aria's thoughts : emblazened sojournings: April 2006

** Questioning Alexander's Greatness

Alexander the Great founded the ancient city of Alexandria, still Egypt's largest seaport, in the fourth century BC. Or, so say most western history books. Ancient Egyptian texts suggest the site was settled long before Alexander arrived.

Scholars who point to those texts now have physical evidence to back up their claims. By measuring variations in lead levels in a mud core from the ancient harbor, French scientists have determined that humans likely built there 2,000 years before Alexander was born.

That doesn't mean people were there when Alexander arrived. And no one doubts that Alexandria owes much to Alexander. But the find still inspired us to go back and ask a basic question: What's so great about Alexander? Well, for starters, he won every battle he ever fought and conquered half the known world--in a dozen years. Here's why we know Alexander as "the Great."

Son of the Sun God

At the temple of Amon, Egypt's sun god, priests proclaimed Alexander the god's son on Earth. Since the Greeks worshipped Amon as Zeus, that also made Alexander the son of Zeus, and a god himself--quite an accomplishment for a Macedonian king not yet 25 years old. Still, not everyone was impressed. The orator Demosthenes said, "Let Alexander be the son of Zeus, and of Poseidon, too, if he wishes."

For Persians, Egyptians, and others who were used to seeing their kings as divine, Alexander's claim was just good government. Soon, for all their cynicism, many Greeks (and later Romans) took to worshipping Alexander, too.

Son of the Warrior King

By contrast, Alexander's father, King Philip II of Macedon, was a hearty tribal warlord, first among equals in the Macedonian aristocracy. On July 20, 356 BC, he was just as delighted by his general's victory in Illyria and his horse's victory at the Olympic Games as he was by his newborn son.

Philip built the Macedonian army into the most efficient killing machine in the world, and raised his young heir to use it. He brought Aristotle north to teach Alexander Greek philosophy, and taught the Greeks a lesson in politics by smashing their independence at the battle of Chaeronea. With Greece conquered, Philip planned to invade the Persian Empire.

Undefeated

Perhaps he planned to do so without Alexander. Philip married again in 338. At the wedding banquet, he drunkenly tried to kill his son, but slipped in a pool of wine. "There," sneered Alexander, "lies someone who would cross from Europe to Asia, but can't cross the floor between two couches."

Alexander prudently fled into exile, emerging only when a convenient assassination took Philip out of the picture in 336. He then took over where Philip left off, crushing the rebellious tribes on the border and destroying the Greek city of Thebes.

His rear secure, Alexander crossed into Asia in 334 and, after borrowing the supposed armor of Achilles from Troy, began an unbroken string of victories. He defeated the Persian army in three pitched battles, captured such invulnerable fortresses as Miletus, Tyre, and Gaza, and pacified barbarian horse-thieves and insurgent guerrillas alike. He conquered Afghanistan (in part by marrying Roxana, the daughter of the chief warlord there) and crossed the Hindu Kush into India.

The Invisible Enemy

His army, which had followed him this far, would march no farther. India was the end of the world to the Greeks, a land of monsters. Alexander, the supposed son of a god, had turned increasingly to Persian ritual and alcoholic excess during the campaigns in the east. His men no longer trusted him to lead them into the unknown, and he no longer trusted them. He purged his best general, many of his fellow officers, and even Aristotle's son, fearing plots against him.

When the general Cleitus--who had saved his life in battle--questioned his actions, a drunken Alexander speared him to death. Returning from India, Alexander executed corrupt officials and political enemies by the score, retreating afterward into monumental drinking bouts. When his friend (many say lover) Hephaestion died after one such epic debauch, Alexander ordered Hephaestion's physician crucified. He was now utterly alone.

Funeral Games

Crucifying the doctor might not have been Alexander's greatest idea. A month later, he came down with a fever himself after a drunken binge. Weakened from long campaigning, he died in 323 BC, leaving only a pregnant Roxana. His generals asked to whom he left his empire. "To the strongest," he answered, adding, "I foresee great funeral games at my death." Two centuries of warfare tore his empire apart, and fulfilled his prophecy.

Alexander's successors didn't only fight over his empire, but over his dead body. His regent mummified him in a golden coffin, decorated with the armor of Achilles. But Ptolemy, one of Alexander's most cunning generals, hijacked the funeral convoy on its way back to Macedon and installed Alexander's coffin and armor in an enormous temple and tourist trap in Alexandria. The tomb vanished in one of the many wars over the Roman Empire, but Alexander's legend lives on.

Kenneth Hite
Knowledge News
April 27, 2006

Used with permission
(c)2006 Every Learner, Inc.
All rights reserved
http://KnowledgeNews.net

** FORZA BARCAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

** Stick Cartoons 3 :))

Stick Cartoons :DD

** Stick Cartoons :))

** Most expensive team :part 2

[all figures quoted in pounds]

In bronze medal position come World Cup underachievers Spain, costing an estimated 165million. Key to that is the inclusion of Barca schemer Xavi (20million) in the line-up as he fights his way back from knee surgery. Atletico's Fernando Torres and Real Madrid's Iker Casillas have age and ability on their side and command 25million price tags, while Raul and Carles Puyol are both 20million players, though the chances of either leaving Real Madrid or Barcelona respectively are slim. Add in Arsenal's young stars Cesc Fabregas and Jose Antonio Reyes, goalscorer David Villa of Valencia, Real Madrid's 10million defender Sergio Ramos, and the Liverpool contingent of Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Morientes and Luis Garcia and the bill starts to add up!

Brazil take second spot costing a whopping 174million. Their ageing backline lets them down somewhat, with Cafu and Roberto Carlos surely costing no more than a combined 5million in transfer fees, though clearly both still would want big salaries. The main man of course is Barcelona genius and World and European Player of the Year Ronaldinho. Who could afford such brilliance and would Barca ever sell?
If the player ever decided he was ready to move, perhaps 50million would change hands, but it might even be more. Inter Milan's Adriano looks a 30million player at least, AC Milan's midfield star Kaka comes in at 28million, Real Madrid pair Robinho and Julio Baptista are not impressing at the moment but cost around 30million between them, and there's a chap called Ronaldo.What's he worth, in shirt sales alone?

Which leaves much-hyped England as the team which might have even have Roman Abramovich running to the cash machine. English football players seem to command inflated transfer fees, in relation to the amount of success enjoyed on the international stage, but Sven-Goran Eriksson will oversee a team which would cost about 216million to pull together. Arsenal's Ashley Cole, Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea's John Terry are all 20million-plus players at the back, Rio actually COST United 30million!
David Beckham's abilities may be being questioned but the image and profile are still very high and a transfer fee under 15million would be a surprise considering the marketing potential. Joe Cole's valuation may be slipping at Chelsea but 10million is still a fair assessment while alongside him in midfield come a couple of big-hitters. With a second English title almost clinched Frank Lampard would approach 30million these days while Champions League winner Steven Gerrard would attract similar offers if Liverpool ever considered selling.
A fit Michael Owen is still young enough to rake in about 18million, even Peter Crouch cost Liverpool about 8million and fringe player Shaun Wright-Phillips cost Chelsea 28million, though it's doubtful you would have to pay that now.
And there's one more, isn't there? A player called Rooney. If young Wayne continues to improve could he be worth as much as Ronaldinho? Manchester United paid almost 30million for Rooney whe he was a teenager, Rooney the man would be almost priceless.

** World Cup'smost expensive team : part I

The World Cup will feature the world's costliest and most highly-paid players in the world. But whose starting XI is worth the most?

Obviously working out a player's value on the unpredictable transfer market is guesswork to a large degree. Age, length of contract remaining and the number of interested parties all play a part. But let's look at the major teams and do a price-check on some of the most valuable sporting commodities on the planet.

Our German hosts have a few players who would set the cash tills ringing. Star man Michael Ballack will move for nothing this summer after running down his contract at Bayern Munich, but it's a fair bet the player would fetch at least 25million pounds if tied in to a long-term deal, even though he is already 29 years old.
Second-most valuable is surely Germany's answer to Wayne Rooney, Lukas Podolski, who despite a difficult season at Cologne could still fetch around 12million pounds. Highly-rated Werder Bremen midfielder Tim Borowski and Bayern prospect Bastian Schweinsteiger are each 10million pound players, and we estimate that the team as a whole comes in at around 97 to 100million pounds.

Germany's great rivals Holland are worth around $80million, with Barcelona midfielder Mark van Bommel (15million pounds) and Chelsea's Arjen Robben (12million pounds) the most glittering stars. Manchester United's striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is touted by many to be on the move this summer. Sir Alex Ferguson would want as much as possible for his goalscorer, but at 30 his age should keep his price down to around 10million pounds.

France's side may be a little long in the tooth, but they still have a few stellar performers who can command big transfer fees. We reckon about 120million pounds should be enough to snap up the 2006 starting XI. How much will it take for Barcelona to tempt Thierry Henry away from Arsenal? Well they won't get much change out of 30million pounds will they? And even if his compatriots David Trezeguet and Patrick Vieira looked past their best as Juventus crashed out of the Champions League to the Gunners they would still be worth about 25million pounds and 12million pounds each.
You could probably get veteran Zinedine Zidane on the cheap these days, but Chelsea's William Gallas (15million), and Lyon's Sylvain Wiltord (10million) are still in the eight-figure bracket.

Argentina and Italy both come in at around 140million pounds. Lionel Messi's age and promise make him another 30million player by any reckoning. A slightly smaller fee would be required to clinch the signing of Messi's Argentina team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme. It seems we are likely to discover just how much Riquelme is worth in the summer, but 25million is the figure being quoted at the moment.Corinthians paid a hefty fee of around 20million to take Carlos Tevez to Brazil. It would take even more to move him over to Europe, while Hernan Crespo is certainly still capable of attracting bids in excess of 10million.

Italy boast one of the strongest line-ups of strikers in the World. Their luxury model is Alberto Gilardino, who would take at least 25million pounds to prise away from AC Milan. There's 20million-rated Luca Toni, currently breaking goalscoring records at Fiorentina, Antonio Cassano went to Real Madrid on the cheap but is worth more than 10million, and how much are veterans Alessandro Del Piero and Christian Vieri still worth? Italy's overall valuation would take a considerable dip however without Francesco Totti in the team, who is also still worth a bank-busting 20million pounds.

[msn]

** Juventus - Fiorentina Act IV

For the third game in a row, Juventus will play under the lights of the Delle Alpi in a game that promises to bring further excitement and drama. After games against Milan and Roma, Juve will yet again play host to a high-flying squad in the shape of Cesare Prandelli's Fiorentina. After the draw at Treviso and Milan's defeat at Lecce, Capello's squad have furthered the gap between themselves and their closest rivals. With six games left to play in the championship, they currently lie nine points ahead of the rossoneri and the same number ahead of their total at this stage last season, when Juve and Milan were battling it out on 70 points ahead of their decisive encounter.

This statistic illustrates better than any other the dominance of the bianconeri in Serie A this season, which has seen them amount 24 wins, 7 draws and only one defeat. Fiorentina have also improved upon last year's performance, their 61 points in stark contrast to the 33 they had on Matchday 32 in the 2004/05 season, a transformation that has seen them from the verge of relegation to a potential place in Europe.

This season the two squads have met three times already, and Sunday will mark Act 4. After a draw in Florence in the first leg of the Coppa Italia, Juventus went on to beat their opponents 1-2 away from home in the championship and 4-1 at the Delle Alpi in the return leg of the cup. The next meeting comes at a key stage in the season. With Juve keen to cement their lead at the top of the table and Fiorentina pushing for the final Champions League qualification spot the game looks set to be a thrilling encounter. Log-on to Juventus.com and follow the Live Match reports as the action unfolds.