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Dear Pothosians, It's been a while since my last post. I moved to Spain and been busy. Also I had problems logging in, though they seem to be over now. But I kept on reading your -as always- interesting posts. In any case, I need your help to organise a trip to Greece next summer, and I want to know...

Yes, West Point does teach Alexander tactics and has done for a long time, although obviously he's not the only great military leader whose battles and tactics are taught there. [...] but it's good to see that Cyrus is also there. Hi Amyntoros, Of course Alexander is not the only leader whose tacti...

Hi there, I agree with most comments, especially with the fact that Alexander excelled at every type of (land) war and that he was fully adaptable. The argument that he never lost a battle, though true and remarkable, could be rebutted by some (not me) who claim his opponents were weak or that the M...

I know that TV and internet are keeping me well-informed on Paris Hilton's hangnail, but not so sure about the ongoing wars. Excellent point. Though I am more inclined to believe that the information IS there, it’s just that many times WE are not interested in looking for it. But even in China you ...

Hi there, Interesting thread. I guess one of the reasons war lost its "glamour" :? is that citizens now realize that most of the times the goals of the leaders are more mundane (oil, new markets, etc) than the ones they claim to fight for (freedom, democracy, etc). Of course, those goals w...

About the 'Alexanthros' thing: in Greek Alexander is written ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ. In modern Greek the letter delta (Δ) is pronounced 'th' like in 'this'. Many glossologists believe that in ancient Greek the letter delta was pronounced as the latin 'D'. Even today this bipronounciation exists. some say Alexa...

And what was the word used by Romans? Was it different than the greek one at first place? Greek was spoken widely among the educated Roman world. The word was Magno. For example Curtius Rufus wrote "Historiae Alexandri Magni". Indeed, that is the word that I was thinking of. But since I d...

The greek word used was Megas (ΜΕΓΑΣ). I don't think that 'Great' is an acurate translation of the greek word. Hi Alexanthros, That's interesting. What would be a better translation? Best, Alejandro PS: though the Greek word may be itself an inaccurate translation of the Latin original -as it is br...

what I would love is if they found something like some papyrus scrolls stored safely in a box that are still in tact with orders or something from Alexander or his Generals. Indeed, this could be very interesting because this place, given its position, would have been an important one regarding the...

Hi all, I agree that propaganda and the distinction "us v them" is a crucial part of fighting a campaign. I guess this is one of the main reasons why Alexander's alleged policy of fusion (or at least tolerance) was difficult to accept (especially by the winners, of course, but even for the...

Hi there, I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but I just read Virtues of War (its Spanish version actually), and I found it substandard. Characters are plain, especially Alexander. I hate when the author makes him tell things explicitly (like "I'm the best warrior ever") rather t...

I dont think that Alexander conquered every area that they passed through because it had something special. It was just in the way. And there were other areas too, that had far more less than India. Yet, he conquered them. Hi Efstathios. I agree that some areas were less rich than others, but they ...

But before you attempt to carry out your insurgency, just remember what happened to those satraps who thought they could get away with anything when Alexander's back appeared to be turned! :twisted: Ouch! I should have realised that you don’t become a somatophilax without being as ruthless as the k...

Alejandro, I've loved your posts in this thread, Thanks! I like your comments too! I guess we can picture ourselves as the “epigonoi” having a go at the “old guard”: the “holy trinity” of Amyntoros, Marcus and Paralus! :wink: (yes, Paralus, despite your rebellious antics, you’re very much part of t...

Hi all, The reason why I don't tend to focus on specific acts of Alexander's violence is because they were rarely gratuitous or sadistic for a conquerer . The vast majority of his actions can be explained as motivated by gaining power, eliminating resistance and spreading terror - the simple day to ...