pothos.org

Athens - twice. That is, until Craterus brought those troops Macedon had been denuded of to Antipater's salvation. Macedon was a rump in the Diadoch years to be fought over by competing dynasts - second string compared to their Asian "betters" - until Doson and Gonatas resurrected some se...

The fact remains his father will not have left Macedon without there being an heir. What do we mean by heir? A child? How old would that child be? Because if we want to get technical, I don't see how anything less than an established man*, at least in his twenties and established in the kingdom, wo...

Alexander, I believe unforgivably, did not overly concern himself with the succession, which is inexusable for a King ... Sorry, but I still can't agree with this viewpoint. What worthy Macedonian princess do you think Alexander should have impregnated prior to heading for Asia? More to the point, ...

I have to say I agree with Marcus on this matter. Historians and readers can sometimes apply hindsight 20/20 on a situation a bit too much, using context and knowledge unknown to the people of that time, but I don't feel this is the case here. Philip had to have known what the consequence of not pay...

To describe someone who has dedicated their life to the pursuit of wealth and power through violence as a “hero” makes little sense to me. I suppose it all depends on how you look at it. To the ancient Greeks, heroism seems to have had as much to do with scale rather than morality--if not moreso. H...

Hi Phoebus, ... Just before his death, the Vulgate sources seem to suggest a court fearful of Alexander. This reminded me of something. Ansen's book on Eumenes specifically cites Perdiccas, Alexander's Chiliarch after Hephaistion's death, as a man of fearful temperament--a man feared by all but a f...

To describe someone who has dedicated their life to the pursuit of wealth and power through violence as a “hero” makes little sense to me. I suppose it all depends on how you look at it. To the ancient Greeks, heroism seems to have had as much to do with scale rather than morality--if not moreso. H...

I don’t think Alexander wanted to die in Mali. He took many risks in the battlefield and it was one of those rare times his good fortune deserted him. Not to mention any exaggerations of Alexander’s bravery that may have played a part in the future telling of that story. I'm not sure about this. Re...

Paralus, you bitter, bitter man. :wink: Many see in the son far more ambition than the father. This is incorrect. There is no need to go into speculation about what Philip might have done; what he did should serve notice. Philip’s ambitions are often reduced to a “limited” excursus into Persia. This...

Man, I simply don't have luck on graphic novels, then. I don't know if anyone here saw the movie "Sin City" or not. At any rate, it's based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, who also wrote and illustrated "300". In the graphic novel form of "Sin City", Dwight and his ...

I was curious how much of a mention that connection would get in the movie. The graphic novel put a good deal of emphasis on the influences Alexander (and one other historical figure) had on one of the protagonists. Good to see it's there.

Paralus, I am in agreement with the way you outlined everything--your thoughts match my own on this subject. Well, with one (possible) exception: I don't know how I feel about how Arrian presents the Indian army. Sometimes I feel it should be smaller than described, other times I feel only certain e...

The only reference I recall that approximates that number is, indeed, Diodorus': "[3] On the Macedonian side, the losses were two hundred and eighty cavalry and more than seven hundred infantry. The king buried the dead, rewarded those who had distinguished themselves in accordance with their d...

http://www.pothos.org/content/index.php?page=army

Under "Indian Army". A batcave, eh? Color me envious.

I was passing the time between meetings today by reading through the various articles the website has on Alexander's army, its campaigns, etc. Something caught my eye: "Indian Army At the battle of the Hydaspes King Porus' army, significantly smaller than its enemy, forced Alexander's Macedonia...