Alexander: The Ambiguity of GreatnessRandom House Publishing Group, 2 nov. 2004 - 464 pages For nearly two and a half millennia, Alexander the Great has loomed over history as a legend–and an enigma. Wounded repeatedly but always triumphant in battle, he conquered most of the known world, only to die mysteriously at the age of thirty-two. In his day he was revered as a god; in our day he has been reviled as a mass murderer, a tyrant as brutal as Stalin or Hitler. Who was the man behind the mask of power? Why did Alexander embark on an unprecedented program of global domination? What accounted for his astonishing success on the battlefield? In this luminous new biography, the esteemed classical scholar and historian Guy MacLean Rogers sifts through thousands of years of history and myth to uncover the truth about this complex, ambiguous genius. Ascending to the throne of Macedonia after the assassination of his father, King Philip II, Alexander discovered while barely out of his teens that he had an extraordinary talent and a boundless appetite for military conquest. A virtuoso of violence, he was gifted with an uncanny ability to visualize how a battle would unfold, coupled with devastating decisiveness in the field. Granicus, Issos, Gaugamela, Hydaspes–as the victories mounted, Alexander’s passion for conquest expanded from cities to countries to continents. When Persia, the greatest empire of his day, fell before him, he marched at once on India, intending to add it to his holdings. As Rogers shows, Alexander’s military prowess only heightened his exuberant sexuality. Though his taste for multiple partners, both male and female, was tolerated, Alexander’s relatively enlightened treatment of women was nothing short of revolutionary. He outlawed rape, he placed intelligent women in positions of authority, and he chose his wives from among the peoples he conquered. Indeed, as Rogers argues, Alexander’s fascination with Persian culture, customs, and sexual practices may have led to his downfall, perhaps even to his death. Alexander emerges as a charismatic and surprisingly modern figure–neither a messiah nor a genocidal butcher but one of the most imaginative and daring military tacticians of all time. Balanced and authoritative, this brilliant portrait brings Alexander to life as a man, without diminishing the power of the legend. |
Table des matières
The Blood of Heroes | |
Ahuramazdas Plan | |
The Assassination of Philip II | |
The SpearWon Prize of Asia | |
The Greek Cities of Asia Minor | |
The End of the Revolts | |
One Kiss the Poorer | |
In the Footsteps of Dionysos | |
The Battle of the Hydaspes | |
The Mutiny at the Hyphasis River | |
PART THREE When They Were Happy | |
The Meed of Great Deeds | |
Fulfillment of an Oracle | |
The Battle of Issos | |
Master of Sieges | |
The Gift of the River | |
The Battle of Gaugamela | |
The Sack of Persepolis | |
PART TWO King of All Asia | |
The Death of Darius | |
Anticipation | |
The Massacre of the Branchidae | |
The Wrath of Dionysos | |
Death in the Desert | |
The Reign of Terror? | |
Nabarzanes Gift | |
Persian Style | |
The Mutiny at Opis | |
Death in Babylon | |
Alexander and the Ambiguity of Greatness | |
Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Texts in Notes | |
Select Modern Bibliography | |
About the Author | |
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Expressions et termes fréquents
Alexander Alexander’s Alexander’s death Alexandria Amyntas ancient AncW Antipater archers Aristobulus Arrian Asia Minor assassination Athenian Athens attack Attalus Babylon Bactrian barbarians battle of Gaugamela battle of Issos Bessus bodyguard Bosworth brought Bucephalas Callisthenes campaign captured Cleitus Coenus command Companion cavalry conquered conquest Craterus crossing Curtius Cyrus Darius died Diodorus divine Ecbatana Egypt elephants enemy fighting fleet force friends Gaugamela Gedrosia gods governor Granicus Greece Greek cities Greek mercenaries guards Hammond Harpalus Hephaestion Herakles Herodotus historians honor horses Hydaspes Hyphasis Indians Indus infantry infantrymen Justin killed king’s Kuhrt later Macedon Macedonian Macedonian army Mallians marched military modern mounted murder Nearchus Olympias oracle Parmenio Pausanias Perdiccas perhaps Persepolis Persian cavalry Persian king phalanx Philip Philotas Plutarch Porus prostration Ptolemy river royal sacrifice satrap Scythians sent siege Sogdiana soldiers sources Spitamenes squadron story surrendered Susa tactical temple Thessalian troops victory warfare wounded Zeus Zeus Ammon