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Fellow Pothosians,

The other week I received the newsletter from the Classical Association, which included rather a humorous limerick about the Bacchae (although, to be honest, it didn't scan quite as well as it ought to have done). I spent a few minutes, after reading it, composing a couple of limericks about Alexander; to whit ...

The young king from Old Macedon,
Found his army refused to go on;
So he passed through Gedrosia,
Held some massive symposia,
And his deathbed was in Babylon.

And ...

The Argead king from the West,
Held innumerable lands in conquest.
He overcame odds
That had stymied the gods,
And declared that of all he was best.

I wonder what other people might come up with?

ATB

Oh goodness - I loved writing limericks back when I was in grade school. Let's see if I still have my touch! Of course, they'll never be as good as the ones Marcus wrote because I tend to be very wordy and never was any good with rhythm. But here goes...

The Great Alexander thought it wise
To break some old unneeded ties
So he cut through the knot
At Gordium and taught
That rules don’t always apply
(Or if you prefer my alternate ending: "Don't mess with a guy born in July" )

And this one isn't directly related to Alexander, but deals with Herostratus who burned down the Temple of Artemis on Alexander's supposed birthday.

There once was a man who’d tell
Poor Artemis to go down to hell
He wanted his name
To be synonymous with fame
Herostratus – now does that ring a bell?

hello,

There was a man who came from the East,
who was given nothing but grief,
from a boy by the name of Alexander
but sometimes known as Iskander.

Two times did they fight for the prize
of great Asia broad and wide,
But Alexander won the day
and Darius did run away,
as fast as his long longs could carry him.

Best regards,
Dean

There once was a man from Nantucket
who wanted to help Cleitus duck it
so he went back in time
to undo my crime
now I carry his head in a bucket.

marcus wrote:Fellow Pothosians,

The other week I received the newsletter from the Classical Association, which included rather a humorous limerick about the Bacchae (although, to be honest, it didn't scan quite as well as it ought to have done). I spent a few minutes, after reading it, composing a couple of limericks about Alexander; to whit ...

Ha! Very funny idea, these are good.
Here's another -

There once was a king called Cassander
Who was certainly lacking in candour
The people cried 'Boo!
You belong in the zoo,
You'll never surpass Alexander'.

Fiona

These are wonderful! I absolutely love them and the idea. Great thinking! For the ones I attempted, I tried to tell a very basic history of Alexander, touching on some of the main points. I only finished until right before the battle at Issus (that's all I had time for). Feel free to continue. Hope you all enjoy!


Macedonia was a kingdom forlorn;
Then Philip the second was born;
He raised it from tatters,
But his dreams were soon shattered,
The Greeks at his death did not mourn.

But his son Alexander took hold,
And lead his soldiers so bold,
That they followed with glee,
Causing enemies to flee,
Iits the greatest story ever told.

The invasion of Asia was on;
Led by Alexander and Parmenion;
Held at the Granicus was a debate,
But the battle surely couldn't wait;
It would were it lead by Parmenion.

With victory now in hand,
The army went further in land;
Town after town was taken,
Darius, the great king, was shaken;
At the next battle he would command.

rocktupac wrote: Macedonia was a kingdom forlorn;
Then Philip the second was born;
He raised it from tatters,
But his dreams were soon shattered,
The Greeks at his death did not mourn.

But his son Alexander took hold,
And lead his soldiers so bold,
That they followed with glee,
Causing enemies to flee,
Iits the greatest story ever told.

The invasion of Asia was on;
Led by Alexander and Parmenion;
Held at the Granicus was a debate,
But the battle surely couldn't wait;
It would were it lead by Parmenion.

With victory now in hand,
The army went further in land;
Town after town was taken,
Darius, the great king, was shaken;
At the next battle he would command.

Bravo to everyone - great dedication, rocktupac!

I continue ...

At the Cydnus he felt rather ill,
(From the river he'd picked up a chill).
They feared his physician,
From a false disposition,
Would slip him a poisonous pill.

ATB

Vergina Sun wrote: And this one isn't directly related to Alexander, but deals with Herostratus who burned down the Temple of Artemis on Alexander's supposed birthday.

There once was a man who’d tell
Poor Artemis to go down to hell
He wanted his name
To be synonymous with fame
Herostratus – now does that ring a bell?

Nice one!

ATB