Limelight: The glory of Greece By Lubna Abdel Aziz This is the year of the Greeks! Not only did they invite the world to a sumptuous feast, in celebration of the Olympic Games, the first held on Greek soil for over a century, but their history and mythology have become the most sought after themes for the big screen. Director Wolfgang Petersen's Troy opened the season with his spectacular account of the Homeric romance and drama of the Trojan Wars, starring heart-throb Brad Pitt, all bronzed and buffed as the demi-god warrior Achilles. Now Hollywood reaches once again to the legacy of the ancients for another, sword and sandal $160 million extravaganza of the legendary Alexander the Great. It is rather baffling that Hollywood, always in search of the larger than life spectacles, has resisted recounting the tale of this military genius who conquered much of the civilised world, a two million square mile sweep, marching through Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, then on for another 11,000 miles to India's Punjab, pushing all boundaries to seek new worlds. Since Robert Rossen's Alexander the Great (1956) starring Richard Burton, many have harboured the thought but none have ventured to take on the daunting task. Names like Ridley Scott ( Gladiator ), Mel Gibson ( Braveheart ), George Lucas ( Star Wars ), Steven Spielberg ( Raiders of the Lost Ark ), Martin Scorcese ( Gangs of New York ), Baz Luhrman ( Moulin Rouge ) is only a partial list of the distinguished filmmakers who dreamed of Alexander. So did Oliver Stone ( Platoon ) now ready to fulfil a 20 year-old dream of "tracing the noble dust of Alexander". The world is now poised to receive Stone's historic epic of the incomparable military commander. His scintillating cast includes Sir Anthony Hopkins as "Ptolemy I", Val Kilmer as "Philip II of Macedonia", Angelina Jolie as Alexander's mother "Olympias", and Ireland's 'bad boy' Colin Farrell as Alexander. The legendary Greek soldier, was not even Greek. His father Philip II (382- 336 BC) of Macedonia, himself a great warrior, defeated the Greeks in 338 BC bringing all of Greece under Macedonian control, with the exception of Sparta which remained an independent state. Among Philip's many marriages was the brilliant and hot-tempered Olympias, orphaned daughter of the King of Epirus (Albania), considered a "barbarian" by Macedonians. She gave birth to a son Alexandros, about 20 July 356 BC. On that day the temple of Artemis at Ephisus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world burned down, considered a good omen for the future greatness of the newborn. Throughout his childhood Alexander was provided with the finest tutors, among them Aristotle who taught the young boy an appreciation for Greek drama, philosophy, poetry, and music. Beautiful to look at, fearless and strong, he had a particular passion for Homer's Iliad which he learnt by heart and kept a copy of under his pillow. His mother had taught him that Achilles was his ancestor, and Achilles became his role model in all things. According to Plutarch, Olympias was descended from Aechus, the legendary king of Aegina, grandfather to Achilles. At 13 Alexander wagered his father he could tame a beautiful and spirited stallion Bucephalus, that no one else would ride. He noticed the horse was afraid of his shadow, he turned the horse away from his shadow, quieted him down and mounted him. The famous steed carried him as far as India where it died. There, Alexander built the city of Bucephala in memory of his beloved horse. Philip was so proud of his son's power over the horse, he cried "Oh my son, seek out a kingdom worthy of thyself for Macedonia is too little for thee." No doubt the image of the father loomed over the son. From Philip, Alexander inherited his love of conquest, his obsession with greatness. He was even more ambitious. He wept bitterly as a child when he learned of Philip's conquests: "My father will get ahead of me in everything and will leave nothing great for me to do!" Yet he was particularly close to his mother and their relationship is defined as more of an Oedipal attachment. When his mother was put aside by king Philip for a new wife, a drunken Attalus toasted the couple at the wedding feast by wishing them a "legitimate Macedonian heir to the throne", implying Alexander was but half Macedonian, son of a divorced queen. Alexander took offence and hurled his goblet at Attalus. Angered Philip lunged at Alexander with his sword but was too drunk and fell down. "Look lads", goes Alexander's famous quote, "this is the guy who wants to cross from Europe to Asia and he can't even cross the table!" Philip eventually made peace with his son but Alexander never forgave him. A year later Philip was stabbed to death by Pausanias, a jealous lover, but rumours were strong that Olympias was behind his murder. At 20 Alexander was king. His thoughts turned to conquering Darius, king of Persia who had earlier defeated his father. Alexander captured the Persian king's camp including Darius's wife and mother. His gallantry towards them was his finest act. When the king's mother Sisygambis, queen of Persia greeted her conqueror she bowed instead to Hephaestion, Alexander's childhood friend and constant companion, thinking he was Alexander. "Never mind mother" Alexander comforted the mortified queen, "Hephaestion is also Alexander!" That was an accurate description of their closeness. Taller and even more beautiful than Alexander, Hephaestion was always by his side, making even his mother Olympias jealous. While historians have shied away from defining this relation, it was one of deep love and devotion. The couple was inseparable and shared everything, games, sports, wars, and philosophies. According to Plutarch, on their march to Asia Minor, they stopped at Troy, which held a great spiritual significance to Alexander. Alexander himself may have compared his love for Hephaestion to the legendary warrior's love for his cousin Petroclus. The two men laid wreaths at the tombs of Achilles and Petroclus. At the tomb of Achilles Alexander cried "Oh fortunate youth, to have found Homer as the herald of your glory". So closely did he identify with the mythical hero that he cut his hair on Hephaestion's death as did Achilles when he lost Petroclus. Though Alexander had two or three wives, same sex relationship was the norm in Ancient Greece as well as many societies in pre-modern times. When Alexander landed in Egypt he hugged the ground and wept. "Now there are no more lands to conquer." So happy were they to be liberated from the brutal Persian rule, the Egyptians offered him the double crown of Pharaoh. He established a city to bear his name, to be the epicentre of the civilised world, assimilating Egyptian and Greek cultures and religions. He dreamed of building a great library that would be the centre of knowledge of the most prominent civilisations. This dream was fulfilled by his successor Ptolemy I. Though he named many cities in his march, only two stand today, Bucephala in India named after his horse, and Alexandria in Egypt named after the general himself. On his death of malaria at 33, in far away Babylon, his body was returned to his beloved Alexandria for burial; that was Alexander's solemn wish. Such is the incredible task undertaken by director Oliver Stone in his upcoming production of Alexander the Great. From actor/writer/director/producer Stone we have been accustomed to expect much. Himself a renaissance man, he was brought up in the lap of luxury. Much travelled and cultivated, fluent in many languages, he is also an adventurer. On graduating from Yale he took to the wars of Vietnam, where he won a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He came back to express his disdain for wars in two Oscar-winning films -- Platoon (1986) and Born on the 4th of July (1989). Voted the 43rd greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, Stone has dreamed of Alexander for the last 20 years. He dreamed of a man who aspired to be a myth like his hero Achilles and grew up to be even greater. While Achilles only lived through the words of Homer, Alexander lived and loved and fought and conquered. He dreamed of mortal man's reach for immortality, and achieved it. With this new production, we too shall "trace the dust of Alexander" and sing his undying song of the glory that was -- and is -- eternally, Greece.
