Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This week's video is more philosophical than content-focused. I poke a little at the sometimes vexed dichotomy of Alexander's position in history: hero or villain. Also, the tendency to knock him down a peg because he can't really be "all that." I am not, generally, a fan of extreme positions. Also, one can be astonished by someone's achievement while also being appalled. His world very much wasn't ours and we can't expect him (or any other ancient figure) to act or think like a modern. And (simultaneously) we oughtn't hold him up as an example for the modern aspiring world conqueror to emulate.
That tension sometimes causes difficulties for fans of history.
This week's video is more philosophical than content-focused. I poke a little at the sometimes vexed dichotomy of Alexander's position in history: hero or villain. Also, the tendency to knock him down a peg because he can't really be "all that." I am not, generally, a fan of extreme positions. Also, one can be astonished by someone's achievement while also being appalled. His world very much wasn't ours and we can't expect him (or any other ancient figure) to act or think like a modern. And (simultaneously) we oughtn't hold him up as an example for the modern aspiring world conqueror to emulate.
That tension sometimes causes difficulties for fans of history.
