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Good lord! Does that mean that Manfredi got something right? It sounds as if I was reading it in Curtius, then...All the bestMarcus

The Times today (5 August 2002) says that Scorsese's planned Alexander film is "unlikely".If he was, indeed, planning on using Di Caprio, then all I can say is "thank goodness for that"!All the bestMarcus

That sounds right. I am pretty sure that I have read the name of the architect somewhere, and it would make sense if it were in Pliny. I think his name must be mentioned in a footnote to one of the Penguin translations of Arrian, Curtius or Plutarch, because I've definitely read it somewhere recentl...

I'm glad you asked that, Yiannis. I too wasn't convinced by the argument, but I don't know enough about horses, or about Greek, to be able to challenge it!I shall watch out for Hephaestion's answer...All the bestMarcus

Robert,I hope I never gave an impression that I "don't like you" - it would be a bit unfair as I don't even know you! Personally, I don't think there was anything wrong with your post - but, just to put it in context, we have had a lot of silly, one line comments on this forum that we can ...

Hi Tre,Pressfield's second book, about Alcibiades, is very poor, I think. He's tried to be too clever in the way he narrates the story and it just ends up very confused (and confusing). I haven't picked up the Amazon one yet because it's only available in the UK in large format paperback (which woul...

Thomas,I agree, so long as we don't allow it to degenerate into another "he was gay", "no he wasn't" argument. I don't think I could survive another of those.The question of what makes him a gay icon etc. is interesting (which makes it a question of historiography, not of his act...

Good point, John. For some reason I thought that Bosworth had finished it all, but if he hasn't then, as you say, it could take a while!Perhaps Bosworth hasn't even *realised* that there's a bit missing? )All the bestMarcus

Yes, I've seen the new Manfredi book. It's about Thermopylae but, to be honest, I would lay odds on it being as nothing compared with "Gates of Fire", the Steven Pressfield book. "Gates of Fire" is very much a 'boy's own' book, but it is extremely good. Manfredi can whistle...Mar...

Hi Nick,I assume that Bosworth definitely covers it in his commentary on Arrian. The problem is that it's *so* expensive (very niche, I suppose) that I've never got hold of it. I'm not aware of anywhere else that he mentions it. What about the notes to the Penguin translation? There might be somethi...

Well, they are both Italians. Maybe the biggest problem we have with Manfredi is the translation (although the general dumbing down of the characters, the downright un-historicity etc. play a part! )All the bestMarcus

Let's face it, though, the filmmakers will probably not court the Greek government at all. However, I would expect that they will use some experts in order to get things right - they might disregard what the experts say, but they will at least consult them.Olympus won't quake - it will explode! All ...

Funnily enough, it brought to my mind the 'funeral games' after Alexander's death. Baz Luhrmann as Perdiccas, Scorsese as Antigonus and Stone as Ptolemy, perhaps?As for Di Caprio - please, all the gods of Olympus, NO!

In TIME Magazine, 5 August 2002:Maybe 'Gladiator' got Hollywood jazzed on the ancient world or maybe the inspiration is the surprise success of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'. Either way, half the directors in town are set on making a mavie about the storied hero of the big fat Macedonian empire, ALEXAN...

Hey Nick,I don't think there was any disrespect in that post. A total lack of relevance to anything, perhaps...All the bestMarcus