Posted on 08/17/2023 4:32:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Over the centuries, humans have always been fascinated by the vices and virtues of history’s most consequential figures. As one of the towering figures of history, Alexander the Great often attracts some of the closest scrutiny in this regard.
At the time of his death in 323 BCE, Alexander the Great had conquered a vast empire that stretched across three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. His conquests had a profound impact on the ancient world and left a lasting legacy.
One of Alexander’s worst vices may have been his relationship with alcohol. His biographers chronicled several sessions of especially heavy drinking enjoyed by the Macedonian king. During one such evening of drunken revelry, Alexander murdered a close friend – an act that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Alexander's empire map A map of Alexander the Great’s empire at its largest extent c.323 BC including details of key roads, location, and battles. Credit: Generic Mapping Tools / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 The murder of Cleitus the Black
Cleitus the Black was appointed as a commander of the Greek Cavalry by Philip II, and he held this position throughout the reign of Alexander the Great.
During the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC, Cleitus displayed remarkable valor when he intervened to defend Alexander from the simultaneous attacks of Rhosaces and Spithridates. Cleitus managed to cut off Spithridates’s arm, preventing the Persian satrap from striking Alexander and thus saving the leader’s life. Grecian Delight supports Greece
Following the trial and subsequent execution of Philotas, Cleitus earned further recognition and was subsequently promoted to co-commander of the companion cavalry, one of the most prestigious positions within the military hierarchy.
In 328 BC, Cleitus was appointed to the satrapy of Bactria by Alexander the Great. However, during a banquet held in honor of Dionysus at the satrapial palace in Maracanda (now Samarkand), a dispute erupted between Cleitus and Alexander. Inebriated from the feast, Alexander proclaimed a reorganization of commands, assigning Cleitus the task of leading defeated Greek mercenaries against steppe nomads in Central Asia. Feeling overlooked and resentful, Cleitus openly expressed his dissatisfaction, criticizing Alexander’s accomplishments and legitimacy as king, and attributing his success to his father, Phillip II. Alexander murders Cleitus Did an unhealthy relationship with alcohol consumption cause Alexander the Great to murder his friend? Credit: Weston, W H / Plutarch / Rainey, W / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
As tensions escalated, Alexander threw an apple at Cleitus and called for a dagger or spear, but others intervened to separate them. Eventually, Cleitus returned to the room to voice further grievances, and in a moment of rage, Alexander hurled a javelin through Cleitus’s heart, resulting in his death.
Cleitus’s motives for the quarrel have been debated, with some suggesting his anger may have stemmed from Alexander’s growing adoption of Persian customs, including the acceptance of practices like proskynesis that were considered degrading by many in the Macedonian army.
When Alexander became sober he was struck with grief. Having murdered his friend, he isolated himself within his tent and refused to eat or drink for three days. Alexander the Great Alexander the Great. Credit: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons Study questions whether Alexander the Great was an alcoholic
Evidently, Alexander, the Great’s drunken behavior was, to put it mildly, extreme. Nevertheless, this is not enough to ascribe the medical condition of alcoholism.
In 2003, researchers endeavored to discover whether “Alexander the Great indulged pathologically in alcohol and whether it contributed to his death.”
The researchers studied the texts of Diodorus of Sicily, Plutarch, Arrian, Curtius Rufus, Athenaeus, Aelian, and Justin. In particular, they examined references to alcohol consumption by Alexander and the officers in his army.
Ultimately, the researchers concluded that “Alexander consumed large quantities of undiluted wine periodically, reaching pathological intoxication. However, the existing data do not provide convincing evidence that Alexander the Great manifested abuse of or dependence on alcohol according to DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria, and it seems unlikely that alcohol was involved in his untimely death”
Don’t know if he was an alcoholic but heard he was a fag (or Bi)
I tend to think that anyone who could afford to drink alcohol before there was clean drinking water did so as a matter of good practice. When that happens there is alway a propensity to become an alcoholic. It’s not that big of a deal when everyone else is going around half drunk too.
“Alexander consumed large quantities of undiluted wine periodically....”
I think they’d probably find something similar true of almost every soldier that ever went to war.
Within recent history, drinks with alcohol were preferred over water because the water was usually not very clean and caused disease. Alcohol in fluids does a great job of killing bacteria, and long before people knew anything about bacteria or alcohol, they noticed that people who drank straight water tended to get sick more than people who mixed alcohol in their drink. Alexander may very well have been an alcoholic - I’d guess many people of that time and for multiple centuries afterward were if they could afford it.
I’m not sure, but I think Alexander threw a vase at his father when he was drunk too.
In Alexander’s case it was more a problem with how he behaved when he was in the cups. It was a problem that bothered him. His men had to restrain him from killing himself after he ran Clitus through during a drinking bout. He sacked and burned Persepolis to the ground... another ‘idea’ he got while at a drinking party that he probably regretted afterwards. When his friend Hephaestion (the only person he probably actually loved) died he went into a long inordinate mourning. Alexander was not a Stoic... It was those personality traits that came to the fore when he was drinking that were a problem.
The Macedonian upper class had a traditional of drinking bouts. So, by our standards they probably all were.
My history teacher referred to him as “Alexander The Grape”
Yeah... he threw a drinking cup at him at Phillip’s marriage to a Greek wife. Someone had insinuated that now Phillip could have a Greek son. Alexander (whose mother was Boeotian) heard it and berated his father... started a row. Alexander yelled “who am I then” and threw the cup. Phillip tried to run at him and tripped across the floor (drunk probably) and Alexander yelled’’ “look, he thinks he is going to conquer Asia and he can’t make it across the room.’ Nasty scene... all families have their ups and downs..
It has been said by others here, but until fairly recent times water was often deadly and alcoholic beverages at least killed the bacteria. A fair percentage of the population had a buzz on pretty much all the time unless they lived near a very clean source of water.
Yes.
I labeled him an alcoholic in my 1992 book, Vessels of Rage, published in the UK (Element Books) as The Secret History of Alcoholism.
The most significant sign of alcoholism and the most difficult to hide is ... high tolerance. As I note in my book Alexander would challenge followers to drinking contests which he always won.
Add to that his impulsive behavior when drinking and his regret over it’s consequences, he’d have a hard time escaping the alkie Dx from a modern shrink. All Macedonians drank wine... often not mixed with water like the Greeks, it was how the alcohol effected him that was problematic.
...And it made ugly girls look hot on a Saturday night...
Of course he was, based upon his nickname: Alexander the Grape.
So, he took a fancy to little dwarf women, eh? If I know my Greek pro = 2, so he liked them them two at a time like Fredo and the cocktail waitresses. What a strange bird.
It was the latter. They didn’t have paper bags back then.
If you’re the son of Zeus-Ammon, the rules no longer apply to you.
He died at around age 33. Given the weak alcohol level of beverages back then (I believe? - no spirits back then) there must have been some other strong contributing factors.
and we should care why?
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