pothos.org

Thank you - the Frank L Holt quote is fascinating. I had read before of Caesar’s tears as he reached the age that ATG died and realised how little he had achieved (at that point) but was not sure if it was a myth And where would we be without Arrian - it was the first book I read about ATG and it ki...

I wonder how much impact ATG had on the ruling class of Rome? All great military leaders/historical figures can be used for propaganda and initially I wondered if ATG was employed by anti-republicans? After all, for those intent on bypassing/dissolving the power of the Senate, it must have been usef...

True enough Paralus The Youtube link which described homosexuality as 'sick nature' ended its attempt to be taken seriously or as anything other than having a bigoted agenda. Enough already. This is not the place for these kind of arguments - Pothos has a deserved reputation for fascinating insights...

This is a topic that has come up before and I seem to remember that it was covered exhaustively with source material etc - can it be accessed for those who want to see where the arguments led? And back to the idea of a 50yr old ATG with an adult son...wow, pretty mind blowing. Thinking of other dyna...

Thank you for your clear thinking, as ever, Paralus The child/children of Alexander did not reach maturity so yes, I think it is hard to imagine any successor arriving at a point they could command unchallenged - they would probably would have to have enjoyed ATG's talents and luck. With regard to s...

Thank you Paralus - I agree wholeheartedly. Any view we have now on sexual orientation is flawed as it inescapably framed by the time we live in now- it is purely subjective. But it has also always puzzled me why ATG's orientation matters so much - it is truly odd as is had little/no bearing on his ...

I think that's why it is hats off to Renault - she was very knowledgeable but was working with limited source material so her account is all the more impressive for it's fictionalisation.

Am I right in thinking that she was taught by Tolkien at some point? May have imagined that - the mind boggles!

I enjoyed the books a good deal - how do you give shape to the mind of ATG? Perhaps the distance she characterises him with is the most credible over the gulf of time. ‘The Last of the Wine’ is a moving read - set in the Peloponnesian War. I have not read her biog, 'The Nature of Alexander', and wou...

Hi Marcus

The parentheses are Fraser's - so, yes, it stopped me in my tracks (pg 279). Will scoot off to find out more about Cleopatra/Eurydice, thank you. Out of interest, does Classical history crop up at all in history lessons today?

Vx

Thanks Dean - that's food for thought - I'm also wondering if Alexander was perceived as bloodthirsty characters at that period in time. I guess ATG's story over the last two thousand years has been through any number of changes.

Vx

I'm reading Antonia Fraser's 'The Gunpowder Plot' and one of the conspirators, Sir Everard Digby, writes before his execution to urge two friends 'to support each other as brothers and to avoid the bad examples of Cain and Abel and Philip of Macedon's sons (one of whom had murdered the other)'. This...

Oop in the Northern Hemisphere and looking for Summer books....all recommendations gratefully received. Tracked down a copy of Mary Renault's 'The Bull From the Sea' - Theseus retold. I imagine you've read all she wrote... But for giggles, have you read Tibor Fischer's 'The Thought Gang' - Greek Phi...

Hi Marcus Athenaeus claims they married also Cleitarchus - she did bear Ptolemy two sons, Lagus and Leontiscus and a daughter, Eirene. I've read she kept the honorific title 'Queen of Memphis' after Ptolemy took other wives. I don't think Thais's goal would have been marriage - status perhaps and th...

Born a woman - hard to imagine isn't it? Even a woman of Olympias's considerable skill and ambition floundered on the limitations and danger of being a mere wfe and mother. Poor Cleopatra. Far better to be a hetaera perhaps? Thais lived to a ripe old age as well as becoming a Queen and consort...

Olympias and Philip are always portrayed in opposition but can anyone enlighten me as to whether their belief systems were that much at odds? Was Philip hostile to the customs of Epirus and the cult of Dionysus or did emerge after their relationship disintegrated/prior to Philip's death?