Alexander The Great

[David V]

Alexander, like Napoleon, sought to remake the world in his own image. Like other Greek monarchies of the time, Macedon was a constitutional monarchy, with a council and assembly- as opposed to the absolute monarchies of the time whose rulers bore the title "Tyrant" instead of "King".

[Kasumi]

Originally Posted by Asander

...Was Alexander, a king, equal with his subjects and peoples that he conquered?

Definetely he was not, because Alexander believed himself to be a son of the god Apollo since childhood. "The equality" he ment was the law and judgement equal for all his subjects. And that's all. No slaves are known to become aristocrats during Alexander's ruling.
So, no socialism at all. Don't worry!
By the way, the Mongol rulers such as Temuchin considered their subjects to be equal too, regardless the subjects' backgrounds or ethnicity. The punishment for breaking the law was equal for all - death.

[Asander]

Originally Posted by David V

Alexander, like Napoleon, sought to remake the world in his own image. Like other Greek monarchies of the time, Macedon was a constitutional monarchy, with a council and assembly- as opposed to the absolute monarchies of the time whose rulers bore the title "Tyrant" instead of "King".

Yes, but those councils where not formal? Because Bosworth says that the ruling of king Philip was autocratic.

Originally Posted by Esmerelda

I remember reading a trilogy on Alexander and in it, the soldiers addressed him by his name. This was a fictional work,though, so I'm not sure how much truth it contains

Actually, I don’t think that somebody knows how his soldiers adressed, but you may speculate (why not?) regarding this aspect - Philip and his soldiers had a very good relation based on feasts and fighting, and Alexander also had too. Lane Fox says that one of the elements that make Alexander fascinating, is the lack of informations;and because of that, your imagination has clear way.

Originally Posted by Kasumi

Definetely he was not, because Alexander believed himself to be a son of the god Apollo since childhood. "The equality" he ment was the law and judgement equal for all his subjects. And that's all. No slaves are known to become aristocrats during Alexander's ruling.
So, no socialism at all. Don't worry!

The son of Apollo, as you say, was fighting together with ordinary soldiers and much more, he always attacked first the line of the enemy followed by his companios, as Peter Green says. According to Plutarch, he refuses the water and other foods when the others don’t have any; he took a barbarian woman to be his wife and offered equal right and privilege to all barbarians who inhabited Asia.

If Alexander was the son of a god, as you say, afterall maybe he didn’t want to be equal with others, but this fact don’t imply that he didn’t wanted equality for all, except him. This is just an assumption and I truly hope you will understand what I want to say.

PS: I am not a socialist or comunist.

[Kasumi]

Originally Posted by Asander

The son of Apollo, as you say...

It's not my belief, it's a common known historical fact. Lurk Plutarch, Diodorus or Arrian's 'Anabasis Alexandri'.
As "a son of God" Alexander believed he could overcome more difficulties then commoners.
I don't see any conflicting clauses here. Do you?
The Greek gods had often act like human beings, they had a plenty of good and bad features. They took part in actions, see Homer's Iliad for example. King Alexander was not for "equality" in your modern sense.

Originally Posted by Asander

PS: I am not a socialist or comunist.

It's obvious.

[Asander]

Originally Posted by Kasumi

It's not my belief, it's a common known historical fact. Lurk Plutarch, Diodorus or Arrian's 'Anabasis Alexandri'.
As "a son of God" Alexander believed he could overcome more difficulties then commoners.
I don't see any conflicting clauses here. Do you?
The Greek gods had often act like human beings, they had a plenty of good and bad features. They took part in actions, see Homer's Iliad for example. King Alexander was not for "equality" in your modern sense.

Yes, I've said 'as you say' because I don't really believe in all this "son of a God" story, although the ancient sources speak about this. You know that Alexander was not the first who wanted kinship with a god; his father Philip, Lysander or Menecrates wanted also to be like gods. And they overcome more difficulties then others? They truly believed that? I think that Alexander was more intelligent and comprehensive, he was beyond this silly beliefs and saw the analogy with a god as a political propaganda regarding the egyptians, persians and others. Ancient sources (I don't remember exactly which one) says that when the persian queens enterend Alexander's tent, they bowed in front of Hefaistion, not Alexander. But the king replied that "here, all are named Alexander". Also, I do believe that Plutarch mentions how in a battle Alexander was bad injured, and he told to the physician who attend him someting like "look, this is human blood, not gods blood".


If Alexander, as a god, had to endure hard difficulties, how about his generals? Hefaistion, Ptolemy, Nearchus and others. They marched side by side with Alexander. Are they gods too?

Anyways, you've said that Alexander believed in equal judgement and law for all, greeks and barbarians. Somehow, I do agree and for me it's enough. Thank you so much, Kasumi.

[Sit]

There are shrewd glance .

[Meraude]

Originally Posted by Asander

I don't think that I may find the book so quick, that's why I want somebody to explain this to me: it could be some truth in the fact that Alexander was a partisan of equality among all? Or this idea is just silly?

I don't know about Alexander's ideas about equality, but as he was of Macedonian/Greece descent, I doubt that women and slaves would be counted as equals to free-born males. You might find some information about Alexander's ideas if you search for Aristotele's theories about equality, as Aristotele was a teacher of Alexander and most certainly a source of influence.

[madeleineleigh]

Originally Posted by Kasumi

Definetely he was not, because Alexander believed himself to be a son of the god Apollo since childhood. "The equality" he ment was the law and judgement equal for all his subjects. And that's all. No slaves are known to become aristocrats during Alexander's ruling.
So, no socialism at all. Don't worry!
By the way, the Mongol rulers such as Temuchin considered their subjects to be equal too, regardless the subjects' backgrounds or ethnicity. The punishment for breaking the law was equal for all - death.

Just a little correction: Olympias told her son or may have told her son Alexander that his father was Zeus (not Apollo).

According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder bolt, causing a flame that spread "far and wide" before dying away. Some time after the wedding, Philip was said to have seen himself, in a dream, sealing up his wife's womb with a seal upon which was engraved the image of a lion. Plutarch offers a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympia was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus. Ancient commentators were divided as to whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, some claiming she told Alexander, others that she dismissed the suggestion as impious.

The Zeus parentage theory would have made Alexander even more full of himself than having Apollo as a father, as Zeus was the king of all Greek gods, god of thunder and lightning, and the father of numerous other gods, including Apollo.

[An Ard Ri]

Amphipolis Tomb May Belong to Alexander the Great’s Mother

Amphipolis Tomb May Belong to Alexander the Great’s Mother — History in the Headlines

[An Ard Ri]

Remains of Alexander the Great's Father Confirmed Found


Remains of Alexander the Great's Father Confirmed Found : Discovery News

[SElizabeth]

Very interesting, Thank you!

[CyrilVladisla]

It was informative to learn that Alexander renamed a city in India for Bucephalus the wild horse.

[Roslyn]

He founded another city in honour of his favourite dog: Peritas.

[An Ard Ri]

Who Killed Alexander the Great?

Who Killed Alexander the Great? | History Today

[Meraude]

Originally Posted by Esmerelda

I remember reading a trilogy on Alexander and in it, the soldiers addressed him by his name. This was a fictional work,though, so I'm not sure how much truth it contains

Could it be Mary Renault's books? She wrote "Fire from Heaven", about his childhood and youth, "The Persian Boy", about Alexander's conquest of Persia narrated by Bagoas, a Persian boy who became Alexander's lover, and the third book is "Funeral Games", about Alexander's successors after his death. She has also written a non-fiction biography, "The Nature of Alexander". I can recommend all four books, they are well written and give a good, if not entirely true/neutral, picture of Alexander and his time, and she was knowledgeable about the ancient Greek world.

[An Ard Ri]

8 Surprising Facts about Alexander the Great

8 Surprising Facts about Alexander the Great — HISTORY Lists

[An Ard Ri]

Who Killed Alexander the Great?

Who Killed Alexander the Great? | History Today

[eya]

Archeologists uncover mysterius sarcophagus. Maybe Alexander the Great?

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...t-Giza-Plateau

[M. Payton]

Thank you Eya for the info, as always I love the news on ancient history and this is such a find for the world. I honestly believe there is so much left to find and so much still deeply hidden in Egypt never to be found.

[Samvel Magrdini]

Originally Posted by M. Payton

Thank you Eya for the info, as always I love the news on ancient history and this is such a find for the world. I honestly believe there is so much left to find and so much still deeply hidden in Egypt never to be found.

Most of our history knowledge is eternally lost in egypt with the fire of alexandrian library. 10,000 years of history lost, including works about Alexander the Great.