Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy: A Biography

by John Maxwell O'Brien

Overview

Despite Alexander the Great's unprecedented accomplishments, during the last seven years of his life, this indomitable warrior became increasingly unpredictable, sporadically violent, megalomaniacal, and suspicious of friends as well as enemies. What could have caused such a lamentable transformation?
This biography seeks to answer that question by assessing the role of alcohol in Alexander the Great's life, using the figure of Dionysus as a symbol of its destructive effects on his psyche. The unique methodology employed in this book explores various aspects of Alexander's life while maintaining an historical framework. The exposition of the main theme is handled in such a way that the biography will appeal to general readers as well as scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415072540
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/20/1992
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

J M O'Brien

Table of Contents

Chapter I: The Coming of Age in Macedonia; Dionysus in the Royal Tombs; Macedonian Drinking; Philip and Alexander; Olympias and Alexander; the Dionysiac Cult in Macedonia; Olympias, Philip and Alexander; The Gardens of Midas, Heroic Models; Regent; The Battle of Chaeronea; Athens (338 B.C.); The Wedding of Philip II and CLeopatra; The Pixodarus Affair; The Assassination of Philip II Chapter II: A Homeric King; The Accession (336 B.C.); Alexander in Greece; Northern Campaigns; The Destruction of Thebes; Dium; Alexander's Sexuality; Alexander at the Hellespont; The Battle of the Granicus River; Asia Minor; The Gordian Knot; The Battle of Issus; Phoenicia; The Siege of Tyre; Egypt; Alexandria; The Journey to Siwah; The Battle of Gaugamela; Babylon and Susa Chapter III The Metamorphosis; The Signs of Change; The Burning of Persepolis: Orientalization; The Philotas Affair; The Death of Cleitus; Proskynesis; Callisthenes; The Pages' Conspiracy; Nysa and Aornus ^:Chapter IV: The Ambivalent Victor; Into India (326 B.C.); The Battle of the Hydaspes (Jhelum) River; Mutiny at the Hyphasis (Beas) River; Ocean; The Gedrosian Desert; Carmania; Persis; Cyrus's Tomb; Susa; Deification; The Opis Mutiny; The Death of Hephaestiion; Chapter V Death in Babylon; The Last Plans; The Death of Alexander Epilogue; Appendix A: The Royal Tombs; Appendix B: Attributes of Wine in the Readings of Alexander the Great; Postscript; Key to Abbreviations; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Editorial Reviews

In accordance with the fashion current at the time, the "downfall" of Alexander the Great, after he accomplished more than any ordinary human could even hope to dream about, has been variously attributed to hubris, the influence of his mother, and homosexuality. It should come as no surprise in today's climate that we find it attributed to alcoholism. O'Brien is not known as an eminent scholar on Alexander or ancient Greece, but on alcohol. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews