I write this form memory, as my eyes are giving me great pains and I am unable to check sources on the internet. Apologies for general dates, being from memory.

Gentleman, I recently spoke on the Myth f the 20th century on Alexander. I t pains me when I wake in the night and recall a mistake I made which might be propagated. Once Adam brought up Saint John Chrysostom and I conflated him with Dio Chrysostom, a pagan who wrote and ode to the boxing champion Melenkomas the Younger [C.71], whose father possible knew Saint Paul in Corinth. That was perhaps in 2018.

In a discussion of the prequel to Alexander’s expedition into the Persian Empire 335-323 B.C., I described the Battle of Marathon some 150 years earlier as having been won by the Athenians, and the thespians. The thespians were not present, but rather 1,000 men from the small town of Platea. Ten years later, the great battle between the allied Greeks and the Persian host, which included the Thebans on the Persian side, was won near Platea by the Greeks. I think I misspoke for the following reasons.

The Thespians and Plataeans were involved as allies and suffered greatly in the power struggles between Athens, Sparta and Thebes, the three great military cities. At one point Platea was captured by Sparta, the population fled to Athens, and the Thebans slaughtered Platean prisoners. The siege of Platea is a classic study in Greek. Siege craft. [0]

Hansen in one of two fine histories on Ancient Greece, does note that three successive generations of Thespian men were slain in battle. [1] The town marshaled 400 men for war. These men stayed with Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, 300 helots and 400 Thebans [who were held to fight as virtual hostages by Leonidas as their city went over to Persia]. The entire rear was slaughtered while most of the 7,000 under Leonidas’ command withdrew.

A generation later, with Alcibiades fighting as a horseman and Socrates as a hoplite, who famously walked backwards covering the retreat, the entire force of Thespians who had allied with Athens against the Thebans at the battle of Declea, was wiped out.

A generation later, the grandsons of the men who died with Leonidas and the sons of the men who died against the Thebans at Declea, were wiped out in some action in the Peloponnesian War. I believe it was Hansen that correlated these tragic facts.

Both the 1,000 men fielded by Platea and the 400 by Thespia, in various wars in which they had little choice but to join one giant against another, served as excellent heavy infantry and were therefore likely to suffer greatly when the side they served in broke in the Face of Battle. [2]

I would compare this in military and metaphysical terms to the fate of FOUR [YES 4] successive generations of French nobility, who were slaughtered at Crecy [C. 1336], Poiters [C. 1371], Nicopolis [C.1398] and Agincourt [C.415].

I thank Adam and Hans for having me on, apologize for this mistake.

Also, Jeth randolh, I am so sorry for canceling our skype narartive on Vunak of Antares prior to the trip through the Southwest I take tomorrow, I have been abed with severe eye pain and unable to speak for most of the week.

As well, beat “Oneal, apologies for canceling our sparring. I cannot beat to wear an eye patch or a knit cap for the nerve flaring above the right eye. I did not think it would be polite to puke on your shoes.

Even illness, does provide some value to the writer, as waking to nightmares of forgeting events and misplacing identities has brought a general sense of correction.

Thanks to Hans and Adam, I have decided to write The Son of God: Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian, in seven books as Arrian did. I have read the tract thrice. I have listened to all 7 books thrive. I have listened to book 1 49 times now while rebuild this trashed back and legs and alternately lie in the dark trying not to moan.

I intent to write Advent, Book 1, by March 1.

The method is to alternately listened to Arrian’s account of Alexander’s expedition in an attempt to memorize the account, and listen to Alexander’s life guide The Iliad by Homer. Minor influences are Greek Lyrics translated by Richmond Lattimore, in an attempt to identify with Alexander’s men, and Xenophon’s Expedition, in a bid to identify with Alexander’s officers. Arrian did pattern his work after Xenophon’s even as Alexander used that old Captain’s account as a guide to his own more ambitious undertaking.

The additional Books are planned for completion through 2025 and 2026. In this vein, I must than Doctor Breck, an equine podiatrist, for keeping me alive thru this winter with equine medicines of three types.

These projected titles are a side project of the Arуas Project, hijacked by the ego of a man departed for 2002 years. Apologies to Arуas readers for this mypoic departure after the best of the Sons of Arуas. These titles are.

The Son of God—Advent

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 1

The Son of God—Arete

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 2

The Son of God—King

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 3

The Son of God—Revolt

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 4

The Son of God—Truth

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 5

The Son of God—Agony

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 6

The Son of God—Hubris

Alexander’s Expedition by Arrian: Book 7

And finally, my apologies to Alexander, who surely would have marooned me in Central Asia.

The eye just blew.

Sorry for any typoes, ah typos.

Thank you.

…

Notes

-0. Victor Davis Hansen, on Greek Warfare, series editor John Keegan, also A War Like No Other.

-1. See Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield

-2. See John Keegan’s excellent book The Face of Battle for a psychological study of such battles. He focuses on Gotland, C. 1300].