Years ago Scott Oden published a book on Memnon of Rhodes, a mercenary soldier who is famous mostly for having given Alexander the Great a rough time of it at two battles in Alexander's history: Granicus and Hallicarnassus. He also had known Alexander when Alexander was a child as it is often mentioned about the ambassadors from Persia who came to see about Artabazus and Memnon in exile at Pella, King Philip's Palace in Macedon.
I know nothing about Scott until I sent Marcus Pailing a copy of my first draft on Alexander, and Scott and some other authors dropped in to make comments about it. So far as I know, Scott has not seen my first draft since it was only available to be read at Alexander-Macedon discussion group.
Because Marcus Pailing had reviewed another childhood book on Kindle by Amazon which had some features similar to mine, I had asked him to read mine to see if there was any chance that they were similar in any way except for timelines.
He apparently perused it to let me know that there was no likely chance that they are alike. I do not know if he has read much of mine or not. Ann Katrin is reading it thoroughly, that I do know, and I learned how important that had been to me.
At any rate, due to Scott's being kind enough to make comments about the possible book I might finally deliver, I decided to read his book Memnon.
Scott is a great writer for those who love military history, battles, and even romance. Surprisingly enough, he is also a very accomplished writer of vivid details regarding background, landscapes, paraphernalia such as uniforms, minutiae such as coins and artwork, subtleties in observation that create mood and texture to the novel.
He has created a Memnon who is both admirable and heroic to a point, but who falls flat finally when one realizes that he is more a caricature of other famous Greek literary figures, Paris and Odysseus than truly being developed fully in character and substance as a great man. He has the potential but inevitably fails.
He has written a great fight scene that holds my attention to the finish. Memnon opens in his homeland of Rhodes, in which we learn of the expectation for Memnon to become a great heroic character, another Alcibiades if you will, which is his father, Timocrates, dream. Little is actually known historically of Memnon's family and past, but this fictitious introduction creates a Memnon who thinks for himself, and does not live up to his father's dreams for him. Memnon simply wants to put out to see with Patron, a sailor, and sets out to do just that...However, Rhodes is in trouble, and a great battle breaks out between the Persians and the Rhodian democrats so that we early on gain the sense of the strength and power of Memnon who takes on all comers to handle his opponents deftly and courageously. Oden is extremely capable and talented in his raising Memnon to heroic proportions.
Romance is also part of this novel in which Memnon is likened to both Paris and Odysseus with the introduction of a daughter of Artabazus, Barsine, who eventually becomes his version of Helen or Penelope. Barsine is an interesting character for me personally as she is also the mistress of Alexander who bears a child, Heracles, (Hercules) by him. However, before Alexander, she has had to be the wife of two brothers, Mentor and Memnon. Scott develops the reason for the two marriages, and uses her as the cause of the story to honor Memnon's memory through the narration of his tale and life.
If you are not familiar with the story of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, you will not understand why it is that Memnon apologizes for his earlier contempt of Paris who had to steal a wife from another man, but realizes why when he sees Barsine as a beauty worthy enough to warrant stealing her...apologies are due to Paris for his theft of Helen from her homeland...Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus who waits patiently for his return and foils her admirers with her weaving to wait her husbands return so again Barsine is likened to the faithful wife and the wandering distant spouse. Scott is obviously a very romantic man in his concept of Memnon and Barsine...using this as a way of also attacking Alexander in the final stages of love.
All this caught my attention as I am writing my own version of Barsine and Alexander and have cast her as a kind of forbidden love to the young Alexander who also sees her great beauty and charm long before he is finally able to have her as his own mistress/wife?
Scott does use the author's so called privilege to alter a few facts of history...if there are truly such things as bona fide facts...one is regarding Pausanias and the other is regarding Hermeias...both are integral to my version so it became obvious to me when he rerouted the stories a bit, to have Memnon guilty of capturing and torturing and chaining Hermeias...In reality, Memnon is responsible for Hermeias being taken to Susa to be tortured there by the King, not by Memnon. He is said to have been crucified there and this is very important to understand that Hermeias, a eunuch, whose niece is married to Aristotle, was the patron of Aristotle at that time. Aristotle was so outraged at the barbaric act waged against Hermeias that it impacted the young students, Alexander, especially, at Mieza. So the reality is such that Aristotle would never have treated Memnon kindly at all had they chanced to meet. However, Scott does pervert history a bit with both the stories of Pausanias and Hermeias to suit his narrative about Memnon.
Nothing wrong with that unless you are totally ignorant of the historical version and believe that fiction is more powerful than fact/truth.
I admit I am a bit rigid in sticking to the truth while developing the story. In Scott's tale, Barsine has a daughter by each one of the brothers, but in reality, the only child mentioned that is hers is Heracles, son of Alexander.
On that note, since at this site I do mention my previous insights into the past through my memory recollections, I will say that I had seen Heracles, a beautiful golden haired child who looks like Alexander as a child as well, and I am certain of Barsine's carefully correct appearance as a Persian lady as well. Interesting to me that it is Barsine who always wears hair coverings of veils while Roxanne always has her hair long and free, as has had Olympias.
I digressed a bit but this is after all my blog so I feel free to note these things as I go along.
Anyway,Memnon soon becomes a kind of character that one realizes is the foe of Alexander as written by Scott Oden. While Memnon will not allow his soldiers to malign Alexander, Scott does put words in their mouths that sound more like commentary from today's current critics rather than those of yesteryear...I do not believe that any soldier would have said some of the things that he has put in their mouth. In that sense, he slipped into a lapse of time periods.
He follows the history fairly well with the demise of the Rhodian whose fate is to learn that Zeus, god of the Greeks, favors Alexander's role in history rather than his. I liked Scott's book, but I would imagine that those who were opposed to Alexander in his conquests were as mean and nasty as was General Memnon. I rather imagine many made the mistake of underestimating the youthful Alexander in his determination to attain his dream and goal. At least, General Memnon does recognize the daemon in Alexander that qualified him as a true heroic leader.
There is both disdain and admiration for Philip's son who will soon be the ruler of the entire Asian kingdom, including all of Egypt, Greece, Macedon, Persia, and surrounding nations. Through Memnon's eyes, we get a glimpse of the future King of the World. While Memnon rebukes Alexander's offer of friendship in Oden's book, I rather doubt that Alexander would have recognized him as anything but a foe due to the role he had played in the affair of Hermeias and Aristotle. Aristotle is like a second father to Alexander, and knowing that Memnon had been responsible for Hermeias's demise would have angered Alexander. In that respect, I will have to challenge Scott on his altering the truth in that way.
However, I found the book fun to read as I liked all the descriptions of locations, armament, fight scenes, and hardness in Memnon's character. I would not have it any other way...
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