The Death of Alexander

[Arthes]

Khairete,
I just came across a Weblog article from a couple of years ago.
This refers to a Channel 5 presentation called 'Alexander the Great's Mysterious Death'.
It states:
This documentary followed a former Scotland Yard detective in his attempts to shed some light on the circumstances surrounding the death of Alexander the Great at the age of 32; just before he was about to go and sort out the rest of the known world.
Enlisting the help of toxicologists, experts on tropical diseases and historians he explored several theories, two examples of which were West Nile Fever (recently a problem in the US, this map illustrating the number of cases in US states) and possible multiple poisonings with White Hellebore over the 12 days it took for him to die. The detective was unconvinced by the poisoning theory, finding the idea of Aristotle being involved in a plot to poison his former pupil unlikely.
[url:rhw1l9m6]http://www.blacktriangle.org/blog/2003/10/alexander_the_g.html[/url]
Does anyone on here have an alternative theory...and want to discuss possible options?
I will see if I can get a copy of the program.
regards
Arthes

[hoplite14gr]

How about that Camp life of the time could affect even the aristocracy.
Greeks ans Romans had organized camps but during the pursuit od Dareios and later Vissos the pursuer including Alex slept rough an possibly ate rough.
Anything could have happened-lousy water for instance.
It a problem even for modern armies.
Kind regards

[Jona Lendering]

I've checked this when I wrote my book on Alexander; it's a canard. Viruses can develop pretty swiftly and the West Nile virus is not older than about 1,000 years. In an article in Nature (if I remember correctly), someone showed that the current genetic profile of this virus can not have developed at a slower pace. In other words: the West Nile virus can not have been around in the days of Alexander.

And here's another one: isn't it a frightening thought that underneath the melting ice caps of Antarctica, viruses are hidden that were covered many millenniums ago, and for which we are no longer immune?

[Philhellene]

Does anyone on here have an alternative theory...and want to discuss possible options?

Some historians think it was acute pancreatitis or ulcerous perforation.

[Jona Lendering]

The best recent publication on the subject is Andrew Chugg's book on the Lost tomb of Alexander (cf. [url:1ge5o2g8]http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=122&keyword_id=1&title=Andrew%20Chugg[/url]). In the first chapter of this lovely book, he discusses all theories.

[Arthes]

Well,
he was a heavy drinker and the death of Hephaestion affected him badly so it could have triggered kidney problems or something similar, of course, there was also the arrow wound that may have caused unknown internal damage.
Graham Phillips has a theory on here, that it was poison...[url:2efuizxw]http://www.grahamphillips.net/Alexander/Alexander_Main.htm[/url]
I was just thinking about Memnon of Rhodes also dying of a mystery illness....
regards
Arthes

[Comerus Gallus]

Awesome Arthes!

I was going to talk of some sort of plant that possibly may also kill Alex by his own
Doc, but accidently, is a plant wich grow only in one place in Greece, withouth knowing, Alex drink too much of it, and then toxicated himself by doing it, he thought it would make him better...

But that poison plant from wich you post here got a point, in special the bacteria from wich preserved Alex body...I'm not sure if is the same plant that I'm talking about....

[hoplite14gr]

Well his wounds could be a critical factror. He is repotrd to have been wouinted frequentl and not just in the Indian wall-fight.
Ancient Greeks were drinking Helleborus in small dose as a cathartic and disnifenctant. Overdose of this stuff can kill. It is oane of the reasons that
malice or carlessness is suspected.
Kind regards

[Gaivs Antonivs Satvrninvs]

Hi,Arthes.

I saw this recently and was very interested in the
different findings.
The theory of poisoning by Hellibore makes sense
to me having some background in horticulture.
According to the sources,this plant was widely used
and in proper doses was effective but easily could
become toxic if overdone. This was a problem with
early treatments and probably happened more often than not.
Given the old (and even modern) philosophy of "if
a little works a little, then more works better/quicker"
coupled with limited knowledge of chemicals gives
one a recipe for disaster.
How many leaders may have been inadvertantly
killed by their cures is open to speculation.

[Arthes]

Khairete,
It would be interesting to discover, somehow, whether Alexander's death could have been attributed to Medius in any way. Would he have encouraged Alexander to drink? Plutarch described him as encouraging Alexander to wrong doings. Would he have gained or lost by Alexander's death and even more importantly, would he have reasons of his own to hurt Alexander or was he acting on someone's orders?
Reading and re reading the descriptions is confusing. As they differ to some degrees, some saying Alexander cried out in pain, others saying that was simply sensalisation and Alex's illness gradually worsened.
The 'heavy yoke' feeling around the shoulders and the aching and fever, could point to influenza or meningitis or even blood poisoning. The pain maybe being a haemorrage or a vital organ, such as kidney, liver, spleen or appendix being ruptured by the drinking.
Back to the think tank...... :roll:
I think at some point, they will be excavating the crypt in Nebi Daniel, Alexandria to see exactly who is buried in there....
regards
Arthes

[Arthes]

Right,
I have just started doing some research into where Alex's tomb may be, and had typed the following...
Indo Iranian Soma was an intoxicating ritual drink and God combined into one (what was Alex doing at the time his illness started and what was he considered to be) drinking it made you a deity or gave you access to the deities. It was made by pressing the stalks of a plant.
Now, the God Soma was cursed to die a slow lingering death....by the father of one of his wives, as he felt Soma was neglecting her.
(Alexanders Tomb thread)
Now, that is rather too close to the description of Alexs slow demise for comfort, given the name of his burial place as 'Soma'.....
I then went on to discover that Soma was also used by the Persians and is possibly a mixture of Cannabis or Opium and a plant called Ephedra or yellow hemp....(the Scythians used it too) It is used as a 'performance enhancer' giving 'speed and strength to warriors' and I would think athletes. It's side effects are to raise blood pressure and the heart rate....which can give immortality.....or death.
as I have said in the other thread....to be continued...

[Gaivs Antonivs Satvrninvs]

Hi,Arthes.
Wow! What you are describing sounds
exactly like the problems people have
today with Ephedrine. You'd think if
anyone knew of these effects for so
long,this product could have been avoided.

[Arthes]

Khairete,
I have just found Jona's article's on Alexander's final days: a Babylonian perspective.[url:puf2lfmc]http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_z6.html[/url]
Now it says there that Alexander was considered an avatar of Vishnu, (the Sun), who is another aspect of the same trinity as Shiva, (the moon) who married the princess/daughter of the mountain (see the Alexander Tomb thread) hock: Yes, it did surprise me when I read it as it gives more strength to what I have been thinking.
Vishnu was the invincible, Shiva was known as auspicious, the destroyer of evil who bought about new creation. Vishnu is a drinker of Soma...back to the Soma again and is invoked along with Indra, another drinker of Soma who has similar attributes to Zeus.
Now, the more I find out, the more I believe that Alexander was given Soma, the sacrificial drink, which finally took his life.
Now this could have been for various reasons
1. to prove he was not invincible, he was the 'destroyer' who was creating a new and better world and who married the princess of the mountains. In the eyes of some this new world was not of their liking or choice, so Alexander was given the sacrificial drink.
2. as an avatar of Vishnu, when Alexander became ill, Soma should have given Alexander strength and invincibility. The drug failed to save Alexander, but did, in fact, immortalise him.
3. he was poisoned by somebody as Daksha tried to poison the God Soma - the Deva of the plant, remember one of Daksha's daughters, was reincarnated as the 'princess of the mountain' and married Shiva the who was hated by Daksha. Would this have been somebody in the role of 'Daksha'?

I believe that Alexander was given drinks that contained Soma which caused a slow lingering death. Would the 'waxing and waning' of the moon connected with the God Soma's reprival, be Alexanders slight recovery when the drug could not be administered?
Shiva also drank a poison called kalakuta, a lethal milk mixture which was caused by the churning of the sea. This poison was to be shared equally by the demi gods and others who churned it, but it became too strong and dangerous, so Shiva agreed to swallow it alone to save the others and it was stopped in his throat turning it blue.
Now, this certainly would correspond to those who felt that Alexander's attitude concerning the Persians was 'churning up poison' and decided he would have to 'swallow' and he simply paid the price as being the 'God'.

Would one of Soma's attributes have been the reason for Alexander's body not deteriorating, I cannot bear to think of the other option that he was simply suffering some sort of paralysis and still alive.
regards
Arthes

[hoplite14gr]

Christina you speculation is worth considering althoug I am not 100% convinced that it was not a combination of camp life, wound infections, careless heleborus doses that might have "done" him with out malice.
Well a combination of the above AND malice is an option too.

Another speculaton:
Alex had a sister, Kynane, the daughter of Audata-the Skythian queen.
She loved him amost pathologiacaly and she was detrmined to make him immortal. Oral tradition said that she had gone to Styga-the terrible fountain, that Zeus was taking unbreakble oaths upon its water and filled a viall.
She gave it to him to prevent him from dieing and when the news of his death reached her she threw herself to the sea and became a mairmaid half girl half fish.
In our un-romantic modern times we could speculate that it was she who poisoned him because he married Roxane and Perdikkas saw opportunate to drawn her-to avoid similar fate perhaps.
Kind regards

[Arthes]

Khairete,
was it true that Alexandros also married Parysatis?.....Sati was another name for the daughter of Daksha and wife of Shiva... who was then reincarnated as the Princess of the Mountains who married Shiva or was possibly another daughter who married him...hock:
I am going to see if I can find out just how old those stories are, is it possible some are actually based on Alexander?
regards
Arthes