Alexanders Influence on basically all todays religions?

[kenny]

This is a subject thatb reallyn doesnt make any sense at all to me. I watched a history documentary and the thesis of the story was the overall influence and blue prints all religions stem from Alexander. How so a guy a warrtior killer conquerer?Just for Example the guidelines of Islam was set down in the model of Alexander to conquer and to make the world as one in there case Muslim. Even in the Koran we see Alexander the 2 horned visiting the wholy god of Islam.Christianity based on the Alexandrian model of unification and as one race and religion. The details were much more than I state and even include Shiks and Budhism. Budhas dressed in greek Attire etc.Now am I missing something but how is it thout our guy stretches straight across the whole religios spectrum.Theres more to this than meets the eye.Maybe through Alexander there is even a key to stop the religious hatred thats around today.I doubt the real Islamic priests read the Kporan with Alexander and reform to the idea of jihad and suicide bombings sirely its not Alexandrian nor Islamic.Sorry about my expansion into funamentalism but I do think something is relevent.kenny

[chris]

Hi KennyThat's quite a claim that was made by the programme makers. I like to take the view that world religions that have passed the test of time have been borne from the minds of great spiritual thinkers. Alexander was many things, but surely not that. Chris

[Nicator]

I don't know that he directly influenced religions, either then or now, but was rather taken up as an icon within each religion. Does the Hindu religion make any reference to him? Nicator

[kenny]

Nick HailI cant be precise.Only if you fing a programe Called Alexander Man and God.The Programe started on a quest for the body.There was basic ideas what would and could be done were it to be found also a reconstruction of Philip based on the skull found at Virgina.Then the religion aspect turned up.To be honest there is more to Alexander than any of us could understand or even begin to. We have theories and all we say is gesture.Hindus and everything was mentioned. They even claimed Christianity before Jesus was an Alexander blue prit. The difference was Alexander was a soldier conquest theory of Unification jet Jesus was of love and tollerance. Same thing but different sides to the same coin.I am pretty sure with the advannce of technolgy and the dream to fing Alexanders body a whole lot of theories will turn on there heads.Kenny

[jan]

Hi Kenny, Unless one knows who preceded Alexander religiously and spiritually, which is mostly tales of Greek gods and goddesses, as they were very much a part of the scene, no wonder some may think that Alexander had been a foundation or turning point for other religious beliefs. I have seen a picture of him in a basket as if he is resurrecting and that was before Jesus took over in his most famous resurrection. I have always believed that the Koran is probably the closest to quoting the "real" Alexander correctly, so nothing suprises me when Islam claims Alexander, and it is true that there are many Buddhist statues that are imitative of Alexander. I also have read that early pictures of Jesus even carried Alexander's image. But the most important thing that I believe should be considered about Alexander's day is the amount of time, money, and workmanship that went into the warrior's garments or costumes. Think about it. Most of the industry around Alexander had to be been about the military equipment and uniforms. And just look at the amount of details that are in the breastplates alone, especially for the King. I think that the truth about the era can be easily realized by the amount of time and money it took just to create helmets, cuirasses, and a set of greaves. It had to have been quite an industry as compared to the ordinary tasks of daily living. Now think about this then: what happened to it?

[amyntoros]

***Now think about this then: what happened to it?*** A little bit off the topic of the thread, but I'll bite. Warfare obviously continued after Alexander, and armour and weapons constantly changed hands. Any armour made of bronze would have eventually been melted down and continually re-used for various purposes - a reason also why so few bronze statues have survived. Anything decorated with gold or silver would have been appropriated for its value and likely melted down again. Iron weapons rust away if moisture is present so it's usually only pieces buried in arid ground on battlefields or in well-sealed tombs that have remained fairly intact. And fabric or leather simply decays over time. Frankly, it's amazing that we have anything at all from the period after more than two thousand years! Best regards, Amyntoros

[jan]

Hi Linda Ann,I do believe that had people respected Alexander's attire so much that many would have probably secreted it away also, but I agree that probably some were melted down. However, it has always struck me a bit odd that when Alexander reaches Troy, he is able to find Achille's shield and takes it to wear himself, meaning that it had survived centuries. (Unless of course, that is simply folklore...)And myth has it that the shield for Achilles was especially made as well, so perhaps its being so conveniently placed out of harms way is myth also. (A bit like the story of King Arthur and the Excalibur.)Well, what is truly amazing is that even after Alexander has defeated King Porus's troops, has nearly drowned in the torrents of rain in India, and has lost most of his baggage and uniforms in the monsoon like storms, and his troops are haggard and torn after fighting snakes, the Greeks still managed to send new military unifroms and equipment, only to get lost again in another flood situation, so that most likely many of these items could still be buried in rivers in Pakistan.Perhaps the French authorities at the Louvre museum will one day discover some artifacts there. I hope that some archaeologists will attempt to find evidence yet.

[amyntoros]

Jan, you are an incurable romantic and I hate to keep quashing your thoughts, but, yes, Achille's shield was most likely folklore - not in that they gave the shield to Alexander, but that it had ever belonged to Achilles. Think of it as most likely being an item made to impress the "tourists". As for Alexander's weapons and armor, well, he definitely had more than one set, and after his death it was probably duplicated all over the place. For instance, a figure on one of the pediments of the Alexander Sarcophagus (which portrays the death of Perdiccas) is seen to be wearing the same armor as Alexander. Some believe this figure to be Arrhidaeus - which might explain the breastplate in "Philip's" tomb - but if that is so, then another set must have gone with Alexander's body in order for Caligula to have appropriated it centuries later. (And after Caligula's death, who knows what happened to the breastplate, given the volatile state of Rome at the time.) Both sets could have originally belonged to Alexander, though even here there is room for doubt, but I'm betting that there were others that were duplicated after his death. Can't you just picture many of the Successors and their descendants dressing as Alexander for effect in front of their armies? Works for me . . .You're right about the loss of some weapons in various floods, including the one in Gedrosia, but again, anything made of iron would probably be unrecognizable by now because of rust. And anything bronze or silver would likely have been removed from various river beds after so many centuries - rivers change direction or even dry up over long periods of time. There's small hope for a piece to be recovered here and there, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any major discoveries. It'd be nice, but if they still can't locate some of the cities that Alexander built, imagine how much harder it would be to find a few individual artifacts buried in silt and hidden in such a vast territory. .Best regards,Amyntoros

[jan]

Hi Linda Ann, I watched Sean Penn in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown, and the three versions of one story about Emmet Ray made me think of all the various versions of Alexander too. But while browsing Suzanne Cross's Undying God website, I found an interesting discussion on costumes, and I have just recently read how it is that Alexander created an entire new breastplate for his army. So it would be worth it to find one of those nicely embedded in some river or stream, rusted out or not. After this many centuries, I imagine that it is so deep in the earth that only an earthquake could cough it up. Me, a romantic! LOL! You got me! I am always a helpless romantic...