* the programme is being shown?(Or am I being stupid and have missed that bit of information?)ThanksMarcus

[John.]

Marcus,See Linda's "Death of Alexander" post six threads down.John

[marcus]

Ah, I was being stupid - doh! :-)Thanks, John. It's just a shame I don't get 'Five'!All the bestMarcus

[John.]

Of course, a "video is available to buy..."John

[Alexandria]

My apologies for the incomplete posting of this article.It wouldn't stick because it's a long article.

[beausefaless]

Richard Girling went after the Scottish farmed salmon industry and others in one of his articles , ( Fish or Foul, Sept 30, 01). Julie Edgar, Scottish Quality Salmon farming and the industry's leading body, was appalled by the article, obviously as was some in this forum when he zeroed in on Alexander.
I sure would appreciate your time if you could send me the entire article to my email address, I'd be in your debt for it would coast 9 bucks to read it on the web.

[tera]

Would you be so kind as to email the rest of the article to me? Sounds interesting...
Anyway I can host it online if you'd like so others can read it.