Alexander the Great

Akuma · Jan 23, 2009

I think it's both fascinating and frightening how this man was able to conquer most of "the world" (what was known to them at the time).

An interesting thing he did was that he promoted marriages between his troops and foreigners so it shows that he was not racist nor did he look down upon foreigners as inferior in that sense.

However I wonder how things would be if he had not conquered all that land..Anyone here feeling creative?

pingpong12 · Jan 24, 2009

Alexander the great wouldnt even be remembered if the Spartans under king leonidas hadnt held off the massive persian army at the small impass those 3 fateful days. Most people never knew about thsi until the 300 movie came out.

Delta · Mar 16, 2009

There have been many people throughout history who have conquered a lot of the world. I find these stories fascinating. It's such an incredible feat to even imagine. If he didn't conquer all that land, someone else would have. That's basically what it was in the ancient times - war.

The Parakeet · Mar 16, 2009

It actually is strange to realize just how many conquerors there were. Richard the Lionheart captured a good chunk of Europe and the Middle East. The Mongols captured half the world and probably could have captured Europe if they would have continued the assault (and not lost a good portion of their army in a tsunami). It's really staggering to think about doing that now.

deanhills · Mar 24, 2009

The Parakeet said:
It actually is strange to realize just how many conquerors there were. Richard the Lionheart captured a good chunk of Europe and the Middle East. The Mongols captured half the world and probably could have captured Europe if they would have continued the assault (and not lost a good portion of their army in a tsunami). It's really staggering to think about doing that now.

Wonder who the next one will be? The last decade or so I have been thinking that we have not had real strong leaders of the Garribaldi or Stalin types in a long time. Maybe I should not even mention this too loud, as possibly that is good for world peace.

The Parakeet · Mar 24, 2009

It would be really hard to truly conquer the world now. It would just cost too much, especially since we've seen how much damage a cheap insurgency can provide.

The other problem is that there are too many superpowers with a lot to gain. There would either have to be an alliance or a war between the US, the EU, China, Russia, and maybe some sort of African Union (in the future).

I imagine that we'll just merge together at some point though.

curious · Mar 25, 2009

Alexander the Great is still studied by the military. It's kind of ironic, since the US military contends that homosexuality is incompatible with the military, and Alexander was gay.

GekiDan · Mar 25, 2009

curious said:
Alexander the Great is still studied by the military. It's kind of ironic, since the US military contends that homosexuality is incompatible with the military, and Alexander was gay.

I remember that a military leader here in our country, I can't remember who, said that homosexuality is not an issue in the military nowadays. They even did encourage third sex to join them if they want. My mother once said that the police is now recruiting gays.

curious · Mar 25, 2009

Well, in the US it's a big deal still. The Army actually kicked out half of their Arab-language interpreters working in intelligence for being gay. I find it incredible that they were willing to compromise the security of the country so they wouldn't have to work next to known homosexuals. It shows you where their priorities are.

The Parakeet · Mar 25, 2009

The innate problem with the military is that seniority often rules over skill. The problem is that there are a bunch of old school people in charge who have been taught to believe that gays are the biggest threat to society. Just give them a little time.

Delta · Mar 26, 2009

curious said:
Well, in the US it's a big deal still. The Army actually kicked out half of their Arab-language interpreters working in intelligence for being gay. I find it incredible that they were willing to compromise the security of the country so they wouldn't have to work next to known homosexuals. It shows you where their priorities are.

That is just ridiculous. I don't see what the big deal is at all.

I mean, they let women join the army. They let me in other jobs work with women so there's still that sexual attraction going on - that doesn't mean that everyone instantly attempts a work-wide orgy.

Glee · Mar 26, 2009

Had Alexander not conquered all that land, I believe the Roman Empire much later would of had a more difficult time establishing their strength. In a sense, it had already been done. Rome learned what worked and what didn't. Plus some lands were still suffering from Alexanders rule and the Romans simply just had to show up and go "Oi, we're talking over." If Alexander hadn't taken so much and shown military brilliance, I believe military history would be completely different as no one would have learned of his tactics. I'm sure eventually someone would have come along and been just as brilliant , but I think it would have been a long time coming. If we didn't have Alexander, we wouldn't of had people like Caesar, Napoleon, or damn, maybe even Hitler.

Anyway, that's my view on things.

GekiDan · Mar 26, 2009

The Parakeet said:
The innate problem with the military is that seniority often rules over skill. The problem is that there are a bunch of old school people in charge who have been taught to believe that gays are the biggest threat to society. Just give them a little time.

I definitely agree to this. In fact here, when you are on higher positions, you just sit back and relax, and let your juniors take over your work. And just wait for your next payday.

curious · Mar 27, 2009

Well, we aren't doing well with women, apparently. There's a lot of violence against them, a lot of rapes occur, and it just gets covered up.

I agree the whole thing about being gay is ridiculous, especially since the position seems to be that it's OK as long as they can pretend they don't know about it.

GekiDan · Mar 28, 2009

curious said:
Well, we aren't doing well with women, apparently. There's a lot of violence against them, a lot of rapes occur, and it just gets covered up.

I agree the whole thing about being gay is ridiculous, especially since the position seems to be that it's OK as long as they can pretend they don't know about it.

I can say that it is discrimination. Discrimination is one of the problems that arises on third sex. I know these things can hurt their feelings. They are also human.

I know we can prevent this kind of problem. But why do you think it is hard for other people?

alexmike · May 22, 2010

Alexander was certainly a strategist. The kind he was may have even seemed outlandish at the time, but it surely shows he could think outside the box. He is probably one of the best generals in history.

prasanth5 · May 24, 2010

Having conquered that much and creating a sensation he died at the age of 33 due to common cold! Yes. It is said that common cold killed him.

Alexander the Great

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