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Essay / The Movie Alexander by Oliver Stone - 1151
The Movie Alexander by Oliver Stone is based on the life of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, one of the greatest military leaders in the history of the war. The story begins around 283 BC, with Ptolemy, who narrates the entire film. The film has a disclaimer at the end of the credits meaning that the film is "inspired by certain historical events" and that some of these events have been slightly misplaced. Alexander was not designed to be a historical or archaeological documentary. Alexander is the son of King Philip of Macedonia and Queen Olympias. We see the daily life of Alexandre and the tense relations between his parents. Alexander grew up with his mother Olympias and his guardian Aristotle, where he became interested in love, honor, music, exploration, poetry, and military combat. Young Alexander impresses his father by taming an intractable horse, but mother and son are banished from the kingdom, with Olympias advising her son to seize the throne before Philip has him assassinated. Just as things were looking up, Philip was assassinated and Alexander ruled Macedonia. (BBC) Ptolemy briefly mentions how Alexander destroys Thebes and burns Persepolis, then gives an overview of Alexander's journey through western Persia, including his declaration as the son of Zeus by the Oracle of Amun at the oasis of Siwa . It also highlights his great battle against the Persian Emperor Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela and his eight-year campaign across Asia. The film focuses heavily on Alexander's private relationships with his childhood friend Hephaestion and later with his wife Roxana. Hephaestion compares Alexander to Achilles, to which Alexander responds that, if he is Achilles, Hephaestion must be his Patroclus, who is Achilles' best friend and lover. The...... middle of paper...... his wife Roxane was not as passionate as the film portrayed him. Historically, she appears to have been a devoted wife and mother, whose main role was to produce children for the king. Both Gaugamela and Babylon are identified as being in Persia, rather than Assyria and Babylonia. Even though both places were part of the Persian Empire, it makes no sense to identify them as Persian. And one of Aristotle's maps shows "Greece" spread across the southern Balkans, including what today would include Greece, but also Albania, Bulgaria, and sections of the former Yugoslavia. These regions had never been considered part of “Greece” in ancient times. Ultimately, it's not as important to include everything because then the film would be too long for the viewer. What is important is to ensure that what is included is historically accurate within reason..