penelope wrote:It's interesting how he seemed to stick to the Iliad rather than the Odyssey since they say that until you do that you aren't fully mature yet. Could it be that for all the sex and war and rock' n 'roll he never really grew up?
Funny you should say this because for the longest time I have had the sense that neither Alexander nor his elite "warriors" were really "grown up" – at least not as WE see "maturity" today. They seem so similar to the perennial teenage boys gathered in the urban playgrounds – doing what they want, taking what they want, making their own rules and disregarding any attempt by society to impose rules upon them. There's demonstrable extreme generosity to friends and (sometimes) extreme cruelty to perceived enemies. They're interested only in the here and now and what position in the hierarchy they can achieve with little consideration for what effect they may have on "outsiders" except inasmuch as it affects themselves. And any future plans they have at this point in time are, in reality, more of the same. Today, of course, we
expect our youth to work only towards becoming productive, mature individuals and good contributing members to the established general community. Yes, it was much the same in ancient times in the communities such as Athens. Conquest, however, takes men out of that environment and allows them free reign to impose their will upon others. They, in essence, shape themselves without any need to conform. They make their own rules and expect (by means of might) others to live by them. They don't have to "grow up" and conform in any sense because that is an expectation normally forced upon them by others. Who is there to do that to a conqueror and his army?
Look how people sometimes propose an
if Alexander lived today scenario.” Yet - outside of him being born the ruler of some small and prosperous country - it would be impossible for him to function as the same individual within the constraints of western society. But, as with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette becoming West Side Story, you could transform Alexander's story to the youthful urban gang environment and - more than that - make it work!
I imagine I might have offended some members with the above, but it is not my intent. I should point out once again that those were different times culturally and what we think of as mature behaviour today doesn't translate to ancient society. Equating the behavior with some aspects of modern youth culture doesn't mean that I think Alexander and his cronies
were immature - just that they can be perceived that way according to today's societal rules. And this could be another reason for Alexander's popularity, especially amongst the younger crowd. Let's face it, we admire
success amongst the young today even when (or perhaps because) they may reach that success outside of the establishment. (And this while the parents amongst us are likely hoping that our own children will go to college, get good jobs, raise families of their own, etc.) So, from a modern viewpoint, seeing Alexander and his Friends as eternal youths in all aspects isn't meant to be an insult. Maturity in the contemporary sense isn't always what it's cracked up to be anyway!
Best regards,
.
