Robin Lane Fox, New College Oxford ‘Alexander and the Gods -and the Early Successors’ SPHS AGM Lecture 15th June 2013  

Alexander III of Macedon, popularly known to history as Alexander the Great, was an Ancient Greek king (basileus) of Macedon. Born in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon to the throne in 336 BC, and died in Babylon in 323 BC at the age of 32. Alexander was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and it is presumed that he […]

Claudius Aelianus (ca. 175 – ca. 235) (Greek: Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός), often seen as just Aelian, born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus and probably outlived Elagabalus, who died in 222. He spoke Greek so perfectly that he was called “honey-tongued” (meliglossos); Roman-born, he preferred Greek authors, and wrote in a slightly archaizing […]

A statement by Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of Government of demographically and geographically largest Slavic state in the world, which is also a cultural, scientific and scholarly superpower, in addition having authority derived from World’s most second powerful armed forces. “In his time to solve these economic problems, Alexander of Macedonia came and conquered Persia. Now Greece is not to […]

By Paul Levy OXFORD—”Heracles to Alexander the Great: Treasures from the Royal Capital of Macedon, a Hellenic Kingdom in the Age of Democracy” is as crowded with objects as its title is with ideas. The Ashmolean manages to cram in about 500 objects, discovered in the royal tombs and palaces of Aegae (modern-day Vergina in the north of Greece), most […]

Socotra, also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago It lies some 240 kilometres (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a […]

William Woodthorpe Tarn - Alexander the Great, Vol. 1 “Through both his parents claimed Greek descend..” <pp. 1> “The primary reason why Alexander invaded Persia was, no doubt, that he never thought of not doing it; it was his inheritance. Doubtless, too, adventure attracted him; and weight must also be given to the official reason. For officially, as is shown by the political manifesto which he afterwards […]

Press release issued 8 September 2010 Claims that a tomb at Vergina, Greece, the ancient burial place of the Macedonian royal family in the fourth century BC, contains the body of King Philip III Arrhidaios, half-brother of Alexander the Great, and not Philip II, Alexander’s father, are called into question by researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Manchester and Oxford. […]

A young woman at her colourful best. (Image Credit: Atiq-ur-Rehman, Gulf News) The unique people of Kalash valleys in north-western Pakistan are believed to be the descendants of Alexander the Great. Gulf News Chief Reporter Ashfaq Ahmed, who travelled to the remote valleys to mingle with the Kalash and learn more about their unique culture, finds a tribe on the […]

Analysis by Rossella Lorenzi Wear patterns on one of the most celebrated mosaics of antiquity have allowed researchers to reconstruct exactly how ancient Romans viewed the artwork. Found during the 1831 excavations in the lava-buried town of Pompeii, the Alexander mosaic (now on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples) is the most famous example of an early tessellated […]