The Cross Garden of Prattville, AL (photo by Seymour Rosen; picture source) I’ve got nothing today so I thought I would pass on a picture of the late W.C. Rice’s Cross Garden in Prattville, Alabama. I haven’t been by the cross garden in over 20 years but I’ve been following developments through its Facebook page. […]
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I just finished the first chapter of Arthur Schnitzler’s The Road to the Open and I’m enjoying the immersion into the world of early 1900s Vienna. “Enjoy” might not be the right word, though, since the world he describes can be a brutal place, especially for Jews. Anti-Semitism permeates society, as one character adroitly decries […]
I’m not sure what my posting schedule will be like the next few weeks. Work is going to take most of my time and I’ll be travelling with the family when I can, so posting will be hit or miss depending on time and access. I enjoy writing about what I read because it makes […]
All quotes are from The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, translation by Pamela Mensch. Many signs and divinations appear throughout Arrian’s account of Alexander’s campaigns. The seer Aristrandros interprets the omens extremely well, at least according to Arrian. Factor in Alexander’s insistence on propitiating the gods, before and after an action, and you have […]
All quotes are from The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, translation by Pamela Mensch. I wanted to add a few words on a few things that stand out about Arrian so far in his book on Alexander. Even though Arrian writes about events occurring 400 years earlier and is reworking Ptolemy’s and Aristobulus’ accounts […]
Aerial photo of Tyre, 1934 Picture source The mole that Alexander had built out to the city has silted up over timeAll quotes are from The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, translation by Pamela Mensch. I didn’t spend much time talking about the battle of Issus but I do need to recommend The Landmark […]
Battle of Issus, Albrecht Altdorfer Picture source (be sure to click on picture for more detail) All quotes are from The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, translation by Pamela Mensch. In the previous post I mentioned Alexander undoing the Gordion (Gordian) knot as part of the myth-building process. What I didn’t mention was the […]
Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot, Jean-Simon Berthélemy Picture sourceIn addition to his brilliance at military tactics and strategy, Alexander proves to be an adept leader of his men. At the same time he takes care to cultivate his reputation, both for current impact and for future generations. All quotes are from The Landmark Arrian: The […]
The Marathon2500 Project conference call on “Herodotus and the Invention of History” just finished. It was a very relaxed talk by Robert Stassler, the creator of the Landmark series (among other things) as well as questions and discussion with Professor Paul Cartledge on Herodotus, Marathon, and the “invention” of history. My favorite part was Stassler […]
In Book One Arrian establishes Alexander as trusting and generous with his friends while not hesitating to punish turncoats. The latter group includes Greeks who found it more expedient to follow or sympathize with the Persians. Greek mercenaries were harshly punished, at least at the battle of the Granicus River. However Alexander spared the small […]