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| Al3ofmac stands for Alexander III of Macedon. Which tells you that I am a great lover of history and would love to be an ancient history scholar. I keep trying to learn Latin and Ancient Greek on my own, and Hebrew I've tried but given up except for a couple podcasts I get.
"Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon (Alexander the Great, Alexander III of Macedon) (356-323 B.C.), King of Macedonia, was born in late July 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia. Alexander The Great was unquestionably one of the greatest military geniuses in the history of war. Alexander conquered much of what was then the civilized world, driven by his divine ambition of the world conquest and the creation of a universal world monarchy. Alexander had tremendous impulsive energy and a fervid imagination.
Alexander holds the record for the most amount of land owned by a single person. He had 5.5 million kilometers of land as compared to 2.2 million kilometers of Genghiz Khan. The only difference being that Genghiz Khan conquered all of the land by himself, while some of Alexander's territory was inherited.
Alexander had a tremendous desire to secure for himself a place in the pantheon of Gods. The cost of his successes all over the world was tremendous but he did not seem to mind as long as his goals were being achieved.
Even as a young boy Alexander was fearless and strong. At the age of twelve, he tamed the beautiful and spirited Bucephalus ("ox-head" in Greek), a horse that no one else could ride. Alexander knew the Iliad by heart. He loved Homer, and always slept with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow. His first teacher was Leonidas, a relative of Olympias.
Leonidas instilled in Alexander his ascetic nature for which he became famous during his future campaigns. Leonidas was replaced with Lysimachus, who taught Prince Alexander to play the lyre, and to appreciate the arts. In 343 Aristotles came to Pella at Philip's bidding to direct the education of his son. Alexander from age 13 to 16. Aristotles taught Alexander at the Mieza temple.
Alexander's first brush with combat came during Philip's expedition against Byzantium in 340, Alexander, then sixteen years old was left in Macedonia in the charge of the royal seal; at that time. But the constantly restless Alexander perceived this as an opportunity to show his battle skills, he managed to subjugate the rebellious Maedi, a Thracian tribe. Defeating a tribe is admirable but it cannot be compared to full fledged warfare.
At the battle of Chaeronea Philip defeated the allied Greek states of the Sacred Band of Thebes in September 338 BC. An 18 year old Alexander was leading the left wing of Philip's cavalry, He demonstrated personal valor in breaking the Band of States. In 336 Philip was suddenly assassinated, before he was able to depart, during the marriage celebration of his daughter at Aegae. The death of Philip is shrouded in mystery there is a hint of suspicion that Alexander could have been one of the perpetrators.
Soon after his father's death, Alexander reached Thessaly in seven days and Boeotia five days later. By a forced march he took the Thebans completely by surprise, and in a few days the city was his. The march for glory was well and truly on. Alexander started with blitz campaigns against the Triballi and Ilyrians, which took him across the Danube. Alexander's army comprised of 30,000 foot soldiers and over 5,000 cavalry.
This army had an excellent mixture of arms- the lightly armed Cretan and Macedonian archers, the Thracians, and the Agrianian javelin men; the striking force was the cavalry, and the core of the army was the infantry phalanx, 9,000 strong, armed with shields and five and one half meter long spears, the sarises, and the 3,000 men of the royal troops, the hypaspists.
Another positive outcome of Alexander's hegemonistic tendencies was that it created an economically and culturally, a single market extending from Gibraltar to the Punjab, open to trade, social and cultural exchange. There was a common thread that was visible in civilization and Greek became the lingua franca of its time. The Roman Empire, the spread of Christianity as a world religion, and the thousand years of Byzantium were all in part the consequences of Alexander's conquests.
One of the most important facts about Alexander that is often overlooked is that he died at the age of 33. Alexander did not have the luxury of living for a long time. It is difficult to even imagine the kind of conquering that he would have managed had he lived longer.
Alexander was in Babylon to overlook the irrigation of the Euphrates, this was also coupled with a grand feast in honor of Nearchus departure for Arabia and the commemoration of the death of Heracles. Alexander drank a huge beaker of unmixed wine in a single gulp. This led to a shooting pain in the liver. It is possible that it exacerbated an existing condition. It was during sunset on of 10th of June, in the Palace of Nabukodonossor, Alexander died." |
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CHARLES CHAPLIN
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Posted:Apr 4, 2009 6:07 am
Last Updated:May 13, 2024 8:41 pm
2340 Views
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Charlie Chaplin, considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular "Little " character; the man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane, and a funny walk.
Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in Walworth, London, England on April 26th, 1889 to Charles and Hannah (Hill) Chaplin, both music hall performers, who were married on June 22nd, 1885. After Charles Sr. separated from Hannah to perform in New York City, Hannah then tried to resurrect her stage career. Unfortunately, her singing voice had a tendency to break at unexpected moments. When this happened, the stage manager spotted young Charlie standing in the wings and led him on stage, where five-year-old Charlie began to sing a popular tune. Charlie and his half-brother, Syd Chaplin (born Sydney Hawkes), spent their lives in and out of charity homes and workhouses between their mother's bouts of insanity. Hannah was committed to Cane Hill Asylum in May of 1903 and lived there until 1921, when Chaplin moved her to California.
Chaplin began his official acting career at the age of eight, touring with The Eight Lancashire Lads. At 18 he began touring with Fred Karno's vaudeville troupe, joining them on the troupe's 1910 US tour. He traveled west to California in December 1913 and signed on with Keystone Studios' popular comedy director Mack Sennett, who had seen Chaplin perform on stage in New York. Charlie soon wrote his brother Syd, asking him to become his manager. While at Keystone, Chaplin appeared in and directed 35 films, starring as the Little in nearly all. In November 1914 he left Keystone and signed on at Essanay, where he made 15 films. In 1916, he signed on at Mutual and made 12 films. In June 1917 Chaplin signed up with First National Studios, after which he built Chaplin Studios. In 1919 he and Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists (UA).
Chaplin's life and career was full of scandal and controversy. His first big scandal was during World War I, during which time his loyalty to England, his home country, was questioned. He had never applied for US citizenship, but claimed that he was a "paying visitor" to the United States. Many British citizens called Chaplin a coward and a slacker. This and his other career eccentricities sparked suspicion with FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and the House Un-American Activities Council (HUAC), who believed that he was injecting Communist propaganda into his films. Chaplin's later film The Great Dictator (1940), which was his first "talkie", also created a stir. In the film Chaplin plays a humorous caricature of Adolf Hitler. Some thought the film was poorly done and in bad taste. However, it grossed over $5 million and earned five Academy Award Nominations.
Another scandal occurred when Chaplin briefly dated 22-year-old Joan Barry. However, Chaplin's relationship with Barry came to an end in 1942, after a series of harassing actions from her. In May of 1943 Barry returned to inform Chaplin that she was pregnant, and filed a paternity suit, claiming that the unborn was his. During the 1944 trial blood tests proved that Chaplin was not the father, but at the time blood tests were inadmissible evidence and he was ordered to pay $75 a week until the turned 21. Chaplin was also scrutinized for his support in aiding the Russian struggle against the invading Nazis during World War II, and the U.S. government questioned his moral and political views, suspecting him of having Communist ties. For this reason HUAC subpoenaed him in 1947. However, HUAC finally decided that it was no longer necessary for him to appear for testimony. Conversely, when Chaplin and his family traveled to London for the premier of Limelight (1952), he was denied re-entry to the United States. In reality, the government had almost no evidence to prove that he was a threat to national security. He and his wife decided, instead, to settle in Switzerland.
Chaplin was married four times and had a total of 11 . In 1918 he wed Mildred Harris, they had a together, Norman Spencer Chaplin, who only lived three days. Chaplin and Mildred were divorced in 1920. He married Lita Grey in 1924, who had two sons, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin. They were divorced in 1927. In 1936, Chaplin married Paulette Goddard and his final marriage was to Oona O'Neill (Oona Chaplin), of playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1943. Oona gave birth to eight : Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Eugene, Jane, Annette-Emilie and Christopher Chaplin.
In contrast to many of his boisterous characters, Chaplin was a quiet man who kept to himself a lot. He also had an "un-millionaire" way of living. Even after he had accumulated millions, he continued to live in shabby accommodations.
In 1921 Chaplin was decorated by the French government for his outstanding work as a filmmaker, and was elevated to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1952. In 1972 he was honored with an Academy Award for his "incalculable effect in making motion pictures the art form of the century." In 1975 England's Queen Elizabeth II knighted him. Chaplin's other works included musical scores he composed for many of his films. He also authored two autobiographical books, "My Autobiography" in 1964 and its companion volume, "My Life in Pictures" in 1974. Chaplin died of natural causes on December 25, 1977 at his home in Switzerland.
In 1978, Chaplin's corpse was stolen from its grave and was not recovered for three months; he was re-buried in a vault surrounded by cement. Charlie Chaplin was considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of American cinema, whose movies were and still are popular throughout the world, and have even gained notoriety as time progresses. His films show, through the Little 's positive outlook on life in a world full of chaos, that the human spirit has and always will remain the same.
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