THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem xvii kalendas decembres

• ludi Plebeii (day 12)
• 1907 -- birth of Nicholas G.L. Hammond (editor of one edition of the CAH and OCD, among many other things)

::Saturday, November 15, 2003 6:26:44 AM::
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NUNTII: Seen in Passing

The Bucks Free Press has a feature on the "bee lady" Dr. Eva Crane, which is an interesting read on its own but also includes this little tidbit:

Her travels have resulted in other discoveries and her ability to put together clues and evidence make her a veritable Miss Marple. On a visit to the upper Indus valley in Pakistan she found beekeeping being practised in horizontal hives identical to those that archaeologists had found when excavating ancient Greek sites. However, it was she that made the bold step to suggest that perhaps a soldier from the army of Alexander the Great, who invaded from the Hindu Kush in 327 BC, could have stayed behind and introduced Greek practices to the region. On a return visit she went everywhere carrying details of Alexander's movements, all of which seemed to prove her theory.

::Saturday, November 15, 2003 6:13:54 AM::
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NUNTII: Classical (Hellenistic?) Precedent

Asahi, a japanese newspaper associated with the Herald Tribune, has an editorial which opens:

The troops are exhausted. Their spirits are down. We must put an end to the hardships and dangers that keep befalling them. In urging Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) to withdraw his army, Coenus (circa 360-326 B.C.) made these points in front of his soldiers. But the king of Macedonia refused to listen.

Furious that one of his most trusted commanders would suggest withdrawal, Alexander dismissed the meeting. However, after four days of careful deliberation, he declared he had decided to turn back. Cries of joy greeted this announcement and many soldiers wept, according to ``Anabasis Alexandri'' (The campaigns of Alexander) by Arrian (Flavius Arrianus). Its Japanese translation is published as a two-volume Iwanami Bunko paperback. The episode from 326 B.C. illustrates the difficulties a commander faces in deciding to pull back.

The aide who offered this advice did so at risk to his life. The man was emboldened because he had the support of his soldiers. Alexander, who had no choice but to retract his decision to ``advance,'' must have also been troubled. It was a painful decision for a general to whom the idea of ``withdrawal'' was totally alien.

You can probably guess who the advice is directed at ... (sort of)

::Saturday, November 15, 2003 6:03:00 AM::
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AWOTV: On TV Today

5.30 p.m. |DCIVC| Archaeology IV: A Roman Plague
dna

DCIVC = Discovery Civilization (Canada)

::Saturday, November 15, 2003 5:51:04 AM::
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