How is Alexander the great viewed in the West?

[CivOasis]

That seems pretty silly. By that definition, for instance, Kurds don't exist, nor do Catalans. Ethnicity and possession of statehood are two different things, and Greek identity has always been "layered" with other elements of ethnicity into the bargain.

I'm aware of that, but no one ever said if it was ethnicity or nationality. I looked at it more from the nationality point of view. Regardless, I called the other one the more reasonable view.
Admittedly, both are gross oversimplifications of the situation, but that seems to me to be the basic views one could have on the subject.

 

[jtb1127]

edit: X post

 

[sydhe]

For the record, I didn't know that he conquered any of India. I always thought he reached the border and stopped (under his army's/armies' pprotests).

His conquests in India were mostly in the Indus valley. Nowadays these are mostly in Pakistan except maybe in the Punjab.

 

[HannibalBarka]

Genetics. Obviously nothing to do with history. But the point was that he was an educated and intelligent sort of person, who one might hope would have a fair bit of generalist knowledge.

That reminds me of an article I saw lately about what do student in history know about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. the result was hilarious. some of them thought the "Gaza Strip" was a group of milititant as in "Bande de Gaza" in french may have double meaning (strip and group) !!!

see article below (sorry it's in french)

http://www.michelcollon.info/Bandes-a-Gaza-que-savent-les.html

 

[Lord Baal]

That reminds me of an article I saw lately about what do student in history know about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. the result was hilarious. some of them thought the "Gaza Strip" was a group of milititant as in "Bande de Gaza" in french may have double meaning (strip and group) !!!

see article below (sorry it's in french)

http://www.michelcollon.info/Bandes-a-Gaza-que-savent-les.html

I once knew a professor of linguistics who thought the Red Brigades were the Italian version of fire departments. He spoke Italian, by the way.

 

[Plotinus]

That reminds me of an article I saw lately about what do student in history know about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. the result was hilarious. some of them thought the "Gaza Strip" was a group of milititant as in "Bande de Gaza" in french may have double meaning (strip and group) !!!

see article below (sorry it's in french)

http://www.michelcollon.info/Bandes-a-Gaza-que-savent-les.html

Hilarious is right. I like the nice little map showing that the Gaza Strip is an enormous contested strip of no-man's-land in between Israel to the north and Palestine to the south.

 

[Virote_Considon]

I once knew a professor of linguistics who thought the Red Brigades were the Italian version of fire departments. He spoke Italian, by the way.

Hi hasn't worked in toy design at some point has he?

Spoiler :

 

[G-Max]

So... what's the ultimate litmus test of greek-ness? A fondness for buttsecks with pre-pubescent boys?

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[Ajidica]

Being a slav. I can't think of any other good indicators.

 

[Winner]

To be honest, I lost interest in Greek history when we moved past the Peloponnesian War in my high-school history classes. As for Alex, I've never understood what was so great about him.

 

[christos200]

As for Alex, I've never understood what was so great about him.

1) He united greece in one state. ( That collapsed soon after his death)

2) He took over half asia.

3) He tried to create a universal empire.

4) He had asian people to have greek education and join the greek army.

5) He hellenized the western asia. The hellenization continued in the byzantine empire until the arab invasions.

 

[Silurian]

1) After an outsider unites an area then dies, it often does not stay united.

 

[christos200]

1) After an outsider unites an area then dies, it often does not stay united.

Alex was greek. But the greeks want each city to be indepedent. Also even if Alex wasnt greek, that he is, he surely isnt slav.

 

[General Pilates]

I don't think Alexander really educated anyone in Persia except perhaps by showing them how to correctly burn a city.

 

[christos200]

I don't think Alexander really educated anyone in Persia except perhaps by showing them how to correctly burn a city.

In reality one of the reasons some of his generals didnt liked him was because he gave the persians equal rights with the greeks, while most greeks were racist against the persians. Also his cultural program was more importand than his wars.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Alex was greek. But the greeks want each city to be indepedent. Also even if Alex wasnt greek, that he is, he surely isnt slav.

Him being a slav isn't even a thing.

If anything, he might have been some sort of Illyrian, but it's not important because Macedon was well Hellenized by the time of Alex and his father.

 

[christos200]

but it's not important because Macedon was well Hellenized by the time of Alex and his father.

I agree with that.

 

[General Pilates]

In reality one of the reasons some of his generals didnt liked him was because he gave the persians equal rights with the greeks, while most greeks were racist against the persians. Also his cultural program was more importand than his wars.

What cultural program? Killing Bactrian men and then handing out their wives to his men? Persia didn't really need a Greek enlightenment; it was a backwater periphery to them.

 

[christos200]

What cultural program? Killing Bactrian men and then handing out their wives to his men? Persia didn't really need a Greek enlightenment; it was a backwater periphery to them.

Then why half of his army was persian and built many temples to all persian gods and educate them to greek culture?

 

[General Pilates]

Then why half of his army was persian and built many temples to all persian gods and educate them to greek culture?

When exactly did he do that? Was it before or after he set fire to the Capital and went on a rampage through Bactria?

And half his army was not Persian. That's ********. It was composed out of Greeks and Macedonians(the distinction here being purely in terms of military).