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Companions it has long been said that by the time Alexander retyrned to Babylon,that he had punished himself to the extent he was finished and his body was not equiped thdeal with his fateful ilness.I just read Arian and green to name but a few and the details although skimmed upon how he did punish himself.It still becomes clear he was full of energy and ambition he was running all over the plave and involved upto his neck.He was not behaving like a man who had physically and mentally had enough,32 years of age at that time was really a man in his,prime look at his aged veterans and great general Parmenio,Alexander was still fit and up to the job I feel.regards Alexes desciple

Hello Al's Desciple,The punishment ATG sustained would have broken any ordinary man years earlier. It is a testament to his incredible physical conditioning that he managed to survive and continue in spite of massive injuries all over his body, and with the weight of the world heaped upon him. Clearly he was still functional in Babylon, but just as clearly, he was not the same man that left Pella all those years before. My feelings are that he probably needed to take a bit of a breather from the parties and battles to come to terms with his vast empire before attempting to push himself further...but hindsight is always 20-20, and Alexander didn't have the luxury of being able to lead the raucous Macedonians and stay put at the same time...later Nicator

Hi Nick,Yes, I agree. Mentally he was probably well up for the job, but physically I reckon he was on a massive downward spiral - whatever illness he picked up he probably would have shaken off at the start of the campaign, but in 323 it finished him.He no doubt thought he was the same man he had been 12 years earlier - perhaps the alcohol provided some rose-tinted spectacles...All the bestMarcus

Hello Marcus,
Are you saying the poison would not have taken effect twelve years prior to Alexander's death ?(LOL) Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.
All the best

Hi Andrew,LOL!However, of course, there's a more serious answer, in that there were fewer people who would have wanted to poison him in 336-334... so in a way yes! :-)All the bestMarcus

On the other hand Marcus, if we consider the poisoning theory, Alexander's behaviour had allienated him from his generals. The killing of Philotas, Parmenion, Callisthenes and others must have made many people think that they could/would be next... and hence... do you follow my drift?

Companions theres only one thing that dont add up with the theory,that Alexander was finished and ready to drop.If that was the case I believe there would have been wholesale Macedonians dropping in the same way, as is well documented and attested too these loyal soldiers went through exactly the same hardships battles and incident as there king.As mentioned by the time they reached India they had been pushed to there limits,they also endured Gedrosia and MUST have come into contact with the mystery virus that brought Hepheastion and Alexander down,it only makes logical sense or was the rest of the thousands imunised.No where does Arian mention any scale of the Macedonians falling as there king did, the soldiers fought just as hard and drank as hard as Alexander, I feel if it were a virus then surely thered be record of an epidemic or did the virus just pick on Alexander and Hepheastion.Thoughts please

I'm very short on time, so I'll just pick up on one thing...don't forget that some months separated the deaths of Hephaestion and Alexander; also that there's no indication that they both died of the same 'mysterious illness'. Therefore, I would be wary of assigning suspicion to the fact that both of them died without there being hordes of other deaths.All the bestMarcus

I would like to point out that just because we don't hear of other's dying in the army in the same way as Alexander doesn't mean that they didn't. History is usually written about royalty and their families...the rest are lucky to get a tombstone. Furthermore, that there is no conclusive proof either way as to the nature and cause of Alexander's death...as you well know, it's always been pure speculation. later Nicator

He lost a lot of men through illness and snake bites and various other things in his travels, especially India. Not to speak of who was lost in battles. He lost a great number of men in the Gedrosia. If he wasn't a 'broken' man by the time he'd lived through all that and arrived back in Babylon he would truly be a 'god'. Not to speak of the opiates for pain of wounds and the great deal of wine they were known to drink. Yes, I'd say he was 'broken' as compared to what he was when he'd first arrived there. And it certainly seems as though he was losing it when it came to making judgements. He was only human, after all.

Aha, Ruth - "he was only human, after all"...Unless he really *was* a god, of course (but, then, he wouldn't have died of his 'mysterious' illness, would he?)Marcus