Was Alexander defeated culturally by the Persians?

[Cyrus]

What do you think?

[marcus]

I would say no, because he didn't adopt Persian customs wholesale, and retained plenty of Macedonian/Greek identity. The fact that he intended the Macedonians still to occupy first place in the empire (I do *not* subscribe to the "Brotherhood of Man" story) I think makes this clear.Some of his men possibly thought he had been defeated culturally, but that was from a point of view of strong prejudice.All the bestMarcus

[rollsrite]

hi, i think atg loved different customs. as far as defeated culturally, no. but , yes, he was attracted to their customs; after all, he really believed he was a god and therefore to be treated as one including the bowing etc. but and there's always a but, he loved his home land and his men, and would never force them to bow and he tried, but never force! but his greek teacher, aristole, taught him that the greeks were superior; sounds like prejudice to me...or was he afaid atg would surpass his teachings. atg finally promoted according to actual deeds and what a man did in the field. atg had him own mind and used it. culturally, he made his own way,and his own culture. look at the way he dressed in the end a little persian and a little macadonian, he might have thrown in some egyptian for all we know. atg was unique! a man way ahead of his time. by and by, i did enjoy the history channel's viewpoint, some things were not agreeable to me but by and by, i would have preferred a much longer show. and i don't believe for a moment the last year of atg was spent in complete dispondency. i know he had lost hespitation and that was a GREAT blow to him but i believe he lived to conquer. tina rollsrite

[jan]

Good question! This implies that if cowboys had begun to wear Indian headdresses that they would have been defeated by the Indians rather than vice versa. It shows how the phrase when in Rome do as the Romans do came to be.I believe fashion reflects necessity. The Persians wore trousers because of climate, and Alexander adapted. The Greeks appear to have been hardy enough for the Macedonian geography to wear only skimpy clothing. Essentially, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan require more protective clothing, and as Alexander appears to be a sensible sort, he is able to be flexible instead of rigid. A problem that some of his following failed to note! The culture of Persian became Alexander's, not vice versa! Most northerners who go to the south usually shed their heavy winter clothing for the lighter wearing apparrel of the south! Common sense!

[dean]

Hello,I don't think that defeated was exactly the word. I think that he assumed in Asia the "role" of Great King and not a small part of that was due to trying to win the Persian populace? The same ideology was used, was it not, in Egypt? He became pharoah- and respected the symbol of the Egyptian people's god- Apis- so I don't suppose this was any different. I suppose in India he would have worn a turban if he had gone much further....Best regards,
Dean.