And yet another death theory

This moderated forum is for discussion of Alexander the Great. Inappropriate posts will be deleted without warning. Examples of inappropriate posts are:
* The Greek/Macedonian debate
* Blatant requests for pre-written assignments by lazy students - we don't mind the subtle ones ;-)
* Foul or inappropriate language

Moderator: pothos moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
amyntoros
Somatophylax
Posts: 2188
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:51 pm
Location: New York City

And yet another death theory

Post by amyntoros »

I really don't know what to say about this one...http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay. ... on=worldIt isn't as if no one else ever came up with this idea - I do recall a line or two on various forums over the years. We all may be guilty of an occasional flight of fancy - but a whole book based on this theory? And published, no less.
Amyntoros

Pothos Lunch Room Monitor
Taphoi

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by Taphoi »

Strychnine poisoning is not new. It was proposed by R D Milns on p.257 of his book, Alexander the Great, in 1968. It was debunked by Donald Engels in his article, "A Note on Alexander's Death" in Classical Philology 73, 1978. The idea that Roxane poisoned Alexander, when she was pregnant with his child, is fairly preposterous. There is certainly no evidence for it whatsoever, so it is also pure speculation.
susan
Somatophylax
Posts: 612
Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2002 5:41 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by susan »

I think that Mary Renault vaguely speculates that Roxane could have poisoned Hephaestion in 'The Nature of Alexander'. The new book has certainly got publicity, which must be its aim; I've read other books by the author and the logic is quite weak - coincidences and possibilities are treated as firm facts. There are such 'facts' as Roxane being interested in local customs, and I think it's rather absurd to say that Roxane was one of the few people to have access to Indian poisons when the whole army went there. Still, I dare say that it will sell well. I suppose the next candidate is Ptolemy, who wrote his memoirs to cover up his guilty secret.Susan
User avatar
marcus
Somatophylax
Posts: 4871
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2002 7:27 am
Location: Nottingham, England
Has thanked: 45 times
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by marcus »

It sounds as if it's in the same vein as all those popular 'history' books such as 'Holy Blood & Holy Grail', 'The Messianic Legacy', 'The Da Vinci Code' etc. - all filled with heavy doses of Occam's Razor!It might be an entertaining read, but I won't hold out any hopes for it.All the bestMarcus
Marcus
Sine doctrina vita est quasi mortis imago
At Amazon US
At Amazon UK
susan
Somatophylax
Posts: 612
Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2002 5:41 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by susan »

Yes indeed - he wrote "Search for the Holy Grail", which surprisingly turned up a few miles away from his home in the Midlands. The British Museum seem less sure about its importance.Susan
jan
Strategos (general)
Posts: 1709
Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 2:29 pm

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by jan »

Just another promo for Oliver Stone's movie, isn't it?
User avatar
amyntoros
Somatophylax
Posts: 2188
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:51 pm
Location: New York City

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by amyntoros »

Actually, it's another "product" piggy-backing on the publicity surrounding the movie. The film is being used to gain interest in the books, not the other way round. :-)
Amyntoros

Pothos Lunch Room Monitor
THE LIGHT 7000

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by THE LIGHT 7000 »

HiGǪ.Yes yesGǪ., guessings-reguessings, interpretations, misinterpretationsGǪ So what is realGǪ We wonGÇÖt find this until science and beliefs- religions, comes together, simply because today scientists are obligated, and they are forced to do what is their job GÇô by agreement, so by money, by what someone want to hear or/and to sellGǪ However the time is passing by and the new consciousness, the new world order, the new generations of thinkers and believers GǪ are emerging, so the truth will emerge with them, if not all, but maybe close to itGǪ What you think,GǪ is this fact or just my imaginationGǪ Anyway, I am one of these unfortunate GÇ£free surfers- not astronauts, nor Argonauts, maybe GÇôwhat was that, maybe soul-providersGǪ,, no, no it was not Michael Bolton nor Kenny GGǪGÇ¥, it is me- VaskoGǪ.GÇ¥, again question- well common tell me the truthGǪ!!!????GǪGǪOK, GǪ why do not think GÇ£holographicGÇ¥,GǪ - if one is giving wine to Alexander full of strychnine and very powerful poison made from poisonous mushrooms from Makedonia, since we know that Makedonia is very specific place with very specific flora and faunaGǪ, we have source of- short and long term acting poison- mushrooms! So there is absolutely no room for those who are saying that in the time of Aleksander there were no GÇ£depotGÇ¥ i.e. long lasting GÇ£weaponsGÇ¥ for individual killingGǪ There are various kind of mushrooms with various intensity, therefore duration of GÇ£killingGÇ¥GǪ , maybe day or few days, or maybe few weeks. Within this period of time one is expecting slow dying, mainly because of liver damage and further decomposition, GǪ, again which could lead towards some form of GÇ£encephalitisGÇ¥ with all itGÇÖs consequences, because of liver failure and later kidneys/heart failure, i.e. toxins which are not eliminated from the body via this mechanism, but are accumulated in the brain and the bodyGǪ. Because most of flora and fauna is lost, similar to wild life- animals today, we can not be sure what was all about, but according to tell tell stories, artifacts, writings, GǪetc., assassination was what happenGǪ- unfortunately for world.
This is more obvious with the fact that absolutely no one could do this to Aleksandar and to make it obvious in short period of time, because of consequences, so mushrooms were/are the real- long term element to cover everythingGǪ. If He was alive, this World and Mankind wouldGÇÖve been in the Universe, the place where we belong,.. long long time agoGǪ Fortunately- the new is born, so letGÇÖs wait and se
Avatar

Re: And yet another death theory

Post by Avatar »

The mermaids who sought were satisfied decades past
Post Reply