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Andrew Hii read great many of your posts and admire the way both you and I totally belive Alexander was murdered my threatened Greek and maceodonian nobility,who had got accustomed to the ways of life and didnt want Alexander disruptint the Status Quo.Im just puzzled how so many of our members can believe the theories of his deatrh that do sound at the least a littlr fantasical and some down right obsurd,that he may have even accidently poisoned himself.The Malaria that seemed only to infect Alexander and Hepheastion, Also that Alexander was mentally and physically finished,in spite the fact he was organising and getting ready for a huge expedition west and Arabia.Althougjh Oliver Stone has been found guilty of changing facts and bringing conspiracy theories,I think at least he has the intelligence to realise that Alexander did not just die as it is claimed 32 years of age at that time was ver healthy and able considering his best veterens been in there 60 as Parmenio whe was as strong as an oxe.RegardsKenny

What makes you think Alexander was healthy and what makes you think people didn't die young all the time back then? Following a famous German Alexander scholars train of thought: We should not be asking why Alexander died so young at 32, but rather how he survived to 32 :-)The symptoms of his last illness do not fit poisoning BTW.

xxxI have to apologise,I didnt realise we had a toxicologist in our forum.Also where does it say Alexander was Ill or unwell.With regard to wondering how Alexander lived to 32, maybe he was a freak of Macedonian nature to live for so long, or were the hundreds of Macedonian veterans who lived to be and saw service till there 60s maybe they were just out of the ordinary,so maybe to expect Alexander to live beyond 32 is a little optimistic.He must have been pretty ill to be even thinking let alone running obout getting ready to deal with those pesky Romans.xxx maybe your too intelligent than me and with your expertise in poisons i must apologise u have all the answers.regardskenny

Kenny, this happens to be my area of expertise. You asked why some of us don't believe in the poison theory and I was answering your question.Because I don't agree with you, doesn't mean I meant any sort of insult.Many of the forum participants have varied areas of expertise and that's why it is such a good place to visit.Regards,Tre

Kenny, take a look at pages 861-683
Bookmarkable URL for this journal article: http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/ ... 7-0057-143 Alexander the Great. Alexander's Victory at Issus, by Benjamin Ide Wheeler: pp. 678-692
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p. 691 This shows how vulnerable Alexander was and later he discovered this same trait as a disadvantage. Was he paranoid when he became heavily intoxicated with undiluted wine? We know he can get very PO, but when you're king you can say off with his or her head as Parmenion received a first hand education due to his arrogance and hot temper.Back in the mid sixties, in the Orient, I caught a bug that raised my body temperature to 104 degrees. At the infirmary the coarse of treatment was for me to soak in a ice bath a few times until my temperature cam down close to normal. Usually when people go down with a illness, due to their resistance being so low, it's something else that delivers the final blow.Assassination through out antiquity especially by poison was very common and so easy to get away with. I don't think we'll ever know what caused Alexander's death (fascination accompanied with speculation). I'll stay with the poison theory.RegardsAndrew

On historiographical grounds too the poison story can be shown to be a late accretion to the story of Alexander's death. Plutarch names the source of the story as one Hagnothemis who claimed to have heard the story from Antigonos five years after the event Alx 77. Antigonos must be Antigonos Monopthalmos, who was not present at Alexander's death but had good reason to blacken Kassandros' good name; since having supported his move against Polyperchon Kassander turned on his patron becoming one of his more implacable enemies.The alleged decree of Hypereides is attested only in Plutarch Mor. 849 f( not thought to be by Plutarch) is unsupported despite the fact that speeches of that period survive and Plutarch makes no comment on it when giving notice of Hypereides' execution at Dem. 28.The whole story belongs to the propaganda battles in the early Diadoch period. No respectable Ancient authority accepted the story either.

Kenny,Maybe Alexander poisoned himself. If I recall correctly, Ancient Macedonians drank hard, lived hard and a good part of them died hard either way, modern peoples who have the same life style are not immune from killing themselves by the time they reach their thirty's and forties.Take care