#philip freeman

[backlogbooks]

Shelf Confidence Book Photo Challenge | Day Three: Trailblazer 

Does doing a bunch of conquering count as trailblazing? 

[labormyego]

There was scarcely a country in the world that did not have its own stories of the great king Alexander. But, as in Persia, not everyone in history has viewed in a positive light. The Italian poet Dante placed him in the seventh circle of Hell, boiling forever in the very blood of others he so freely shed. Many others since have readily agreed that Alexander was nothing more than a murderous tyrant with a gift for generalship. Views of Alexander have swung back and forth like a pendulum over the centuries, depending on the flow of history and the predisposition of those who have written his story. For the British Victorians, he was a mirror of themselves as enlightened purveyors of civilization through a superior culture backed by a powerful military. This rosy view of Alexander collapsed with the devastating wars of the twentieth century, when the horrific reality of absolute power swept away any romantic notions of benevolent tyranny. Today many modern scholars prefer to see Alexander as little more than a ‘drunken juvenile thug’, as one prominent historian has recently characterized him.

This view of Alexander is much too simplistic. He was a man of his own violent times, no better or worse in his actions than Caesar or Hannibal. He killed tens of thousands of civilians in his campaigns and spread terror in his wake, but so did every other general in the ancient world. If he were alive today, he would undoubtedly be condemned as a war criminal--but he did not live in our age. Like the heroes of Thom Love Peacock’s marvelous satirical poem ‘The War Song of Dinas Vawr,’ Alexander conquered much of the ancient world simply because he could:

The mountain sheep are sweeter, But the valley sheep are fatter; We therefore deemed it meeter To carry off the latter. We made an expedition; We met a host, and quelled it; We forced a strong position, And killed the men who held it.

Alexander himself would not have disputed such reasoning nor would those who fell beneath his sword. If the Great King Darius could have crossed the Hellespont and slaughtered every Macedonian in his path to add their land to his empire, he would have done so without remorse.

Whether we approve of Alexander’s often brutal tactics, every reasonable student of history must agree he was one of the greatest military minds of all time. No one but a true genius in battle could have taken on the entire Persian Empire at odds and fought his way across Asia all the way to India. As for his motives, we err greatly when we try to make Alexander anything more than a man of supreme military ability who wanted passionately to rule the world. Views of the Macedonian king as Prometheus bringing the light of Greek civilization to the poor masses of Asia are both unsound and insulting to the advanced cultures of the ancient east. To truly understand Alexander we must realize that--perhaps more than any man in history--he hated to lose. Alexander was and is the absolute embodiment of pure human ambition with all its good and evil consequences. We can condemn the death and destruction he left in his wake as he strode across the world like a colossus, but in the end we can’t help but admire a man who dared such great deeds.

--- Philip Freeman

[oupacademic]

Throughout ancient sources, Celtic women are depicted as every bit equal—and often superior—to men, in times of war and peace alike. From Onomaris to Brigid, the women of Celtic stories are brave, wise, and fully capable of handling themselves in a world of men.

Image: Deirdrê, A Book of Myths by Helen Stratton. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. 

[backlogbooks]

7 Covers 7 Days

Rules: each day, I will post the cover of a book that I love and nominate someone new to start the challenge. No explanation, no discussion, just post the cover and by doing so spread some literary love!

Book Pictured: Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman

Tagging: @lornaslibrary

[oupacademic]

Chief poet to Elphin am I. My home is in the land of the angels. I was with the Lord in the heavens When Lucifer fell. I was in the ark with Noah And survived the fall of Troy. I was atop the cross of the merciful son of God. Johannes the prophet called me Merlin, But now kings call me Taliesin. I am the chief poet of the West. Now release Elphin from his chains.  

In the days when Arthur ruled over Britain, there was a nobleman of the land named Tegid Foel, who had a wife named Ceridwen who was skilled in magic, enchantment, and divination. She and Tegid had a son who was terribly ugly. They named him Morfran, the Great Crow, but also called him Afagddu, or Utter Darkness.

Ceridwen loved and pitied her son, so she determined to give him the gift of prophecy to counter his hideous looks. She discovered that by certain herbs and cunning she could make a potion that would give him this special knowledge. The mixture had to be cooked in a great cauldron of water for a year and a day. At the end of that time, three drops containing the virtue of prophecy would spring forth from the cauldron...

- Gwion Bach and the Taliesin in Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes.

Image credit: “Ceridwen” by Christopher Williams. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

[oupacademic]

Ten things you probably didn't know about the Celts

Everyone has heard of the Celts, but their stories and myths are largely unknown. Here are the very best tales from ancient times until the age of Saint Patrick.

[oupacademic]

From the hollow of your womb there cried A woman with twisted yellow hair and beautiful grey-green eyes. Her cheeks are flush like foxglove and her teeth the color of new-fallen snow. Her lips are lustrous like Parthian red. Queens will envy her, heroes will fight for her kings will seek her for their bed. Because of her, great will the slaughter be Among the chariot-warriors of Ulster.

One day Conchobar and the warriors of Ulster were gathered together for a feast at the home of the king’s chief storyteller, Fedlimid mac Daill. Fedlimid’s pregnant wife was serving them even though she was great with child and about to give birth. Meat was set before the warriors on overflowing platters and drinking horns full of ale were passed around the hall until drunken shouting and laughter filled the night. At the end of the evening when the men had all fallen asleep, Fedlimid’s wife at last crossed the hall to her own bedchamber. Suddenly the child in her womb cried out in a scream that woke everyone in the house…

- The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu in Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes.

Image credit: “Illustration from a collection of myths” by Helen Stratton. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

[oupacademic]

Bran thinks he sails the clear sea, A beautiful place, in his little coracle, But to me in my chariot It seems like he traverses a flowery plain. Let Bran row steadily onward. He is not far from the Island on Woman, A place with many hues of hospitality. He will be there before the setting of the sun.

Once when Bran the son of Febal was alone near his strong­hold, he heard strange music behind him. He turned to see where it was coming from, but wherever he turned the music was always to his back. The sounds were so sweet that at last he fell asleep.

When he awoke, Bran found beside him a silver branch with white blossoms. He picked up the branch and took it inside his royal hall. There he and his men saw a woman in strange clothing standing suddenly in the middle of the room...

- The Voyage of Bran in Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes.

Image credit: “Sunset, Ireland” by seanegriffin. CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay.