Alexander crossing the Indus at Ohind

In spite of the continuous tribal wars in Pakistan, archaeologists seem to say that they were able to carry out excavations at the village of Hund (Ohind in antiquity) in the north-western region of Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa, in modern Pakistan – the “land of the five rivers”. It is said that Alexander the Great stayed at this village before moving to Taxila. This is a known fact, but I wonder how far there is truth to today’s excavation story (see this article published in The Statesman in March 2016), as it sounds rather vague.

The town of Hund (also known as Odabandapura) is where Alexander crossed the Indus River in 327 BC over a bridge built by Hephaistion, who, together with Perdiccas, was sent ahead with part of the army to subdue the lands on their route. They had marched from the Cophen River (modern Kabul River) through the Khyber Pass down to the Indus, taking Peucelaotis in the Peshawar Valley on the way. Hephaistion had constructed a fleet of thirty-oared galleys and a pontoon bridge of linked boats spanning the Indus River, which at this point is at least 400 to 500 meters wide. This operation is not to be underestimated, for although the bridge was constructed far upstream in the Punjab region, the river is fed by snow and glacial meltwater from the Karakorum, the Hindu Kush, and the Himalaya Mountains and its annual flow is known to be two times faster than that of the Nile or three times that of the Euphrates and the Tigris combined.

Alexander, together with Craterus and Coenus in the meantime, campaigned against the Aspasians and the Assacenes north of that road to consolidate their rear in order to avoid being cut off from their line of supplies. Both Macedonian units united near modern Hund, from where the entire army crossed the Indus River.

Beyond the preparations for the crossing, little is told about the traverse itself. The local king, Omphis, had provided supplies to the Macedonians working at the river, but he had not met any of them in person. Omphis (also called Mophis in some sources) was the son of Taxiles, whom Alexander had met whilst in Sogdiana. King Taxiles had promised to join his forces to those of Alexander in his upcoming Indian campaign. After his father’s death, Omphis had sent notice to Alexander inquiring whether he would approve him reigning in the interim at Taxila or if, on the contrary, he preferred to appoint a viceroy pending his arrival – a gesture that Alexander highly appreciated. For the time being, Omphis could continue to rule but should not yet carry the title of Taxiles, as was reserved for the king in power, till Alexander’s arrival.

When the Macedonian army reached Taxila, one of the smaller states in Punjab,  they were met by Omphis, pleased to come forth with his army and elephants. Watching the approach, Alexander became suspicious because the Indian king’s display looked as if he was ready for battle with his elephants distributed evenly between the formations of soldiers. To be on the safe side, Alexander immediately sounded the call to arms, and the entire army took their position with the cavalry deployed at the wings, all facing the foe in silence. Noticing this sudden change, Omphis realized the impact his approach had had on the Macedonians.

Omphis ordered his men to raise their lances and stop their advance. He himself moved forward to meet Alexander, escorted by only a few of his cavalry. Alexander followed suit, and when both men met face to face, it became immediately clear that this was a friendly meeting. The expression on their faces said it all, pending the arrival of an interpreter.

When the interpreter arrived, Alexander wanted to know why Omphis had mobilized his entire forces to meet him. The Indian responded that he had brought his army in order to place his men at Alexander’s disposal. On hearing this good news, both men shook hands as a token of friendship and fidelity. Omphis handed his fifty-six elephants over to Alexander, together with an impressive herd of livestock, including 3,000 bulls dressed up for sacrifices.

Then Alexander granted him the royal insignia together with the permission to bear his father’s name, Taxiles, as he was known henceforth by his people.

The newly appointed king hosted Alexander as his guest for three days, allowing the Macedonians a time of rest. On the fourth day, Taxiles announced the amount of grain he had provided to Hephaistion while building the bridge over the Indus and, at the same time, handed gold crowns to Alexander and each of his Friends, plus eighty talents of minted silver and a number of unspecified strange jungle beasts. Alexander was evidently delighted but returned all the gifts to Taxiles and, in addition, gave him 1,000 talents together with an array of gold and silver vessels and thirty of his steeds equipped as his own.

It is under these circumstances that King Taxiles joined his forces to those of Alexander as they headed further east to challenge Porus, who was waiting for them on the opposite bank of the Hydaspes River.

[Map of the Indus from Livius site]

Alexander’s near fatal dip in the Cydnus River at Tarsus

Tarsus, in antiquity, was a large and prosperous city, but its remains are sadly disappointing since all that is left is a short stretch of Roman road of black basalt with white edges without a beginning or end. This is not surprising, as sixteen consecutive layers of habitation have been found on top of the Roman layer. Tarsus today looks like a rather sleepy town with typical Ottoman houses recently renovated and repainted.

Consequently, all my hopes are focused on the River Cydnus. This is a typical mountain river, tumbling down from the Taurus Mountains over rocks and outcrops and meandering between trees and bushes that cling to their footholds along its very banks. It is said to be 200 ft wide. Still, I wonder about the spot where these measurements were taken for the water at times cascades happily over the many rocks through narrow passages, while at other times, the river is slowly flowing between wide manmade banks. After some effort, I found a spot to dip my hand in the fast-flowing water. It is early May, about the same time of year Alexander was here. The water is clear and cold, chilly but not exactly ice-cold, and certainly not to the extent of causing a convulsive reaction.

What illness struck Alexander remains vague. Arrian speaks of “a bout of sickness,” adding that Aristobulus mentions exhaustion. Alexander was seized by a convulsion, followed by a high fever and sleepless nights. Curtius, as usual, is more elaborate, describing how Alexander’s limbs stiffened and how he lost his color and body warmth, making him look more dead than alive. This spread commotion and concern throughout the camp, where many started mourning their king, wailing with great anxiety. Alexander’s physicians were at a loss, but one of them, Philip of Acarnia, who knew Alexander from boyhood, promised to treat him with a strong purgative. Alexander agreed to take it when he received a letter from Parmenion, who had been sent ahead, cautioning him against the doctor. “Beware of Philip,” he wrote, adding that he was informed that King Darius had bribed Philip with a thousand talents to poison him. As Philip handed his cup of medicine to his patient, Alexander drank the concoction with the letter in his hand and gave the document to his physician. Philip showed no alarm and simply advised Alexander to continue the treatment. There obviously was nothing wrong with the medicine or with Philip, who continued to serve Alexander all through his further campaigns. Curtius says Alexander appeared before his soldiers after the third day of treatment – much to everybody’s relief.

It is near impossible to imagine Alexander’s camp on the banks of the Cydnus. There are simply too many modern houses and streets closing in around the river. This “illness” had pinned down the Macedonian army for a while and delayed Alexander’s advance. At that time, Darius was waiting to confront Alexander on the plains of Sochi, but as soon as he heard the bad news, he set his army in motion to safeguard Cilicia. Yet he would not take Alexander off guard, for the Macedonian king had dispatched Parmenion to hold the Syrian Gates, modern Beilan Pass, in the Amanus Mountains, southeast of Iskenderun. 

As soon as he was strong enough, Alexander set the remaining part of his army in motion too, and marched to Issus.

Libraries in antiquity, a short overview

Talking about a library in antiquity, we automatically have – be it abstract – visions of the famous Library of Alexandria, Egypt. The library was, of course, not a Greek invention. However, they all kept legal and administrative documents. It is here that philosophers and occasional orators held lectures.

The oldest library (2500-2250 BC) was the one discovered in Ebla, Syria, containing a vast number of clay tablets. Of more recent dates were the clay tablets found at Mari (1900 BC) and Ugarit (1200 BC), both in Syria. As shown at Hattusa, Turkey, the Hittites were not behind, with some 30,000 tablets going back to 1900-1190 BC.

One of Turkey's more recently constructed libraries was The Royal Library of Antioch (today’s Antakya) founded in the third century BC under Antioch III.

Next comes the Library of Pergamon (modern Bergama), established by the Attalid kings between 197 and 159 BC. With its 200,000 volumes, it is second only to the Library of Alexandria. When the Ptolemies blocked the import of papyrus from Egypt, Pergamon started to use fine calfskin as alternative writing support, creating the first parchment or pergamum. The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built in 135 AD and had close ties with Alexandria and Pergamon.

Aristotle founded the oldest Greek library in Athens in the fourth century BC, which contributed widely to the later collection in Alexandria. Next came the libraries of Cos and Rhodes and the Library of Hadrian in Athens, all dating from the first/second century AD.

The Library of Alexandria has not survived, and the few descriptions that reached us leave a lot to our imagination. Among the best-preserved and/or best-restored, we note the Library of Celsus in Ephesus and the Library of Hadrian in Athens, which will help us to recreate an overall image of these fascinating structures.

The Library of Celsus in Ephesus is an inevitable landmark to every tourist who walks down Curetus Street and is beckoning him from the onset. It is indeed an imposing building with a carefully reconstructed façade, yet it is consistent with the grandeur and wealth of Ephesus. The high Corinthian columns support richly decorated ceiling caissons and frame the statues of four goddesses on their high pedestal, i.e., Sofia (wisdom), Arete (virtue), Ennoia (intelligence), and Episteme (knowledge). Consul Gaius Julius Aquila built this Library around 105-107 AD for his father, a worthy present, no doubt. Initially, the inside walls were covered with colored marble, and they still vaguely show traces of the niches meant to hold the papyrus scrolls in partitioned wooden cupboards (armaria). The room is quite grand, measuring 11 x 17 meters, and reminds me of Ptolemy’s library, as shown in Oliver Stone’s movie Alexander.

Hadrian built his Library of Hadrian in Athens circa 132-134 AD as part of his ambitious plans for the city. He erected it close to the Roman Agora and served as a repository for the city’s official archives besides its books. The peristyle-shaped building measured 122 x 82 meters, and today it is still accessible through an impressive propylon with Corinthian columns of Karystos marble. One hundred columns of Phrygian marble surrounded the large courtyard, interrupted by several semi-circular seating spaces. A garden and a decorative pool once occupied the center. Today, we see the ruins of several basilicas from the 7th and 12th centuries. Opposite the entrance propylon and at the far end of the courtyard lies the library itself. It was composed of a central reading room flanked by an auditorium with curved seating resembling a theatre. Of additional interest are the remains of the small Agios Asomatos sta Skalia church dedicated to the Archangel Michael, built in between the Corinthian columns at the entrance and still showing traces of a Byzantine fresco.

With its high surrounding walls, this Library must have been awe-inspiring – an excellent example to imagine other libraries elsewhere since the remains are often too scant to prove it.

[Picture of Pergamon is from Eduscapes]

He too is “Alexander”

It is not without reason that I have put “Alexander” between quotation marks in this title, for there is more to this quote than is suggested at first glance.

The Battle of Issus ended with the fleeing of King Darius and Alexander evidently setting off in his pursuit. As darkness fell, he had to abandon his chase and on his way back to camp he picked up the chariot of the Persian king with his shield, mantle, and bow. In the meantime, Alexander’s royal pages had taken possession of Darius’ tent, making it ready to welcome him with all the eastern riches that were seen as an omen for the upcoming conquest of Asia. They lit a great blaze of torches, prepared his bath and his meal, and waited for his return. He is said to have arrived around midnight and after a well-deserved bath, he sat down to relax over dinner, when he was disturbed by lamenting voices of women nearby.

He was informed that Darius’ mother Sisygambis, his wife Stateira and children were in a nearby tent. They just had received the news that Alexander returned with the chariot, bow, and mantle of their king, which led them to believe that Darius was dead and that Alexander had stripped him of his arms. Until then, Alexander had not been aware that the Persian royal family had been captured.

He immediately sent Laomedon, one of his Companions, to speak to Sisygambis and explain that Darius was still alive and that Alexander would treat her and the members of her family with the proper consideration. He would come and visit her the next morning to reiterate his goodwill.

The family of Darius in front of Alexander, by Charles le Brun.

The following day, Alexander went to visit Queen Sisygambis, together with his dear friend Hephaistion. It is said that Hephaistion was taller and more handsome than Alexander and since they were dressed alike, Sisygambis prostrated herself before him instead of Alexander. Hephaistion immediately stepped back and the Queen Mother’s attendants pointed toward Alexander. This was quite an embarrassing situation and with Persian court rules being very strict, one can only imagine what must have gone through the poor woman’s mind. She made a new start and did obeisance to Alexander, who may have been secretly amused by the confusion.

It was here that Alexander pronounced the famous words: “Never mind, Mother, for he too is Alexander”, which has led to many wrong interpretations by modern historians. Interestingly, Arrian is the only one to quote Alexander’s words in a slightly different manner by writing “he too is ‘an’ Alexander” – in other words, a “protector of man” (see: Alexander the Great, it’s all in the name). In fact, Alexander is not only making light of Sisygambis’ mistake but pays a reverence to his dear friend in the presence of the Persian court.

The fact that he addressed Sisygambis as Mother automatically meant that he accepted her as a second mother and that his intentions were friendly. He reiterated the message that had been conveyed the evening before by Laomedon. Alexander gave back all her servants, returned the royal jewelry, and restored her previous dignity. He also allowed Sisygambis to give the high ranked Persians of her choice who had fallen at Issus a burial in accordance with their own rites and customs. At this point, Curtius also adds that Alexander promised to provide for the marriage of Darius’ daughters and to raise his son as his own. Our sources are less clear when it comes to Queen Stateira, the most beautiful woman in the empire. Some say that Alexander respected her dignity, others that she died in childbirth of a child that could not have been Darius’.

This was Alexander’s first contact with the Persian Royal family and traditions, and I think he handled this extremely well and with great dignity.

An inspiring aerial view of Delphi

Yes, I know, there is a profusion and an endless supply of YouTube movies of all sorts. I am not always happy with the results but for some of them, I like to make an exception.

This time, it is about a recording made from a drone exploring the ancient site of Delphi. Nothing spectacular by itself but it gives a very clear overview of the layout of this sanctuary. One can easily recognize the modern path that meanders through the site as it passes along the Treasury of the Athenians, the Temple of Apollo where the famous oracle of Delphi was revealed, the well-preserved Theater and the spectacular Stadium

Delphi is one of those places that has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and is a must for every visitor to ancient Greece.

Wartime looting in antiquity

Wartime looting is something we associate with today’s unstable political situations in North Africa and the Middle East, but looking back into history, this is certainly not new, although the reasons and the drives were entirely different then from what we are facing now.

Looting can be triggered by warfare in which we have the urge to annihilate the enemy, and that includes everything he treasures and cherishes. When it comes to religious wars, like, for instance, those fought by the Crusaders, looting is translated into the destruction of religious convictions and what they stand for. Looting may also be simple greed, the envy to possess what no one else has, either because it is unique or because it is so valuable.

One of the first examples that comes to my mind is the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, two Athenian heroes who stood for the origin of Athenian democracy in 514 BC, and whose images were erected in the Agora. They were stolen by the Persians in 480 BC and moved to Susa, where they were recovered by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, who sent them back to Athens.

Yet most widespread or best-documented lootings happened in Roman times when great Greek works of art were carried home as trophies or as simple spoils of war.

After the sack of Corinth by L. Mummius in 146 BC, many statues were brought to Rome, while others were sold to the King of Pergamum, who was building up a remarkable collection. Among the statues that arrived in Rome was one of Philip II that was mistakenly labeled as that of Zeus.

Better known for all kinds of not-too-glorious reasons was L. Cornelius Sulla, who launched a well-remembered attack on Athens and Piraeus. He used the trees from Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum to build his siege towers. When Athens fell in 86 BC, he removed choice pieces from the Temple of Zeus, hardly built a century before, and these fragments later surfaced in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in Rome. At the same time, an unknown number of manuscripts, paintings, and other precious objects were shipped to Rome. Further, to pay for his expensive wars, he levied heavy contributions on the wealthiest cities to acquire the treasures of Epidaurus, Olympia, and Delphi – a true sacrilege at the time!

Following Sulla’s example, L. Licinius Lucullus collected works taken from Sinope by L. Aemilius Paullus. Sinope was a great admirer of Greek art and took his time to tour the country to find the most appealing pieces, like an Athena by Phidias that he dedicated to Rome, leaving, however, (luckily) the gigantic Zeus of Olympia untouched.

Julius Caesar was another great “collector,” acquiring his objects by plunder and purchase.

The most notorious of all looters definitely was Gaius Verres, governor of Sicily, who in 73 BC seized statues, reliefs, dedications, paintings and jewelry from the Sicilians and from other parts of the Greek world. He started by requisitioning the most beautiful objects from private homes, followed by the despoliation of the island’s sanctuaries. He stole a statue of Ceres from the temple of Catania; a set of gold and ivory doors from the temple of Athena in Syracuse, together with paintings and other effigies of the goddess whose hands supposedly were made of gold; a magnificent bronze statue of Apollo by Myron from the temple of Asclepius at Akragas; and many more. On their way to steal the statue of Heracles from the temple at Akragas, his soldiers were overpowered by furious citizens. Enough is enough! Tensions rose so high that Cicero was called in to defend the Sicilians’ case. He won, and Verres went into exile in Marseille. Unfortunately, none of these works of art was ever recovered.

With the increase of its wealth, Rome developed a kind of refinement where Corinthian bronzes became especially prized (the bronze was of exceptional quality!). Among those connoisseurs was Novius Vindex, who acquired a bronze statuette of Heracles made by nobody less than Lysippos, paintings by Apelles, and many other objects of marble, ivory, and precious metal believed to be the work of Praxiteles, Phidias, and Polycleitus.

Even Emperor Nero is to be found among the admirers of Greece, making him one of the major looters of Greek art to adorn the eternal city. He did not shy away from directing his attention towards Delphi, from where he took 500 bronze statues, and Olympia, where he monopolized an unspecified number of statues. Also on his list is a particularly fine Eros by Lysippos taken from Thespiae that was, later on, destroyed by a fire in Rome. Strangely enough, he left Athens untouched but rampaged through the cities of Asia Minor instead. He concentrated on masterpieces created by artists like Phidias, Praxiteles, and Cephisodotus. Among his masterpieces, the most famous were the Apollo Belvedere, the Borghese Gladiator, and a Venus. With the end of Roman power, the import and looting of Greek art came to a halt.

By this time, the Byzantine Empire had taken over, and Constantine the Great in 324 AD, inverted the inflow of art by bringing all the treasures from Rome to Constantinople. Under one of his successors, the pagan Julian the Apostate, we know that the temple of Apollo at Didyma and the sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis were restored.

The sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 395 was devastating, and many works of art found their way to Constantinople. The ruthless rampage of the barbarians spread as quickly as wildfire, and it was at this period that the great Chryselephantine statue of Zeus that Phidias made for the temple of Zeus in Olympia was saved at the last moment and transferred to the Palace of Lausus in Constantinople (to be ultimately destroyed by fire in the first half of the 5^th century AD). Soon, more selected gem pieces joined this collection, including the Athena of Lindos from the 4^th century BC, the famous Aphrodite from Cnidos created by Praxiteles, and the Hera from Samos made by Lysippos. Constantine also brought a porphyry column from Delphi to adorn his Forum, while his Senate was enhanced by the statue of Zeus from Dodona and two statues of Pallas Athena. Bellerophon slaying the Chimera was brought in from either Great Antioch or Corinth; the Fortune of the City exchanged the Forum in Rome for Constantinople, together with a statue of the Sun God from Phrygia.

Constantinople’s Hippodrome was outrageously populated by no less than sixty statues imported from Rome which, except for a statue of Augustus, came from all over the Greek world: Athens, Chios, Crete and Rhodes, Cyzicus, Caesarea, Sardes, Tralles, Tyana, Antioch, Iconium (modern Konya), Smyrna, Nicaea, Nicomedia and Nicopolis. Just imagine the widespread and cumbersome dragging and lugging of all these artifacts. No wonder we keep recuperating them from the bottom of the Mediterranean!

Today’s visitors to the Hippodrome in Istanbul can still admire the Serpent Column, which is part of a monument that once stood next to the temple of Apollo at Delphi and was dedicated by the cities that defied the Persians at the Battle of Platea in 479 BC. On the same square stands an Egyptian obelisk, originally commissioned by Thutmosis III in the 16^th century BC to commemorate one of his campaigns in Syria. It was shipped to Constantinople towards the end of the 4^th century AD and broke during its transport. What we see now is only the upper part mounted on a marble base showing reliefs of Theodosius I and his family attending races on this very Hippodrome.

This was also home to the life-size group of four horses we know from Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. They were made of gilded bronze, and the horses are said to have been pulling a chariot. It may have been brought in from Chios or given as a present to Nero by the king of Armenia and closely resembles the group created by Lysippos for the temple dedicated to Rhodes in Delphi during the 4^th century BC. According to one theory, these horses are Hellenistic copies, but according to others, it may well be the original that traveled from Delphi to Chios to Constantinople and eventually to Venice.

Time-wise, we now reach the construction of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, where today’s visitors can still find many columns, doors, and other decorative elements that were taken from different cities all over Asia Minor.

For many centuries Constantinople was a safe haven for many works of art from antiquity but during the ensuing invasions, first by the Arabs in the 7^th and 8^th centuries and by the Bulgarians in the 9^th and 10^th centuries, the city was thoroughly sacked in 1204 when the members of the Fourth Crusades rampaged through the streets of this once so glorious city. Most saddening is maybe the final destruction of so many documents that had survived from antiquity and that are since lost forever. 

In our 21^st century, we praise ourselves as lucky to have museums to shelter and protect our greatest and most magnificent works of art, although, at times, even the museums are no longer a safe haven for our culture. We are all aware of the dilapidated museums of Kabul and Bagdad, for instance, and we still don’t know what has happened to the Museum of Damascus and so many others in the Middle East. Looting was and still is omnipresent, most unfortunately.

[Picture of Harmodius and Aristogeiton is from Ancient Rome]

The challenge of crossing the Cilician Gates

The Cilician Gates is the name of a strategic pass in the Taurus Mountains that was used for centuries. Before Alexander, Cyrus the Great, with Xenophon and his Ten Thousand, had marched over this pass, and after him, we know that the Romans, the Mongols, and even the Crusaders were here. As recent as the 20^th century, the railroad engineers working on the train connection between Istanbul and Baghdad had to find their way over the Taurus Mountains at this point.

Xenophon mentions that the pass consisted of a “carriage track,” although the road must have been paved then. The passage through the Cilician Gates was very narrow, saying that it was wide enough for a four-horse chariot, meaning that four horses abreast could move over it at the same time. Yet the road was exceptionally steep and a near-natural barrier for any army to pass unopposed. It was and is frequently crossed by streams trickling from the walls on either side.

As mentioned by Xenophon, the width of a four-horse carriage is hard to match Curtius’ statement that it was wide enough for four armed men to walk abreast. The landscape is very rugged and inhospitable, even today, and in my first passage, I tried in vain to imagine how an army could move over such a terrain. Curtius says that the natural formation resembles fortifications made by human hands – how true that is!

The route Alexander followed out of Cappadocia must have run past modern Kemerhisan, Çiftehan, and Pozantı to arrive at the Gülek Boğaz Pass, as the Cilician Gates is called today.

The Romans, great road builders as they were, have left records of their improvements together with a series of milestones all along the road, like the lonely one standing in front of the local roadside restaurant. The stone carries an inscription stating that Caracalla repaired and improved the Via Tauri, as this road was called around 217 AD. Another milestone in this same area was erected by Severus Alexander, giving the distance to the Gates, the confines of the Cilicians, which matches the figure mentioned in the inscription at the Cilician Gates further down the road.

It is fascinating to find that wall inscription off the main highway down on the adjacent valley floor, knowing that it was initially engraved high above the ancient Via Tauri that led down to the coastal city of Tarsus. It is hard to imagine that W.M. Ramsay, who visited this area in 1882, had to use a telescope to read this inscription on the cliff above the stream (now tunneled underneath the modern road). The text can be translated as “Caracalla (with the addition of his real full name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) made the road wider by cutting through the mountains.” It is a miracle that this inscription has survived modern construction works as it now seems to stand on the valley floor, squeezed between the supportive wall of the highway, the narrow stream, and the mountain slopes on the other side.

When Alexander arrived at the spot known as Xenophon’s encampment near the Gates (probably less than three kilometers away), he investigated the situation. The narrow pass was pretty easy to defend from the high overhang above the road, where a small force could destroy the approaching enemy. It is clear, once again, that Alexander was not taking any chances. He ordered his light-armed Thracians ahead to occupy the different access paths and check them for enemy forces. At the same time, a band of bowmen was posted on the ridges above the access road, ready to attack if needed. It is so easy to see them mentally while moving over this road! Alexander left Parmenion with the heavy infantry near Cyrus’ encampment while he himself marched towards the Gates under cover of darkness to take the enemy by surprise. That surprise did not work out as his approach was noticed, and the small force supposed to defend the Gates fled at first sight of Alexander and his men. This was much easier than Thermopylae!

The following day at the crack of dawn, Alexander marched his men through the narrows. The operation lasted a full day, but the road to Tarsus lay open to him. Justin is so optimistic as to write that Alexander reached the city in one full day, but this is a distance of some 75 kilometers which Xenophon covered in a four-day march instead.

Before reaching Tarsus, walking over a reasonable stretch of said Via Tauri for about five or six kilometers through an unforgiving landscape of rough rocks and spiny bushes is still possible. A delicate arch is still spanning the road at the horizon, but this is a mere reconstruction since the original collapsed after repeated explosions at the mining site in the valley below. The mining company was ordered to rebuild it - thank Zeus for that.

It takes the modern traveler a lot of imagination since today’s highway across the Taurus Mountains has been widened and leveled compared to the narrow ancient passage. However, it still follows the same course. Then as now, the road runs downhill from here onwards into the coastal plain, and gradually the landscape becomes much friendlier with cultivated fields and blossoming orchards along wide rivers. Xenophon had also noticed the difference, saying that once across the pass, Cyrus entered a beautiful, well-watered plain that produced sesame, millet, wheat, and barley – easy to picture!

Still marching on the Via Tauri, Alexander received notice that the governor of Tarsus no longer wished to hold the city for Persia and was ready to give up the town. The townspeople clearly got scared, not of Alexander, but of their governor, who might be plundering Tarsus on his way out. Alexander clearly understood this, and he immediately rode up at full speed to the people’s rescue, just in time before the man could take any booty with him as he hurried for the Persian court.

Another ancient road was discovered near the village of Anavarza (Roman Caesarea). During the first and second centuries, it was the most important city of Cilicia and larger than Ephesos. The town has suffered severely from repeated earthquakes over the centuries, the last one as recent as 1945. The most striking element, however, is a double-columned highway, approximately 35 meters wide and 2.7 kilometers long. It has been established that the columns were of the Corinthian order and were erected at 2.15 meters intervals. So far, 1,360 columns have been unearthed, and plans are to restore them and the entrance gate. I wonder how much and in what shape this portion of the road existed in Alexander’s days.

Aristotle’s 2,400th birthday with an appropriate celebration

The news has not been confirmed yet, but Greek archaeologists have strong indications that they have discovered the tomb of Aristotle in his hometown of Stagira. What a birthday present for such a great man, who was born in 384 BC, exactly 2,400 years ago!

[Picture from The Guardian]

After some twenty years of painstaking excavations at Stagira where the philosopher was born, archaeologists are almost certain to have found his tomb in a domed vault near the ancient agora. The vault has a square marble floor dating from Hellenistic times as indicated by coins of Alexander the Great and ceramics that were found inside. Outside the tomb which is situated in an ideal spot with a panoramic view along the road to the agora, archaeologists also found an altar as referred to in ancient texts.

The location of Aristotle’s tomb in Stagira may come as a surprise since he died at Chalcis on the island of Euboea in 322 BC, just one year after the death of his most famous pupil, Alexander the Great. Ancient sources seem to indicate that the ashes of the philosopher were brought back by the people of Stagira to his hometown.

Besides being a philosopher in his own right making large contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, biology, and botany, Aristotle was himself a pupil of Plato in Athens who in turn was a pupil of Socrates. It was Philip II of Macedonia who invited Aristotle to become a tutor of his son, Alexander.

At this stage, a team of independent archaeologists will examine the site and hopefully confirm that this tomb is indeed Aristotle's last resting place.

Responses to Oliver Stone’s Alexander

Responses to Oliver Stone’s Alexander, film, history and cultural studies, edited by Paul Cartledge and Fiona Rose Greenland (ISBN 978-029923284-9), what can I say? So much has been said about the Alexander movie – mostly critics in the sense of finding fault – that I fail to see the purpose of this book.

It was recommended to me by an Alexander fan as “quite interesting”. Mmmm, maybe it is just that and nothing more. The many authors contributing to this book have all their own vision, generally their own reasons or arguments for tearing down the movie. It is so easy to find fault and to point out the shortcomings that little or no room is left for what Oliver Stone has accomplished.

Renowned and lesser-known authors have joined forces here to submit the Alexander movie to close scrutiny. The people contributing to this book are the following:

Joanna Paul, Oliver Stone’s Alexander and the Cinematic Epic Tradition

Jon Solomon, The Popular Reception of Alexander

Robin Lane Fox, Alexander on Stage: A Critical Appraisal of Rattigan’s Adventure Story

Kim Shahabudin, The Appearance of History: Robert Rossen’s Alexander the Great

Marilyn B. Skinner, Alexander and Ancient Greek Sexuality: Some Theoretical Considerations

Elizabeth D. Carney, Olympias and Oliver: Sex, Sexual Stereotyping, and Women in Oliver Stone’s Alexander

Monica Silveira Cyrino, Fortune Favors the Blond: Colin Farrell in Alexander

Jeanne Harrison, The Cult of Hephaestion

Thomas Harrison, Oliver Stone, Alexander, and the Unity of Mankind

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, “Help me, Aphrodite!” Depicting the Royal Women of Persia in Alexander

Verity Platt, Viewing the Pas: Cinematic Exegesis in the Caverns of Macedon

John F. Cherry, Blockbuster! Museum Responses to Alexander the Great

Oliver Stone, Afterword

Is this book adding anything to the historical Alexander? No. Is this book helping to understand the Alexander movie? No. Is this book bringing some new elements? No. Except for individual contemplations and practical/ financial/ theatrical elements, I fail to see the purpose of putting this book together. The best part is still Oliver Stone’s own Afterword, although it is far too long as everything is being said halfway through this chapter.

For me, personally, the Alexander movie is the best picture ever made about Alexander the Great. Most people seem to ignore that for once we have here an “entire” image of Alexander, in spite of the historical misrepresentations and incoherencies. One of these, and which is not mentioned by any of the critics, is the fact that the Battle of the Hydaspes is set in the jungle instead of the river banks; another discrepancy is the presence of Cassander through the entire campaign although he remained in Macedonia. Yet, I immediately recognized each and every one of his Companions and was “pulled” into the story from the beginning. The entire “spirit” of Alexander was present although many have expressed complaints about missing parts or aspects. The critics seem to forget that Alexander’s life was far too complex, too active, too magnanimous, and too genial to be told in three hours time for a public largely unacquainted with history or with Alexander the Great.

So, for all intents and purposes, I want to stress that I do NOT want to start any discussion about the movie, not here, not now, not later. In the end, it all comes down to our own love/hate relation with the figure of Alexander - one that is going on for 2,500 years and still continues to this very day.