what if alexander had made the circumnavigation of Africa?

[dimitrius the sieger]

it was in his plan , becouse the ancient greeks believe that africa is only from aigypt to aithiopia ( see hecateus map ) . could he conquer the natives ?

[edessa]

Alexander conquered the egyptians, persians and indians. I don't think a few ethiopians in lionskins would have posed much of a threat...hey maybe if he did conquer them then that could have given credibility to the skops' 'greeks out of africa' DNA theory...which is formally rejected by the scientific world...
I think a more interesting scenario would have been what would he have done had he not died...would he have gone all the way to china? Or turned around and looked towards Italy and Iberia? My gut feel is, had he not died, he would have explored the world up to the Americas...such was his passion for adventure and discovery

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by edessa

Alexander conquered the egyptians, persians and indians. I don't think a few ethiopians in lionskins would have posed much of a threat...hey maybe if he did conquer them then that could have given credibility to the skops' 'greeks out of africa' DNA theory...which is formally rejected by the scientific world...
I think a more interesting scenario would have been what would he have done had he not died...would he have gone all the way to china? Or turned around and looked towards Italy and Iberia? My gut feel is, had he not died, he would have explored the world up to the Americas...such was his passion for adventure and discovery

It was a mistake of his going to India ..and "knowing" his spirit I rhink that he would wanted to go in every corner of the Earth ...I think that he should immediately after defeting the Persians ..rest his troops and march against the Romans and the Carthagenians ..Instead he took them to weard places like India ..and if he knew it ..African Joungle

[dimitrius the sieger]

this coyld be good

First move to carthage and destroy it
Then take italy and hispany ( bb rome )
then go out of the givraltar and conquer the whole africa ( bb zulus )
Then go to india and chine
Then conquer sebiria and germany
In 70 years old go to america

why he die why :cry :cry

[pankration]

It is common knowledge that Alexander was set upon conquering the western part of Europe. He even sent the other Alexander to Italia to check it out. Unfortunately he also died young.

[Spartan]

I don't think Alexander circumnavigating the African continent would have made a difference to his campaigns. Now it would have change the knowledge of the geography of the world. It is well known from the Ancient Sources that he was planning on campaigning to the west of Greece and north of the Danube. The Romans even sent him embassies to pay him homage and treasure as well as several of the tribes north of the Danube. So he knew about them.

I agree with 'What would have happened had he lived longer?' One thing for certain the world would not be the way it is today. Christianity probably would have never came into existence, the Roman empire would have never existed, so on and so on. The whole world would have probably ended up speaking Greek instead of English or earlier Latin. Man the possibilities are endless!

[pankration]

We would have landed on the moon a hundred years ago!

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by pankration

We would have landed on the moon a hundred years ago!

Well said Pankration !!

There wouldn't be any Renaissance simply because there wouldn't be any Medioeval Dark interruption !!!!

[MAKEDONELLHNAS]

Originally Posted by pankration

We would have landed on the moon a hundred years ago!

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English author and inventor
"if Christiannity and Turkish occupation didnt stopped the Greek civilization from its advanced progress in mathematics , chemistry and physics the Greeks could have been to space 600 years before the Americans"

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English author and inventor
If the sharp-sightedness of the Greeks had kept pace with their intelligence, then maybe even the Industrial Revolution had begun one thousand years before Columbus. And so, in our era, we would not just try to visit the Moon, but we would already had arrived on other close planets.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by MAKEDONELLHNAS

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English author and inventor
"if Christiannity and Turkish occupation didnt stopped the Greek civilization from its advanced progress in mathematics , chemistry and physics the Greeks could have been to space 600 years before the Americans"

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English author and inventor
If the sharp-sightedness of the Greeks had kept pace with their intelligence, then maybe even the Industrial Revolution had begun one thousand years before Columbus. And so, in our era, we would not just try to visit the Moon, but we would already had arrived on other close planets.

That is a very accurate opinion by Clarke. Just think about, the Steam Engine was invented more than 1500 years before Thomas Savery patented it in the late 17th century in Alexandria.

http://www.tmth.edu.gr/en/aet/5/55.html

"- The discovery of the steam-engine.

Although there are indications that Archimedes and Philo made some simple use of steam, the discovery of the steam engine definitely belongs to Hero. In the history of mechanics, the rotating device invented by Hero is known as an aeolipile or steam sphere or wind ball. The principle was very simple: a large sealed cauldron of water was placed over a source of heat. As the water boiled, steam rose into two pipes, between which was pivoted a sphere. Jets of steam escaped from the sphere through two L-shaped outlets, sending it spinning around at great speed. This remarkable device was used in many different mechanisms and constructions, but was never developed to the point where it became as important a discovery as Papin's steam-powered piston in 1681. This was largely because the power of steam was considered a paradoxical phenomenon and not a dynamic state. Nonetheless, the repeated discovery of the power of steam, from Leonardo da Vinci with his 'architron', a steam cannon based on an invention of Archimedes, to Papin and his pressure cooker, owe much to the ancient Greek mechanical engineers: Archimedes, Philo (who invented a steam siren for lighthouses) and Hero, not to mention Philomenes, who in 250 BC built a steam pressure vessel very like that of Papin, although without the latter's safety valve. Papin corresponded with Leibnitz, who had translated Hero's work on pneumatics, in which he describes his aeolipile. This is just one more indication of the Greek contribution to the discovery of the steam engine."


So it seems that if left unchecked the intellect of the Greeks would have produced an industrial revolution much earlier than when it did occur. This of course is just one of the inventions that was re-discovered at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.