History of Alexander the Great and ancient Macedon

Hello, everybody!

I'm doing some reading on Alexander and India in particular. I've been looking for ages now and I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I need more information on the hardships the common soldiers faced during the time in India. It's really hard to find anything useful on this that isn't tinged with mystery and exaggeration rather than.... you know, a more objective account.

Also, does anyone know of any exhaustive accounts of how boys lived at the Temple of Mieza? I've been looking through my books, but found nothing but a short account relating to Aristotle more than Macedonian youth.

I'd be immensely grateful if anyone could direct me to the best sources on these subjects.

Thank you in advance!

Ave,

Can anyone tell me anything about this picture of Alexander and Aristotle?  The initials 'F.V.' appear in the bottom left-hand corner.

Achilles

Uh-oh, looks like I'm the one who has to make that awkward "after-four-months-of-inactivity" post...
But I just thought I'd introduce myself...!
I'm just a young gal with an unnatural affection towards Alexander the Great and his many conquerings. (Although, as of finding this community, I don't feel quite so strange.) I've been drawn towards this particular historical figure since mid/late middle school, and it hasn't waned since. With the free time I have, I commit to reading AtG biographies and fiction. (My first Mary Renault book was "The Persian Boy". Loved it. Got half-way through it. Thought to myself 'Who is this Hephaestion character Bagoas speaks of...?' Quickly ran to the nearest internet to find out. Tossed the book aside, alight with my new found love of Hephaestion. Haha...! You could even say my interest of Hephaestion rivals that of Alexander. ... Maybe~...)
Currently, I'm reading "Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness" by Guy MacLean Rogers. It caught my eye among the other Alexander book at Barnes and Noble the other day and just thought it yanked my curiosity enough to spend 16-some-odd dollars on it. So far, so good...! But if you have any particular book recommendations, please, by all means...!
Anyways, that's the long and short of it! I'm just the general history buff with a particular interest in Alexander. I always love a little chat, feel free to drop a line.
Lovely to meet you all, in advance! (:

- Brittany M.

P.S: Oh, do ignore my user pic. I seem to be the only one here without some antiquity-related picture. I instead substitute it with my love of Star Trek. Haha...! XD My scope of interests range from here-to-there and back again!

Has anyone here read any of the Greek AtG sources before? (original Greek or translation)
I'm  referring particularly to Arrian, Diodorus and Plutarch. I'm asking because I've got a assignment to write
which is about a comparison of Alexander's portrayal in Ancient and Modern literature, with a focus on his "philhellenism" vs. his "orientalism".
I'm  pretty much decided about the modern authors I'm going to use, but still need to choose the Ancient ones.
So, if someone's already read one or more of them, and could just give me a hint about whether you'd recommend author x for
this sort of comparison or rather not, I'd be thankful. It's manly about whether there's at least some focus on his "Greek-ness" versus his "behaving orientally"  because that's what I need, and if there's nothing useful, I don't even have to consider the author in question.

Thank you in advance :)

It seems that a new statue of Alexander the Great has been unearthed in Alexandria, Egypt. That's so very exciting!
The full article regarding this new discovery can be read here.
Update: The statue doesn't belong to Alexander apparently. Here is a much better view of it... It's beautiful nonetheless ;D
http://rogueclassicism.com/2009/05/24/alexander-from-alexandria-followup/

did hephaestion have an erastes or would alexander not have let that happen? and i guess a prince wouldnt have one would he?
thank you

Some of you might be familiar with Anna Apostolou's A Murder in Macedon.  It's a pretty terrible book, but the cover illustration is beautiful--is there anybody here who could tell me where it comes from?



Based on the lines in the drawing, I'd say it's almost certainly an 18th- or 19th-century engraving--perhaps it was once an illustration in a fancy history book?  The softcover edition of A Murder in Macedon doesn't credit the artist (which partly confirms my theory--the picture must be out of copyright).  I assume it is actually an illustration of Philip's murder, although I suppose the publishers could have nicked it from another ancient assassination scene.

Have any of you seen this picture before?  Do you have any guesses or advice about where I should look for it?  Thanks!

The book is now available:

Macedonian Legacies: Studies in Ancient Macedonian History and Culture in Honor of Eugene N. Borza

This new volume is a justified addition to library shelves, not only because it celebrates one of the foremost scholars in the field, but also for the strides in new research offered here in Gene Borza’s honor. This volume’s contributors include some of the most distinguished names currently involved in Macedonian scholarship and related areas of ancient history. The range of papers is impressive—in areas, in disciplines, and in foci ...

... are a wealth of other essays that employ recent archaeology, art history, social history, military history, philology, comparative literary analysis, prosopography, political analysis and even interdisciplinary work utilizing the social sciences. What is particularly exciting about these papers is how they often combine academic disciplines in fruitful ways to shine new light on old questions.

Editors: Timothy Howe and Jeanne Reames
Publication Date: 1 May 2009 (note the book is ready to order, and will be released in a month)

Extensive end notes, bibliography, illustrations
310 Pages (PB)

PRICE: $24.95

As noted before, that's quite cheap, as academic books go.

http://www.reginabooks.com/1-930053-56-8.html
http://www.reginabooks.com/ancient&medieval.html (to order)

( Click for a list of the Table of Contents & contributors -- a baker's dozen! )

The most influential account of the career of Alexander the Great was penned by Cleitarchus the son of Deinon, a Greek writing in Alexandria in the decades after Alexander’s death. Most of the surviving ancient texts on Alexander were more or less based upon his work, but every single copy of the original was discarded or destroyed in antiquity. To what extent might it be possible to reconstruct it from the secondary writings? My new book (now available from Internet bookstores: Amazon etc.) argues that a considerable degree of reconstruction is feasible and demonstrates the point by presenting a full reconstruction of Cleitarchus’ version of Alexander’s campaigns in India, the first time that this has been done.

There is a page dedicated to the new book on my website at www.alexanderstomb.com/main/cleitarchus/index.html including a sample chapter as a downloadable pdf, which contains my reconstruction of Book 12 of Cleitarchus.

Best wishes,

Andrew

Has anyone read The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams?  It's a novel about the search for the tomb of Alexander the Great.  I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile read.  Anyone?

I'm teaching my ATG class again this spring and I've got this comm linked on the course website. It's possible some of my students might drop in here to ask questions or such. Please treat them kindly; they're here with my permission, not sneaking around without my knowledge. ;>

Hi,
recently I've bought a French book called "A poil et à plume - Homosexuels et bisexuels célèbres" (1987), by Michel Larivière.
The book is a sort of list of important omosexuals and bisex characters in history, with information about each of them.
In the entry about Alexander a sentence attributed to him is reported, which says "Je fais l'amour avec Ephestion et la volupté avec Bagoas" (I make love with Hephaestion and voluptuosness with Bagoas).
Where this sentence come from? I've never read it in any ancient source and since Mr. Chugg doesn't mention it in his book I think it might be a fake or a forgery...

This is Alexander related only by a very generous stretch of the comm guidelines, but the following question was asked over at maryrenaultfics, and there are more experts here than anywhere else I can think of, so having a go:

Black Gold and Lamp Oil
Very early in chapter 17 ( of The Persian Boy) there is an anecdote about a finding crude oil spring. The seer told Alexander "its generous flow [stood] for victory and wealth."

Bagoas recounts how they substituted it for the normal lamp oil that night but it made a foul smoke so the lamp had to be taken outside.

What did the Macedonians or Persians normally use for lamp oil that didn't smoke? Does anyone know?

Just to let anyone reading know that my Alexander website, which has hundreds of captures etc from the movie is going to be deleted very soon, so if you want to save any of the images do so now.

link to the site is on my LJ info page.

Sal

I just read this in Robinson's "the History of Alexander the Great" Part 2, "The Fragments"
It's from PLUT. Aet. gr. 9 p. 292 D-F.
"Fort the Delphians do not use b for ph (as the Macedonians...)"
So, is it Hebaistion and Bilippos???

Hey there,

I'm new to this community, but have been interested in Alexander and his reign for some time.
So, I actually consider myself an Alexander-fan, as I think he's a fascinating historical person (with his spirits, and his pothos, and his romance and genius, ... )  and had a great effect on the European/Asian world. I'm also studying Ancient Greek in school, and generally love most Greek things (yeah, I know, Alexander was Macedonian), so that's a point too.

However, today I was wondering - why is Alexander considered such an incredibly important person in history, or rather, were the changes he caused any good?
I mean, clearly, it speaks of great strategical abilities to conquer an empire I don't know how many times larger than your own, with an army the accordant size, etc. Then we've got the hellenism, which itself isn't a bad thing, as cultural change is usually positive for both sides, IMO.
But generally, the idea of conquering another empire just for the sake of is, is not something ultimatively positive, at least from nowaday's perspective, is it?

So, my question: What do you think, was Alexander's reason to act like he did, and what (positive and negative) effects did it have on the world?

I know, there've been entire books written about that, but I just wanted to know some of your opinions ...

I thought I'd let you know that my new book, The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great, has just been published and has become available through www.amazon.com and www.amazon.co.uk in the last few days. It updates and extends the story relative to my first book, The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great, published in June 2004. It begins with an in-depth analysis of Alexander's death. There are more details on my website at www.alexanderstomb.com
Best wishes,
Andrew

Folks, as it turns out, Dr. Carney's conference at Clemson has limited space, so it's NOT open to general attendance. Sorry about that.

I just wanted to introduce myself.  I''m not an academic, but an avid ancient history buff.  I am glad to find an intelligent community on LJ.

Has anyone read Alexander the Great by Paul Cartledge?  The author presented some interesting points.  I composed a review of it here: http://www.unrv.com/book-review/alexander-the-great.php

Yes. Another Alexander movie. Here's the IMDB-info
And a teaser on YouTube
And some more info

Let me quote this bit from the last link that I found very, uhm, interesting:
"Alexander experiences all the problems a modern teenager has today, be it bullies and cheats at school, or winning the affections of beautiful girls."

Is it just me, or does the idea of a "modern teenager Alexander" indeed sound slightly disturbing? I mean - he's the heir of King Philip. What kind of problems could he possible have with bullies? And what kind of modern teenager prepares to be a king and has his first battle experiences?
I must say I'm not impressed...