55
votes
Accepted
Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion lovers?
The author of that particular claim appears to have been Diogenes the Cynic. This is the same man who was said to carry around a lantern in broad daylight, claiming to be (futilely) looking for an ...
- 118k
36
votes
Who governed while Alexander the Great was away conquering Asia?
Alexander left Antipater in charge in Macedonia/Greece while he was off conquering. Antipater had previously served Alexander's father, Phillip II, and had also previously served as regent for ...
- 461
25
votes
Why do people say, "Alexander the Great conquered the world?"
Wikipedia tells us that Alexander did indeed set out to conquer the whole world.
His empire consisted of most of the world known to the ancient Greeks of his time, so for his compatriots, yes, he ...
- 13.4k
18
votes
Accepted
What was the personal philosophy of Alexander the Great in his youth?
— My memory is all Greek to me too. —
But it seems that here we see mainly a slight slip-up in letters with a bit of retroactive reasoning, or perhaps a certain conflation of concepts?
The concept of ...
- 80.8k
14
votes
Accepted
What is Darius III wearing on his head?
From this website http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-ii , in a section concerning historical clothing it goes into length on several styles of headgear. This style falls under the ...
- 38.7k
12
votes
Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion lovers?
We do not know and cannot be sure. But it seems neither likely nor unlikely, but quite possible.
It seems as if many would like to get an answer that either gives the most intimate biographical ...
- 80.8k
11
votes
Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion lovers?
As the author of the long quotation, let me address the issue of whether they remained lovers later. I say they may not, not because Alexander got married (he was almost 30 by the first marriage!), ...
- 111
10
votes
Who were Alexander's historians that wrote about Indian social conditions?
It is not Sati alone that is mentioned by Aristobolos, the most significant historian that accompanied Alexander to India:
Few reliable records exist of the practice before the time of the Gupta ...
- 80.8k
9
votes
Accepted
Is it true that many great ancient warriors were vegan?
So officially, would carry wheat and barley but they ate whatever they could find,
Armies back then were principally fed with wheat, the soldiers would have likely ate plain whole wheat bread ...
- 2,333
9
votes
Why does Alexander the Great call Greeks free men while Persians slaves?
In his comment, Semaphore alludes to propaganda and this is indeed how Alexander's speech (see Arrian) should primarily be viewed. He is tapping into the Greek 'traditions' of resisting foreign ...
- 108k
8
votes
How was Alexander the Great able to rule so much territory?
Today I stumbled across Machiavelli's answer to this question (at least with reference to the Persian Empire) in chapter 4 of The Prince, where he writes,
Considering the difficulties which men ...
- 467
8
votes
Accepted
Was Alexander the Great undefeated in every battle?
If Alexander the Great is labelled as "one of the greatest military commanders of all time" is not because he wasn't defeated, but because his conquests.
Having said that, yes, it's true: there's no ...
- 3,179
7
votes
Accepted
Why did Archelaus move the capitol of Macedon to Pella?
Location.
According to A Companion to Ancient Macedonia edited by Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington, the "site was attractive for several reasons".
The location controlled a crossroads,"controlling ...
- 38.7k
5
votes
Accepted
When was the "Alexandrian period" of Greek sciences?
Approximately 300 BC to 30 BC, or up to 642 AD.
In the context of the sciences, the Alexandrian period refers to a phase associated with the Musaeum at Alexandria - a institution which included the ...
- 97.4k
4
votes
How realistic are the number of battle deaths in the Anabasis?
Ancient battles were very different from modern ones. When looking at battles today, we think of Verdun or Stalingrad as typical of big battles, with horrific losses on both sides being the norm. But ...
- 415
4
votes
Why do people say, "Alexander the Great conquered the world?"
Alexander the Great conquered what was then the known, "civilized" world.
The four early civilizations were the Egyptian, Babylonian, "Indian" and Chinese. Babylon was part of the Persian Empire, ...
- 104k
4
votes
Why does Alexander the Great call Greeks free men while Persians slaves?
There is a lot of truth in it
Ancient Macedonia was a borderline Hellenistic kingdom (border towards barbarians to the north mostly) . As such, it was tribalistic warrior culture, with many customs ...
- 11.2k
3
votes
Did Afghanistan make war with Alexander the Great?
In Alexander the Great's time the region of Afghanistan was known as Bactria. Alexander overran this region but had trouble managing it. Nominal ownership remained that of the successors of ...
- 2,042
3
votes
Accepted
What is the story behind the Education of Alexander the Great by Aristotle - Jose Armet Portanell
The point about a picture like this is that nearly everything in it is part of its portrayal of an idea. It's not a photograph: everything in it was deliberately put there by the artist.
Start with ...
- 31.4k
2
votes
How old was Bagoas when he met Alexander the Great?
Bagoas was Persian as the name is of Persian origin. He was, to quote Curtius, "in the very flower of his youth" when he first met Alexander. That seems to me to be 16-18 years old.
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
Which port did Alexander board his ship from, while returning from the Indian campaign?
Alexander crossed the Gedrosian desert, with the main body of his army.
The fleet you have in mind is the fleet raised by Nearchus to explore the Persian Gulf. According to Arrian (Anabasis, Book 6),...
- 14.8k
2
votes
What is Darius III wearing on his head?
It looks like a padded coif:
(source: tripod.com)
OT aside: you might also find this Youtube video from Lindeybeige on mail coifs interesting.
- 23.2k
2
votes
How realistic are the number of battle deaths in the Anabasis?
Death ratios such as 1:100 are possible and whats more, are typical when there is a technological superiority gap. Think bronze weapons against iron weapons; tanks against cavalry; Spanish ...
- 2,487
1
vote
When was the "Alexandrian period" of Greek sciences?
The more common name of this period is Hellenism. It starts with the death of Alexander III of Macedon (323 BC) and ends with the battle at Actium (31 BC).
- 38.5k
1
vote
Can we say that the first empire that divided its territory into provinces was the Neo-Assyrian Empire?
Definition
It possibly depends upon which definition of province one is using.
Wikipedia, province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives ...
- 3,134
1
vote
Is the name of Askandra Village, Rajasthan related to Alexander the Great?
Alexander's route of invasion and conquest in Indian Subcontinent today exists in modern-day Pakistan. This is the map:
As you can observe, Alexander mainly passed through Pakistani regions of Punjab,...
- 8,185
1
vote
Did Alexander the Great destroy a city to demonstrate his ability to reign?
Although late to the party, let me add that Alexander the Great did destroy a city as an example. The city of Tyre, which was an island city, would not surrender to him (there are others who say they ...
- 11
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