Search found 403 matches

by Semiramis
Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:45 am
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: Clietus. Parmenio, Philotas,Strapal Purges. Chicken feed
Replies: 80
Views: 30666

Semiramis, thank you. That's the point I'm trying to make. There was slaughter in war then. Conquest was the norm. Again I don't excuse it, but I do not need to. Those long dead victims do not need my defense. But I am not going to use their dead shades to advance my modern views either. There is s...
by Semiramis
Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:44 am
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: Clietus. Parmenio, Philotas,Strapal Purges. Chicken feed
Replies: 80
Views: 30666

Personally, I think it is as simple as this: the army was far, far from the Greek world or the center of Persian rule and Alexander knew that his men were going to have to fight their way back to the west, a more difficult thing to do if one were bringing thousands of captives in the wake of the ar...
by Semiramis
Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:47 pm
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: Clietus. Parmenio, Philotas,Strapal Purges. Chicken feed
Replies: 80
Views: 30666

If comparisons are odious, Hitler comparisons are ridiculous. Hi Paralus, I see where you're coming from. But it's hard to avoid comparisons. On these boards we often end up mentioning the Romans. Bosworth compared Alexander's doings to the Spanish conquest of the Americas. And Lane Fox, as you say...
by Semiramis
Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:48 am
Forum: Book reviews
Topic: A Bit of Shameless Self-Promo
Replies: 19
Views: 8203

Hi Scott,

The description for your book on the website just totally sucked me in. MUST read it now. Tell us a little bit more about Memnon please? :)
by Semiramis
Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:40 am
Forum: Book reviews
Topic: Hey, Philip fans -- seen this?
Replies: 15
Views: 5914

I'd like to answer/interject here myself. ...Philip is riding a white horse! I'm not saying that he couldn't have - and Sikander more than anyone else will know about the colors and breeds of the period - but there's a mythology of sorts that echoes in paintings throughout the ages. Kings, noble kn...
by Semiramis
Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:35 am
Forum: Discuss Alexander the Great
Topic: Did Alexander give too much?
Replies: 16
Views: 6531

Hi Theseus, Thank you so much for that excellent post clarifying things up. You do realize that I will just end up asking you loads of questions from now on. :) I don't believe that the Persians before Alexander had a standing army the size of Alexander's; i.e, the vast majority of Persian forces we...
by Semiramis
Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:16 am
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: Clietus. Parmenio, Philotas,Strapal Purges. Chicken feed
Replies: 80
Views: 30666

And, as Efstathios says (and I completely agree, which is why I pulled Jan up on this in the first place) Alexander had no policy of total annihilation, much less was it directed at any particular racial group. To make that comparison is incorrect, and ideologically very dodgy. ATB Yes, Alexander's...
by Semiramis
Fri Jul 27, 2007 3:05 pm
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: Clietus. Parmenio, Philotas,Strapal Purges. Chicken feed
Replies: 80
Views: 30666

Efstathios, The history of antisemitism in Europe didn't exactly start with Hitler... The crusaders always got pumped up by going on pogroms against local Jewish populations before setting off in their journeys... Then there's the mass extinction of native populations by European colonist , justifie...
by Semiramis
Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:28 pm
Forum: Discuss Alexander the Great
Topic: Did Alexander give too much?
Replies: 16
Views: 6531

I was about to question your grasp on reality ... until I read your last sentence! :D Ouch! :shock: Why? What is it about that paragraph minus the last sentence that is divorced from reality? :) Were the revolts in Egypt and Babylon over taxation? (I really don't know, and don't have time to go and...
by Semiramis
Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:27 am
Forum: Book reviews
Topic: Hey, Philip fans -- seen this?
Replies: 15
Views: 5914

Re: Enjoyed this painting

sikander wrote:yes, a nice painting. And since I have been accused, on occasion, of being too.. is the word nit-pick?-, I will not comment on the horse <alughing>..
OK... I'm going to take the bait. What about the horse? :)
by Semiramis
Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:00 am
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: Roxane
Replies: 23
Views: 9544

I don't know if you can avoid them all no matter how careful you are Vergina Sun. Modern day 'just so' stories regarding these matters is still the rage. Ever since genes came along, social conditioning just doesn't get the credit it deserves. :) They should certainly have more stringent measures fo...
by Semiramis
Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:15 am
Forum: Discuss Alexander the Great
Topic: How did Alexander cross the Hellespont ?
Replies: 4
Views: 3883

I believe Alexander crossed the Hellespont with galleys - rowing across the water. I suppose they were large enough to accomodate both men and horses. I can't recall any ancient sources saying how many ships there were, but there's always that story about Alexander throwing his spear upon the shore...
by Semiramis
Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:42 am
Forum: Art and Culture
Topic: Sex, power and punishment
Replies: 64
Views: 22082

That show definitely sounds like it's worth checking out. Is it called "The Lost Mummy of Imhotep" by any chance? There is one single book on Imhotep in my university library. Published in 1928. Don't know whether to laugh or cry about that one...:? I've had this interest with history, myt...
by Semiramis
Sun Jul 22, 2007 1:56 pm
Forum: Discuss Alexander the Great
Topic: Did Alexander give too much?
Replies: 16
Views: 6531

I guess the term generous implies that he was the rightful owner of the wealth he gave to others. I'm not 100% on this part. Macedonia was most likely bankrupt when Alexander left for Persia. But as we all know, he did a good job of getting hold of the Achaemenid treasury. Going further back, where ...
by Semiramis
Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:29 am
Forum: Alexander's contemporaries
Topic: A man And his best Mate
Replies: 5
Views: 3171

Another one from the Stone movie: "I am nothing without you" - Alexander to Hephaistion as Hephaistion lays dying. Quite clever to turn a reported quote upside down like that. :) One thing I found interesting was Alexander's request that Hephaistion be made into a god after his death. I th...