New theory on Alexander's death

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yiannis
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 543
Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2002 3:22 am

New theory on Alexander's death

Post by yiannis »

Hi companions,Two scientists, John Marr and Charles Calisher published (yet another) study that mentions that he has died of West Nile Fever.
More specifically they quote Plutarch in saying that:
"One incident, mentioned by Plutarch but not considered by previous investigators, may shed light on the cause of AlexanderGÇÖs death. The incident, which occurred as he entered Babylon, involved a flock of ravens exhibiting unusual behavior and subsequently dying at his feet. The inexplicable behavior of ravens is reminiscent of avian illness and death weeks before the first human cases of West Nile virus infection were identified in the United States. We posit that Alexander may have died of West Nile virus encephalitis."
Read the full article at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol9no12/03-0288.htm
beausefaless
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 669
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2003 9:20 am

Re: New theory on Alexander's death

Post by beausefaless »

This sounds like "The Omen Part Five Damon Rides Again", we'll never know what caused Alexander's death. The thought of Raven's dropping dead at anyone's feet sounds fictitious to me for those are tough birds with cast iron stomachs, they eat anything dead, all kinds of road kill including skunks. When I pull out a fish from my fish pond that died of old age, the ravens gather around and discuss the etiquette of fine cuisine and enjoy but I do realize the spread of a deadly virus or a virus infection without the proper medication can kill anything.
jan
Strategos (general)
Posts: 1709
Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 2:29 pm

Re: New theory on Alexander's death

Post by jan »

Very interesting article. Thanks. It is remarkable that Alexander had such a great constitution to succumb finally to a virus.
maciek
Hetairos (companion)
Posts: 439
Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2002 6:51 pm

Re: New theory on Alexander's death

Post by maciek »

This article is very interesting and I liked this form - like medical examintion but I think there are some mistakes like Alex's childres - he had two sons or even three if we believe in story about Amason woman... ;-)
Anyway I see it very good that people still try to search what pened to him and where is his grave.
Regards
Maciek
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