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Queen Olympias of Macedon. The famous mother and queen that gave us the gift of Alexander the Great. She is fascinating!
Category Archives: Macedonian Kingdom
POSTCARD Happy Birthday Alexander the Great
On this day in history, July 20,356 BC in ancient Pella Macedonia, Alexander the Great was born to King Phillip and Queen Olympias of Macedonia. One of my favorite ancestors! Happy Birthday Alexander the Great! Thank you for all the light you have brought into this world.
Ancient Greek hair styles
ANCIENT GREEK HAIR STYLES
“Someone , I tell you, in another time will remember us. ” Sappho – Poet
Angelina Jolie [below] in the role of Queen Olympias of Macedon in the movie Alexander the Great, and Diane Kruger in the role of Helen of Troy in the movie Troy.
So how did the most elegant classic beauties back in the AGE OF GODS styled their hair? beautifully!
Ancient Greek women were as concerned about their hair styles as we are today.
Beauty and style [associated with status] were very important
…and this is how they made history…
Here are the most magnificent, elegant and most feminine looks. The looks that inspired millions of women around the globe. Timeless!
Alexander the Great continued – Aristotle
Aristotle is one of the “big three” in ancient Greek philosophy along with Plato and Socrates. Socrates tought Plato who in turn instructed Aristotle, who eventually became the teacher of the famous pupil Alexander the Great of Macedon.
Aristotle (Greek Aristoteles) was born at 384 BC at Stragira Mecedon. He was a Greek philosopher and polymath – his writings cover many subjects including metaphysics, physics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates, Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. His writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy encompassing morality, and aesthetics, logic, and science, politics and metaphysics.
Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander the Great in 343 BC. He was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon – during that time he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings of Macedon: Ptolemy and Cassander.
In his Politics, Aristotle states that only one thing could justify monarchy, and that was if the virtue of the king and his family were greater than the virtue of the rest 
of the citizens put together. Aristotle wrote many dialogues, but, only fragments have survived. Some of the most important works that survived are, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On the Soul) and Politics. He not only studied almost every subject possible at the time, but made significant contributions to most of them. In physical science, Aristotle studied anatomy, astronomy, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics and zoology. In philosophy, he wrote on aesthetics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics, economics, philosophy, rhetoric and theology. He also studied education, foreign customs, literature and poetry. His combined works constitute a virtual encyclopedia of Greek knowledge.
It has been suggested that Aristotle was probably the last person to know everything there was to be known in his own time.
Here are some of Aristotle’s most famous quotes:
We are what we repeatedly do.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Law is mind without reason.
We make war so we can live in peace.
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
All human actions have one or more or these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion and desire.
We must as second best…take the least of the evils.
A whole is that which has beginning, middle and end.
The gods too are fond of a joke.
Hope is a waking dream.
Well begun is half done.
To be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious of our own existence.
It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.
Education is the best provision for the journey to old age.
For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.
A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.
They should rule who are able to rule best.
Happiness depends upon ourselves.
All men by nature desire knowledge.
It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims.
All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.
Liars when they speak the truth are not believed.
With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have use it.
It is possible to fail in many ways…while to succeed is possible only in one way.
One swallow does not make a summer.
Man perfected by society is the best of all animals; he is the most terrible of all when he lives without law, and without justice.
Again, men in general desire the good, and not merely what their fathers had.
Nature does nothing uselessly.
The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.
Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.
In the arena of human life the honours and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities.
To perceive is to suffer.
Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.
It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered.
Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.
Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way…you become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.
Dignity consists not in possessing honor, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.
Aristotle inspired and encouraged Alexander the Great toward eastern conquest, and his attitude towards Persia was unabashedly ethnocentric. In one famous example, he counsels Alexander to be a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts and plants. Alexander’s reply was his famous quote:
I am not interested in the descendance of the citizens or their racial origins. I classify them using one criterion: their virtue. For me every virtuous foreigner is a Greek and every evil Greek worse than a barbarian.
How Great was Alexander the Great!
Near the end of Alexander’s life, Alexander began to suspect plots against himself, and threatened Aristotle in letters. Aristotle had made no secret of his contempt for Alexander’s pretense of divinity, and the king had executed Aristotle’s grandnephew Callisthenes as a traitor. A widespread tradition in antiquity suspected Aristotle of playing a role in Alexander’s death, but there is little evidence for this.
Aristotle’s contribution to us is priceless…and Alexander’s achievements were enchanced and fueled by his great teachings and wisdom. Knowledge is power!
I rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.
I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. Alexander the Great King of Macedon
Image above. Alexander the Great
I will be back with more details about the Alexander the Great Charity I am trying to create whose objective is to enhance education to everyone especially young men and women.
xoxoS
A Post Card – History & Glamour DUBAI
POST CARD – History & Glamour DUBAI
SUSANNA GALANIS Inspired by History Online Catalog – Click right
“In faith and in hope the world will disagree, but all mankind’s concern is charity.” Alexander the Great King of Macedon
A Post Card – Alexander the Great
A POST CARD
“Nothing is impossible to him who will try.” Alexander the Great
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From Aristotle to Alexander the Great – a new charity is born!
The latest news I want to share with you is the formation of a new charity:
ALEXANDER THE GREAT Foundation
A GLOBAL charity to help children and young adults through the introduction and education in the fields of: CLASSICAL EDUCATION -ancient Greek wisdom and teachings, philosophy, physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, arts, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, mathematics, medicine, biology, zoology, nature, athletics…and anything else that will enhance thought, mental and physical endurance, wellness and develop the power of the mind.
“Nothing is impossible to him who will try” This was Alexander the Great’s [my famous ancestor and most important force in my own life] philosophy, but, he was tought that – by Aristotle. Why can’t contemporary children get the same influence and the same education? Why can’t they attain the same glory, and success like Alexander Great? Anything is possible he kept on saying that. THIS IS A FACT!
I would like this charity to enhance, support, influence and encourage the young generation [like I was] as I believe that history is always repeating and there are so many young people who have so much to generate and contribute if they are given a chance by having the right influences and education. And here I am — developing this foundation with all this in mind — my biggest desire is to create the “next Alexander. ”
P.S. I will be updating you on all the upcoming news regarding this charity and providing you with contact information. If you need to reach me you can do so through this post.
Alexander the Great of Macedon at “Le Louvre”
“I am not interested in the descendance of the citizens or their racial origins. I classify them using one criterion: their virtue. For me every virtuous foreigner is a Greek and every evil Greek worse than a Barbarian.” Alexander the Great – King of Macedon (356 – 323 BC)
We all know the power of words. Alexander the Great used them. Crossing the Hellespont with his army in 334 BC Alexander threw his spear from his ship to the coast and it stuck in the Asian ground. He stepped onto the shore, pulled his
weapon from the soil and declared that the whole of Asia would be won by the spear.
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Alexander the Great, Macedonian Kingdom, Paris-France, Louvre Museum, are magical words in my bilingual dictionary — they light me up and elevate me to the highest state of euphoria — and they are all included in this announcement: Alexander the Great, my favorite Greek God ( he is a Greek God as far as I am concerned , the God of eternal glory and immortality), is visiting Paris! Nothing will get me to Paris faster than that — not even Chanel, Lanvin, Dior or any other names – not even Alaxander McQueen, another one of my favorite Alexanders – anyway, I saw him recently at the Met in New York city.
Yes! Alexander the Great goes to Paris next October for a unique exhibition! And not just any place in Paris but at “Le Louvre”, the country’s most famous museum and one of the best museums on the planet!
Image of the Louvre Museum – Paris, France
A major exhibition entitled “In the Kingdom of Alexander the Great – Ancient Macedonia” will be hosted at the famous museum from October 2011 until January 2012.
Image Map of Alexander the Great’s Kingdom of Macedonia
In 323 BC Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, ruled a dominion that stretched from the Balkans to the Himalayas and from Egypt to the Caspian Sea. The most brilliant and most charismatic leader — I don’t think in my humble Macedonian opinion anyone was able to surpass him since — he had led a small Greek army on the campaign of over 20,000 miles to conquer the mighty Persian Empire. Originally from Iran, the Persians held sway over a domain which also included all of what are now Turkey, Israel and Egypt. It had taken him twelve years and he was only thirty-two. Alexander the Great was at that time the undisputed master of the world.
The curator of the department of Greek and Roman antiquities of the Louvre Mrs. Sophie Deschamp has travelled to all Macedonian cities in Northern Greece in order to select the 668 objects which are going to travel to Paris. “The French know that Alexander was Greek, but not Macedonian. Things are a little confused. They don’t know that Macedonia, the birthplace of Alexander the Great is part of Greece. The exhibition will be a great opportunity for all the visitors of the Louvre to learn about Alexander the Great, the origin and the timelessness of his myth” said Mrs. Deschamp.
The exhibits will include architectural portions of the Palace of Vergina, remnants from the grave of Phillip II, and other Macedonian graves, and significant findings from other regions. The French museum is considering this exhibit to be one of major importance. It will allocate its largest periodical exhibition halls measuring a total of 1,200 square meters.
Thanks to this exhibition I will be reunited with my beautiful ancestor and I will reconnect with Macedonia — my divine motherland! I love the French for giving me this opportunity. I am going back home! Home is where Ancient Macedonia and Alexander is, and this time home is Paris!
Alexander finally gets to go West. He is conquering Paris and the hearts of the French. The glory of the Ancient Macedonian Kingdom continues 2,300 plus years later.
The City of lights will shine brighter than ever with Alexander’s visit. His intention was to visit earlier, back in the days when he was conquering the world, but, his untimely death prevented it. Better late than never Alexander!
Image of the Louvre with Alexander the Great — promoting the upcoming exhihition (top left)
For more information about the new charity I am in the process of creating please read post dated 9/19/2011: FROM ARISTOTELE TO ALEXANDER – A NEW CHARITY IS BORN. If you would like to participate, please contact me here.
I will be back soon…
Phillip II of Macedon – Alexander the Great (continued)
“Oh, how a small portion of earth will hold us when we are dead, who ambitiously seek after the whole world while we are living!”
PHILLIP II OF MACEDON – Macedonian king, father of Alexander the Great (382 BC – 336 BC)
Phillip II (359 BC), father of Alexander the Great, was a charismatic ruler, whose strategic genius and diplomatic ability transformed Macedonia from an insignificant and marginal country into the most important power in the Aegean and paved the way for the pan-Hellenic expedition of his
son Alexander III to the Orient. He was an expansive leader who had the breath of vision to usher the ancient world into the epoch of the Hellenism of three continents.
During the course of his tempestuous life, he firmly established the power of the central authority in the Macedonian kingdom, reorganized the army into a flexible and amazing efficient unit and made Macedonia incontestably superior to the institution of the city-state which, at this precise period, was declining.
He was a major inspiration to Alexander who eventually surpassed him in his accomplishments and his achievement of eternal glory.
Phillip’s unexpected death at the hands of an assassin in 336 BC in the theater at Aigai (on the very day of the marriage of his daughter Cleopatra to her uncle Alexander King of the Molossians and Olympia’s brother) , brought to an end a brilliant career, the final aim of which was to unify the Greeks in order to extract vengeance on Persia for the invasion of 481-480 BC; Macedonia, in complete control of the Balkan peninsula, was ready with Alexander III as its new king, to assume its new role.
…more about Alexander the Great’s legend …
Susanna Galanis Classical Education - refine your spirit 