Alexander statue in airport causes turmoil

[Theseus]

This is on page 4 of the newest Sep/Oct issure of Archaeology magazine.

[Theseus]

If that 70 ft statue is ever erected I'd love to see it in person. It's too bad that it would be surrounded by so much controversy. I wonder what Alexander would make of all of this.

[Efstathios]

If one of the barbaric tribes north of Macedonia had erected a Hercules statue, he would have invaded and... oh, i leave the rest to your imagination. He invaded them anyways without them having to erect any statue

[Semiramis]

I think a 70 foot statue would have been right up our boy's alley. After all it was he who humbly decreed that the Greek cities worship him as a god. Back then the pesky Greeks had to have their arms twisted to recognize his greatness. Demosthenes of course with the gem "Alexander can be the son of Zeus and of Poseidon if he wishes." Even Demades, the lucky Athenian who got to propose these honours in the assembly, seemed far too practical to pay any mind to such a ridiculous concept. Apparently "He feared for his opponents. Lest in begrudging Alexander the heavens, they be removed from the Earth by him." The Spartans were short and to the point (no surprises there). "We agree that Alexander be called a god if he wishes."

In any case, I just can't imagine this Macedonian with an Libyan god for a father, an Epirote mother, Persian and Sogdian wives and lovers getting too upset about the hero-worship of Hercules or himself by barbarians. Didn't the divine Pharaoh get quite excited when told that Dionysis was worshiped in Nysa in India? So much so that he even left the inhabitants alone? Now, how often did that happen in his career?

[jan]

I find this extremely fascinating to see such a gorgeous rendition of Alexander displayed in this month's Archaeology magazine and will certainly rush to the nearest book store to buy it in the morrow. I like the illustration.

As for the controversy surrounding the statue, so what does it matter? When a hero of yesteryear is used for ceremonies it relieves the current population of political controversy. Here in the USA we have airports named for presidents, both Republican and Democrat..in Houston, it is George Bush Airport, and in Washington, DC, an airport is named for Ronald Reagan. That is far more controversial than an airport named for a great leader of the past such as Alexander...it saves them a lot of modern day controversy...

and of course it does do honor and tribute to Alexander who appears to have loved his desire for "gloire" also. I was reminded of Alexander's search for eternal life when in a recent church service the minister addressed the rich man's desire to learn the secret of eternal life from Jesus who is supposed to have admonished him, and told him to sell all his worldly good and give it to the poor and to follow after him. For some reason, an old story, one of the romance stories, no doubt, popped into mind when Alexander was led on a journey to find the secret of eternal life also. Since it was an Indian story, Alexander was more or less put down in the story as he was unable to enter the place for the secret, but the guide had been able to enter. I wondered about Alexander's search when the rich man who like Alexander had already amassed his fortune and made his way into the world wanted to know more. It is interesting to consider, as Alexander after all, like Jesus, did recognize the need to separate himself from his worldly goods, such as when he had the baggage of his own and his soldiers burned, reminding them that they had become too materialistic.

There are many lessons in the story of Alexander the Great. It will be great fun to travel to Europe and to fly into this airport to see this statue. I believe that Alexander would revel in it.

Enjoy!

[Theseus]

I do have to say that it really excites me that Alexander is pretty much a house-hold name in this day and age. To have so much interest in him after thousands of years is just testimony to how big of an impact he had and still has on our world. So many schools are placing less and less importance on ancient history and it really infuriates me. My child spent approx. 2 weeks on ancient Greece and about the same on Egypt. I know I am biassed as I have a great love for ancient history, but come on! There is so much to be learned from more than just world wars. The way our world is today is due greatly to things/events that happened thousands of years ago. I have mentioned that I fear that some day the worlds ancient history will be lost to our youth and that will be a sad day indeed. So again to see the excitement around Alexander is extraordinary to me and gives me hope that the love for ancient history will continue.

[rocktupac]

Well said Theseus. Cheers!

[Efstathios]

This particular statue in this particular country is hardly from excitment, but because of political agendas.