Alexander the Great (First Book)

Rating:
Summary: An unqualified scholar educating youth to half-truth?
Review: On a fisrt look I was pleased with the book. It contains a good amount of information, it has nice photographs, it is concise and potentially interesting to the age-group it is addressing.

On the other hand, just because the book is targeting children its author has no excuse for NOT treating the subject with all the seriousness and thoroughness it deserves. All the more reason to investigate thoroughly and speak the truth, when one is feeding information to children.

Was Mr. Green's task to disaffectedly write a summary of another work? If not, did Mr. Green ever bother to read the historical sources on Alexander, or to acquire some depth in pre-Alexandrian Macedonian history? Doubtful! No reference is ever given to his sources (the end of the book might do nicely). The pinnacle of mediocricy comes with the claim that "Macedonians were not Greek but had adopted the Greek language and religion". Let it be of note that the insignificant phrase, proclaims th! e author's lack of understanding of his subject matter.

First and foremost, as many a child knows, Heracles is the father of the Doric tribe that represents a significant part of the Greek population and includes the Macedonians, Laecedemonians (Spartans), Cretans and several others. Alexander, through his father Philip, claims direct descent from Heracles and through his mother, Olympias, direct descent from the Achean Achilles. Now how much more Greek does it get than that? In addition, until Nero's days, only Greeks as defined by the three principles of "homaemon", "homoglosson" and "homothreskon" were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games and the Delphic Alliance; "homaemon" meaning of "the same blood" and taking precedence over the other two ("same language" and "same religion"). Needless to say that Macedonians were SINCE THE BEGINING (hundreds of years before Philip and Alexander) players in! both the Games and the Alliance.

Finally in Alexander's! own words, things are abundantly clear:

"Men of Athens... Had I not greatly AT HEART the common welfare of GREECE I should not have come to tell you; but I AM MYSELF GREEK by descent, and I would not willingly see Greece exchange freedom for slavery. ...If you prosper in this war, forget not to do something for my freedom; consider the risk I have run, out of zeal for the GREEK CAUSE, to acquaint you with what Mardonius intends, and to save you from being surprised by the barbarians. I am ALEXANDER of MACEDON.'" [ Herodotus, The Histories, 9.45, translated by G.Rawlinson] "(Persians,) Your ancestors came to Macedonia and the REST OF GREECE and did us much harm though we had done them no prior injury; I have been appointed commander-in-chief of the GREEKS and invaded Asia in the desire to take vengeance on Persia for your aggressions." [Arrian Anabasis 2. 14. 4.]

The Greek states were! rather small, neither so powerful nor as admired by surrounding civilizations for their system of government and free thinking. It was not until after Alexander's conquest and not before, that acquisition of the Greek language and customs became desirable by other ethnicities than the Greek one. Athenian demagogues might have considered Macedonians more barbaric than their "noble" selves, moved by elitist regionalism (not quite unknown to our own United States?) and Athenians' claims on themselves being "native" and "more" ancient and "more Greek" than not only the Macedonians but the remainder of the Doric states. Athenians also based their high-handed manners on the superiority of their (by then degenerate) democracy to the extensive monarchy established by Philip in the Macedon, a monarchy Athenians claimed more similar to the tyrannical Persian system than to their own. A claim unfair, since Philip (and later Alexander) was the lea! der of free-willing men, faithful comrades that spoke their! minds (even at the price of death), rather than being the absolute master of servile courtesans of the eastern type.

In short, to say that Macedonians are not Greek is as ludicrous as to claim that Bostonians (or New Yorkers, or Californians, or Kentuckians) are not American.

All the more preposterous, the claim dishonors the dead man the book is about. Whether the dignity afforded to a dead subject of study is of concern to the author we may not know; such sensibilities are anyway dying in the global melting pot. It is doubtful that the author of this little book has in any way intended to offend. Mr. Green has more likely aspired to educate and has not altogether failed in demonstrating his capacity to do so in a pleasant manner. It shall be therefore fruitful, if in the future he applies himself to slightly better scholarship.

For educators (and authors qualify as such) should only be too painfully aware of the old Greek proverb: "imperfect education is wors! e than ignorance".

Rating:
Summary: Ignore the above
Review: The above review is essentially a nationalist screed. The "Greekness" of the Macedonians is a topic of some debate, but, in any case, not central to the book. Make up your own minds and ignore the ideologues.