Alexander's Oath at Opis

[karie]

Hello All!I've recently come upon a certain "oath at opis" that is attributed to Alexander. It is said to have been derived from a speech me made to his army after a great victory (not sure which one).It is indeed a great and wonderful speech, one emphasizing the need for world unity and peace, as well as the need to jugde a person by his character and not by his culture or origin. The message of the speech seemed to coincide with Alexander's own beliefs. Is the attribution to Alexander accurate? Has anyone else come upon this speech?Sincerely, Karla

[dean]

Hello Karla,The speech I recall as having being attributed to Opis is one of quite a different nature and regarding the mutiny that took place there when the troops refused to go on.
(I am going purely on memory so anyone please correct me if I am putting my foot in it!)
It involved Alexander getting very angry indeed with his men and saying that before his father had been their king they were still sheep farmers living in the hills.
Also if memory serves me correctly, after the speech he jumped off the dais he was on and personally arrested some of the instigators of the uprising/mutiny- most of which were then later executed.Renault talks of it in "The nature of Alexander" and seems to point out in her analysis that he was able to put together a mesmerising speech "off the top of his head" without any preparation.Don't know if I am making much sense. Hope it is of some use.As regards an oath related to the unity of mankind I am sorry but I don't recall anything- maybe someone else can enlighten us.
Best regards,
Dean.

[ruthaki]

Somewhere I have the speech written out and I'll look for it. I also have it (in Greek) on a T-shirt.

[Calli]

Is the Opis speech about God and the unity of men a fictional account or a romance, written after Alexander the Great was dead?

[marcus]

Personally, I think it's a fiction/romance. There is certainly not one single primary source which indicates that Alexander held the 'brotherhood of mankind' view.However, those who prefer a more romantic view of Alexander, and ascribe to the WW Tarn school of thought, would disagree with me.All the bestMarcus