pothos.org

Oops, that's comparing two civilizations with a history of a millennium and a half; and with the complication that we are very poorly informed about the female side.All this being said, I think that the Romans were more close to the attitudes in western Europe today: marriage existed and was monogam...

I think not. Alexander had already lost control of Sogdia, Bactria, and the three Indian provinces. Had he gone to the west, the Iranian satrapies (six rebels in 325/324) would have become unquiet as well. I suppose Alexander would have remained undefeated on his march to the west, would have seen t...

No offense taken, dear Amyntoros, as no offense was meant. I hope we can agree to disagree on this point. I think that comparisons are not only justified but also necessary; even if we do not study the past to learn from it -it is perfectly okay to just enjoy the meeting with the past- our questions...

Maybe you're a bit too harsh, dear Susan. Kenny is, to some extent, right: there's much to hate about Alexander, but at least we can say about him that he did not just order others to do the dirty work, but took a share. Persian, Greek and Macedonian warfare implied risks for those who had decided t...

Perhaps it's interesting to focus on other heroes in the circle of Alexander: those non-military men and women who had to cope with rapid changes, tried to make the best of it, and were a source of inspiration for their people.My favorites are the Artabazus family, which must have offered advise to ...

I'm not so sure that it is a sensible strategy. We've seen similar attacks on non-combatants, dignified with the name "strategic bombing", during WW2 (Coventry, the V2's, Hamburg, Dresden). As far as I know, it only made Churchill and Hitler, the British and the Germans more resolute. I wo...

If you don't expect too much, the movie certainly has its moments. I think that Val Kilmer was acting excellently and think that the props were okay. Much criticism is justified, but still there is a lot of fun to be had. I hope you will enjoy it.Isn't it wonderful that you in Florida, Nick in Holla...

I think that a nice way to organize an Alexander trilogy would be to use three minor episodes: (1) the siege of Tyre; (2) Sogdia; (3) death in Babylon.The first shows us an ancient siege and focuses on the story of a noble conqueror slowly growing to atricities; the second shows us spectacular caval...

Yes, that's a good on; it looked authentic.Although I admit that I was amused (a) to see a Marcus Aurelius that looked like Obi Wan Kenobi and (b) to hear the Romans shout "Roma victor", which is rather poor Latin. Unfortunately, it seems to have become proverbial: a German author, Tony Do...

We have a weather report in the Astronomical Diaries: it was a clouded day.

This is an interesting question. I think the Mallian campaign shows that it is hard to give a clear-cut answer.Alexander's STRATEGY was that of a coward: attacking unprotected villages, terrorizing the populace, and no real attack until the enemy's army has already been demoralized.But then, there's...

Perhaps it is interesting to see that Homer is already unsure what makes a man a hero. In the Iliad, Achilles proclaims that he hates the man who uses tricks during a fight; he even hates this man "like the gates of hell". In the end, however, he can only overcome Hector by using a weak sp...

I should add something. War propaganda uses a couple of standard tricks to make sure that you don't perceive what is really going on.One possibility is to create an overview, a general perspective. Whatever happened at Gaugamela, it was a mess and no one could see what was going on; all that people ...

Ahem - we're going to disagree, but... are you serious?Stone's Gaugamela showed us a Darius with a Bin Laden beard, running away as a coward; and as pothosians we know better. Stone is -to put it bluntly- repeating Macedonian propaganda.My favorite battle scenes would include something from "Cr...

$4500: I guess that will be enough to make a nice trip to Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan. That looks like a better investment; no one can take away the memories, but if I had a sarcophagus, I would always fear thieves, I fear.HM