pothos.org

If you’re not doing detailed research and mainly just want to see the iconic sites, then maybe this type of tour would suit you: My first trip to Greece was 20 years ago. I did a 2 week package holiday (with Cosmos) from England, with a coach tour of the whole country the first week and then staying...

Archaic names are one of the problems when writing historic fiction. You want to be accurate, but you’re not turning out a text book and you don’t want your readers to become bored or confused. So you compromise. Eg: you know the kIng would have had a flowery three sentence title when being addresse...

Thomas.

Thank you for maintaining the site. Yes, it's a lot quieter than it used to be, but it jumps into life now and then. I still regard it as the "authorative" Alexander website, and my lunchtime routine sees me checking to see if there's any new posts most days.

Thanks again,
Derek

Ness, As someone who has written 5 Alexander novels, I think I’m qualified to speak on this. I thought the same. I enjoyed writing and wanted to become a world famous author, and Alexander was a perfect subject with lots of material. But the publishing world is a hard place. It’s all about money and...

I agree with both points. If Ptolemy had even been suspected to be a son of Philip in Alexander's lifetime. Alexander would have had him killed once he consolidated power. Ptolemy promoted the story later to reinforce his claim to kingship in Egypt.

Derek

I voted that he changed the course of history, but his actions and achievements have been superseded by everything that's happened since. And I think that holds true for most things. The fall of Constantinople was an earth-shattering event at the time, but means nothing to us now. Hitler started a w...

This was broadcast on PBS in the US a week or so ago. There are two others in the series, underground Cairo and underground Istanbul. All three were very good programs.

Derek

Just my own personal opinion, but Alexander's conquest of the eastern Mediterranean enabled the rise of Christianity. Greek became a universal language that the apostles then used to spread the word. Roman roads helped too, of course, but without a common language, Christianity would have probably r...

I seem to remember reading that they used Valerio Massimo Manfredi's novels as the basis for the film.

Derek

Hello Ruthaki,

You haven't posted for a while. It seems like the new layout is attracting people back. Good luck with the book.

Derek

This is a useful list. I think it should be argued over and a final version agreed upon, and then it should be added to the main Pothos website for reference. otherwise it will just be overwritten by future posts and lost.

Derek

I like the new layout. With more than one main site, it will hopefully encourage people to contribute; it could be quite daunting when there's only one thread on the go and the people discussing it are obvious experts. And definitely keep it out of Facebook or any other closed site. Keep it accessib...

I came across this picture one time. Its title was "Babylonian with a Single Lens Telescope". So things like that did exist.
Derek

You should also consider just how far you’re going to take historical accuracy. Yes, you live in fear of the howler like having Alexander check his wristwatch, but you also don’t want to write a textbook that bores the reader. Eg: Alexander’s in Babylon. You want to include the Hanging Gardens as de...

I’d always understood that at the time he was incorporated into the Hindu pantheon and became associated with Skanda, the god of war. The Indians may have hated Alexander, but they also feared him enough to worship him.

Derek