Tag Archives for Alexander the Great
James Romm at the New York Public Library, Wed Nov 2?
James Romm, editor of The Landmark Arrian, which we are reading now in two Reading Odyssey groups and the author of the newly published, Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire, will be speaking at th… Continue reading
They “do not remain there entirely of their own will”
The conference call on Arrian Book 4 & 5 in Andre’s group had an interesting “side topic” discussion on people left to provide a garrison for Alexander’s empire. I thought a post to continue that topic would be worthwhile since it seemed the discu… Continue reading
Alexander the Great: to boldly go
I have been meaning to post about this article regarding an intended TV series in 1964, starring William Shatner as Alexander and Adam West as Cleander. The link contains several YouTube clips from the series pilot, which was eventually released a… Continue reading
Arrian: Alexander and the Greeks, burning down the house
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the paradoxical figure of Alexander continues to emerge in Book Three. I wanted to look a little at Alexander’s relationship with the Greeks, leading to the dismissal of Greek troops at Ecbatana (3.19.5-8) and th… Continue reading
Arrian: Book Three—Gaugamela
Alexander deserves the glory which he has enjoyed for so many centuries and among all nations; but what if he had been beaten at Arbela [Gaugamela] having the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the deserts in his rear, without any strong places of refuge,… Continue reading
Alexander, the great administrator?
Book Three sees several changes in Alexander’s administrative choices and style. To date, most of the officers installed by Alexander as he marched through Ionia and the Levant have been Macedonians friends or trustees. The exceptions in the fir… Continue reading
The oracle of Ammon
Chapters 3 and 4 of Book Three cover Alexander’s visit to the shrine of Ammon, but questions raised by this trip linger long after the close of these chapters. Even though Arrian provides detail about the journey, full of marvels and supernatura… Continue reading
Was Alexander reckless?
Posted by Bill Swislow, member of the Arrian reading group 2 Thinking about Alexander’s risk taking, it seems fair to say that by our standards his behavior is reckless on the face of it. After all, as pointed out on a recent call, our political l… Continue reading
The Beauty of Alexander’s Life
“The beauty of Alexander’s life is that he did live out so many of the myths. He is the greatest Greek hero of all. In his story we find Achilles (who he outdid), Oedipus (hurt by his mother, Olympias, and her possible involvement in Philip’s deat… Continue reading
Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire
It’s not much of a review, but I’ll pass on the link to my post on James Romm’s recent release Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire. If you have enjoyed The Landmark Arrian you will definitely enjo… Continue reading →
20. October 2011 by dwightgreen
Categories: Arrian-Alexander, Commentary | Tags: Alexander the Great, Landmark Arrian | 1 comment