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Alexander of Macedonia
Alexander the Great is the most famous king and conqueror known in the ancient world. In his lifetime, he was given honors equal to those of the gods. After his death, he became a legend and the “Alexander Romance” became the best-selling fiction of the medieval world.
Esteemed Professor Robin Lane Fox has made the study of Alexander of Macedon the focus of his brilliant career. In these lectures, Professor Fox answers questions about Alexander that have percolated throughout Why did Alexander succeed? What was he like? How did he change the world and its history?
Esteemed Professor Robin Lane Fox has made the study of Alexander of Macedon the focus of his brilliant career. In these lectures, Professor Fox answers questions about Alexander that have percolated throughout Why did Alexander succeed? What was he like? How did he change the world and its history?
Audiobook
First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Robin Lane Fox
40 books239 followersRobin Lane Fox (born 1946) is an English historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford and University of Oxford Reader in Ancient History.
Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford.
Since 1977, he has been a tutor in Greek and Roman history, and since 1990 University Reader in Ancient History. He has also taught Greek and Latin literature and early Islamic history, a subject in which he held an Oxford Research Fellowship, and is also New College's Tutor for Oriental Studies.[1] He is a lecturer in Ancient History at Exeter College, Oxford.
He was historical adviser to the film director Oliver Stone for the epic Alexander. His appearance as an extra, in addition to his work as a historical consultant, was publicized at the time of the film's release.
Lane Fox is also a gardening correspondent for the Financial Times.
He is the father of the internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Lastminute.com.
They are not related to, and should not be confused with Robin Fox, anthropologist, and his daughter Kate Fox, social anthropologist.
Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford.
Since 1977, he has been a tutor in Greek and Roman history, and since 1990 University Reader in Ancient History. He has also taught Greek and Latin literature and early Islamic history, a subject in which he held an Oxford Research Fellowship, and is also New College's Tutor for Oriental Studies.[1] He is a lecturer in Ancient History at Exeter College, Oxford.
He was historical adviser to the film director Oliver Stone for the epic Alexander. His appearance as an extra, in addition to his work as a historical consultant, was publicized at the time of the film's release.
Lane Fox is also a gardening correspondent for the Financial Times.
He is the father of the internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Lastminute.com.
They are not related to, and should not be confused with Robin Fox, anthropologist, and his daughter Kate Fox, social anthropologist.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 14, 2011
If you dont know much about Alexander, this is not the book for you. It does not so much tell you what he did as give you a critique of the stories about Alexander. It assumes you already know. Many times the author is talking about one event and I find that I am listening to something that doesnt tie up. I then find that he has moved to another event with only a glancing mention. Even when he does go through the event, he does so briefly. You can feel that he wants to pass on quickly to tell you about his own opinion of it. If you want to know about the event itself, look elsewhere.
September 6, 2024
This was my first real venture into the history and mythos of Alexander the Great. History is fascinating to learn about, and I enjoyed this book for that reason. There were some point where it was difficult to hear author, who was also reading for the audio book, clearly enough to understand. I especially loved Lecture Three, which covered the ancient Macedonian military formations. I also felt while reading that there were some details the author didn't include, at least in this book since it seems he's written on this subject extensively.
June 4, 2024
Fox is a wonderfully engaging writer and his anecdotes were incredible.
January 29, 2025
You worked on a movie. We heard you the first time.
May 11, 2025
He is quite impressed with himself and does not give sources for his most controversial statements. Also dull as a storyteller.
June 17, 2024
Very compelling set of lectures, effectively a version of Robin Lane Fox' biographical book on Alexander - Alexander the Great. Fox takes a mostly great man view of Alexander, which is refreshing in the face of a lot of revisionism, though he outlines a number of controversies given both Alexander as a person, and granular details like battles, army sizes, death tolls and conspiracies, before giving his personal view on what's probable.
March 28, 2024
Not as high audio or lecture quality as courses from The Teaching Company, sadly. Listening was challenging in the car, which made it difficult to follow the narrative.
July 1, 2017
The Persian Empire had stood like an indestructible rock for two hundred years. At high cost and with great difficulty, the Greeks had held off a Persian invasion. Yet Alexander III completely overran the Persian Empire in a matter of a few short years. His success put on display a combination of tactical and strategic genius, bold risk taking and the ability to command the loyalty of his troops.
One of Persia's greatest threats to Greece was its large fleet, but Alexander, whose fleet was inferior, chose not to engage it in battle. Instead, he chose to defeat it in a land campaign by advancing down the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean and capturing port cities by land assault, counting on the large Persian army to hold off on attacking him while gathering its forces. The gambit worked; the Persian fleet gradually came over to Alexander's side. No great sea battle was necessary, and the final battle against Persian king Darius would be fought at Gaugamela, in Mesopotamia.
One great contradiction regarding Alexander and a source of disaffection among his Macedonian troops was his change in focus as he overran the Persian Empire. Their advance into Anatolia had been motivated by a desire for revenge on the Persians for the predations of the Persian Wars in Greece and to liberate the Greek cities in Western Anatolia. As Alexander advanced deeper and deeper into Persian territory, however, he found himself ruling over non-Greeks and came to see himself as their king, too, a successor to the Persian kings. As a result, he started to act more like an eastern king and to look after eastern interests, as well, and much of his later reign was a balancing act between numerous competing interests.
Alexander is known for extending Greek culture well into the east, but he also appeared to have a melting pot goal in mind, a blending of Greek and eastern culture to be accomplished by resettlement and intermarriage. Of course, this was probably driven by the practical need to unite a vast empire containing vastly different cultures and value systems.
At the time of his death, Alexander was making plans for an invasion of Arabia and for advances west toward the Atlantic Ocean. In other words, he wanted to unite and rule the world, but his plans were stymied by an untimely death.
Professor Fox brought to life the ancient history of Alexander's conquests. He had been a historical advisor for Oliver Stone's film Alexander and had participated in the scenes portraying cavalry engagements. His experiences in the battle scenes gave him insight into just how intimidating various battle lines could be as well as how horses might react to them. Given that cavalry was a key component of Alexander's battle plans, this understanding equipped Professor Fox to better explain how the battles were fought.
Alexander had been a man of great sexual passions, both heterosexual and homosexual, and had given thought to deifying his deceased best friend, who apparently had also been a male lover. Given that Alexander saw himself as a new Achilles, his desire to honor his friend just as Achilles had honored Patroclus is understandable. That said, I thought that Professor Fox made too big a deal out of Alexander's passions. Was it appropriate to mention them? Yes. Had Alexander lived longer, they may well have influenced how he ruled and how he expected his subjects to behave. Was it appropriate to give them the air time Professor Fox did? I don't think so. For me, this was a negative.
In summary, the lecture series had some good points and some bad points, but I found it very educational. I learned new things about old history.
One of Persia's greatest threats to Greece was its large fleet, but Alexander, whose fleet was inferior, chose not to engage it in battle. Instead, he chose to defeat it in a land campaign by advancing down the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean and capturing port cities by land assault, counting on the large Persian army to hold off on attacking him while gathering its forces. The gambit worked; the Persian fleet gradually came over to Alexander's side. No great sea battle was necessary, and the final battle against Persian king Darius would be fought at Gaugamela, in Mesopotamia.
One great contradiction regarding Alexander and a source of disaffection among his Macedonian troops was his change in focus as he overran the Persian Empire. Their advance into Anatolia had been motivated by a desire for revenge on the Persians for the predations of the Persian Wars in Greece and to liberate the Greek cities in Western Anatolia. As Alexander advanced deeper and deeper into Persian territory, however, he found himself ruling over non-Greeks and came to see himself as their king, too, a successor to the Persian kings. As a result, he started to act more like an eastern king and to look after eastern interests, as well, and much of his later reign was a balancing act between numerous competing interests.
Alexander is known for extending Greek culture well into the east, but he also appeared to have a melting pot goal in mind, a blending of Greek and eastern culture to be accomplished by resettlement and intermarriage. Of course, this was probably driven by the practical need to unite a vast empire containing vastly different cultures and value systems.
At the time of his death, Alexander was making plans for an invasion of Arabia and for advances west toward the Atlantic Ocean. In other words, he wanted to unite and rule the world, but his plans were stymied by an untimely death.
Professor Fox brought to life the ancient history of Alexander's conquests. He had been a historical advisor for Oliver Stone's film Alexander and had participated in the scenes portraying cavalry engagements. His experiences in the battle scenes gave him insight into just how intimidating various battle lines could be as well as how horses might react to them. Given that cavalry was a key component of Alexander's battle plans, this understanding equipped Professor Fox to better explain how the battles were fought.
Alexander had been a man of great sexual passions, both heterosexual and homosexual, and had given thought to deifying his deceased best friend, who apparently had also been a male lover. Given that Alexander saw himself as a new Achilles, his desire to honor his friend just as Achilles had honored Patroclus is understandable. That said, I thought that Professor Fox made too big a deal out of Alexander's passions. Was it appropriate to mention them? Yes. Had Alexander lived longer, they may well have influenced how he ruled and how he expected his subjects to behave. Was it appropriate to give them the air time Professor Fox did? I don't think so. For me, this was a negative.
In summary, the lecture series had some good points and some bad points, but I found it very educational. I learned new things about old history.
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September 6, 2012Concluded with the story of Augustus visiting Alexandria and asking to see Alexander. Augustus laid a crown of gold on Alexander's glass case and scattered flowers to pay his respects. When asked if he would like to see the Ptolemies as well. Augustus replied, "My wish was to see a king, not corpses."
June 6, 2024
The perfect book for if you ever get hyper fixated on the utterly inconceivable genius that was Alexander the Great. Robert Lane Fox's personal passion for the subject matter and devotion to the preservation of Alexander's legacy shines through this biography in every detail. This is what history class should feel like.
October 8, 2017
This was an audio book of collected lectures on Alexander the Great. I enjoyed reading it and learned quite a bit from it.
August 14, 2022
Besides his intellectual and academic immersion into Alexander's world, Fox can also boast his participation in cavalry charges and familiarity with the King's perceptions and personality.
February 13, 2024
Quite detailed but not so great at context building other than the authors participation in the early 2000s movie
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews