Not sure why humans seem to have obsessions with producing ‘top however-many lists’ of ‘whatever’. This time, it Time Magazine using the format to mark what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 100th anniversary. The ‘common thread’ is “world leaders whose legacies have stood the test of time”. Coming in at number two (after Gandhi) is Alexander the Great … here’s their blurb:

The world knows no more precocious or proud a conqueror than Alexander the Great. According to legend — and legends are legion about this fellow — the young Macedonian prince carried the blood of the Olympian god Zeus in his veins and overcame a bullying father and cloying mother to lead a triumphant army across the Bosporus to the near ends of the earth. He defeated the mighty Persian Empire, ever the scourge of the Greeks, razed its once mighty capital of Persepolis to the ground and tried to stitch together an incredible cosmopolitan empire from the Indus to the Hellespont — all while he was in his 20s. He died from an arrow wound at the tender age of 32, still harboring dreams of finding greater shores and nations to bring under his yoke. His imperial project proved too great for his followers, who soon set about warring with each other soon after Alexander’s death.

In the European tradition, Alexander has always been a talisman of western dominance and countless colonial adventurers in the 18th and 19th centures voyaged through what’s now the Middle East and South Asia while very self-consciously styling themselves as latter day Alexanders. Yet, according to most sources, Alexander “went native” over the course of his campaigns, assuming the trappings of the Persians, Soghdians and others whom he encountered and mingled with. Unsurprisingly, the Muslim world has a whole canon of Alexander literature, particularly in Persian, depicting the irrepressible conqueror as a champion of Islam riding to its defense.

Whoever he was, Alexander left behind cities in his name that would last centuries, not least two that are currently in the news: Alexandria, Egypt, the great trading center of the ancient world that’s now the site of turbulent protests against the ruling regime in Cairo and Afghanistan’s Kandahar, derived from the Persian “Iskandar,” or Alexander, and a longstanding stronghold of the Taliban.

Number 11 on the list, right after Ronald Reagan himself and no doubt riding a wave of popularity due to a recent book, is Cleopatra (I’ve never seen the sculpture that accompanies this one):

The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra is remembered for the luxuries of her fabled kingdom, her dazzling beauty and, above all, her death. Immortalized by Shakespeare, her alleged suicide was the stuff of romantic legend — despairing after the defeat in battle of her lover, Marc Antony, she succumbed to the venomous bite of an asp rather than be taken captive by the victorious Roman Octavian, nephew of Julius Caesar, another one of her many paramours. Over the centuries, Cleopatra has become synonymous with seduction, her feminine wiles aligned alongside an image of the East as decadent, debauched and ready to be taken.

Recent scholarship, though, has done much to bring the real Cleopatra into the light, showing how the ancient monarch was a shrewd politico bent on defending the land her family’s dynasty had governed for some two centuries, while expanding her influence into the Roman world. Scholars still puzzle over the true extent of beauty and debate her racial origins — some say she was more African, others point to the decidedly Greek character of dynastic line. Most recently, Egypt’s archaeologist in chief, the controversial, flamboyant Zawi Hawass, unveiled an extensive mission to unveil her and Antony’s supposed tomb, a find that could shed more light on the tragic couple’s last moments. But, thus far, the search has gone cold and the legendary queen remains still ensconced in myth.

Not sure the Cleopatra description fits the ‘test of time’ criteria, but whatever the case, no one else from our purview cracked the top 25, alas …

• via: Top 25 Political Icons | Time

Classicist Philip Freeman weighs in:

• Guest opinion: What would Alexander do in Egypt today? | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com.

Here’s the majority of the piece:

In the winter of 332 BC, Egypt was in chaos. Years of oppressive government seemed at an end as the hated Persian rulers were hiding from angry mobs inside their palaces on the Nile. The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great, only 24 years old, had just entered the land and no one knew what would happen next. For over a century the Persians had treated the people of Egypt with contempt, seeing them only as a source of revenue to support their military machine and lavish lifestyle. The Persian King Cambyses had even killed the sacred Apis bull at Memphis in a fit of rage and earned the undying hatred of the common people. Periodic uprisings had rocked the country ever since, only to be crushed by the police state the Persians had created. As rioters ran through the streets in advance of Alexander’s army, everyone wondered what the future held.

When Alexander arrived with his soldiers at Memphis near the pyramids, the first thing he did was enter the temple of Ptah and pay his respects to the god and the new Apis bull. He ordered the religious sites of the Egyptians that had been destroyed by the Persians repaired at his own expense. The priests and the people were thrilled. He appointed capable Egyptians to important posts in his new government. Finally, he invited everyone, foreigners and natives alike, to a grand outdoor party to celebrate the dawn of a new age.

The last thing Alexander wanted to bring to Egypt was democracy, but he knew that to successfully rule such a land he would have to treat the people with respect. If Alexander were to march into Egypt today, it isn’t hard to imagine what he would do. The leading members of the old regime would be on the next flight to Saudi Arabia and the young king himself would be at the barricades passing out bread, praying at the mosques, and promising change. What form that change would take is hard to say, but at least Alexander knew that ruling Egypt meant listening to the people.

Seen on the Rome-arch list (please direct any queries to the folks mentioned in the item and not to rogueclassicism):

The Department of Classical Studies invites applications for a one-year term position beginning August 2011. There is a possibility that the position will be renewed for a second year depending on the needs of the department. Rank and salary commensurate with experience. Ph.D. preferred. We seek a broadly trained classicist to teach Greek and Latin at all undergraduate levels as well as Classics courses in translation (e.g., Mythology, Greek or Roman Civilization, and Ancient History). Teaching load is 3/3. Commitment to undergraduate teaching in a liberal arts environment is essential. For information about the department, please visit http://www.depauw.edu/acad/classical/. Send application letter, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, statement of teaching philosophy and scholarly interests, evidence of teaching effectiveness, and a short manuscript or offprint to: Rebecca K. Schindler (rschindler AT depauw.edu), Chair, Department of Classical Studies, DePauw University, 7 East Larabee Street, Greencastle, IN 46135. Review of applications will begin March 15 and continue until the position is filled. DePauw University is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Women and members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Interesting phrase mentioned in Schott’s Vocab at the New York Times:

The Thucydides Trap | NYTimes.com.

From Bryn Mawr Now:

For the second year in a row, a graduate of Bryn Mawr’s department of classical and Near Eastern archaeology has won the Archaeological Institute of America’s Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement, the organization’s highest honor. Susan Irene Rotroff ’68 was awarded the medal at the Institute’s annual meeting in January.

Rotroff is the eighth Bryn Mawr graduate to win this laurel. Two other winners of the award were Bryn Mawr professors; thus Bryn Mawr-affiliated archaeologists make up about a fifth of the winners of the AIA Gold Medal (see a list of other Gold Medal winners from Bryn Mawr below).

Rotroff is the Jarvis Thurston and Mona Van Duyn Professor in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, where she teaches courses in both the department of classics and the department of art history and archaeology.

Recognized as a top authority on Hellenistic pottery, Rotroff has been a leader in using the material culture of ancient societies to understand the daily lives of their people. She has published multiple volumes on pottery found at the Athenian Agora, a site to which she has returned throughout her career; she has also published on sites in Turkey and other areas of Greece. She was awarded a MacArthur “genius” fellowship in 1988.

“Susan Irene Rotroff epitomizes all that professional archaeologists should aspire to: inspired teaching, extensive fieldwork, and an international reputation as a scholar,” says the AIA’s award citation.

When Rotroff began her career, Hellenistic archaeology was a somewhat neglected field, she says. Earlier archaeologists had tended to disdain it as “not aesthetically interesting.”

“It was regarded as the decadent period that followed the height of the classical period,” she explains. “Now people try a little bit more to take each period on its own merits. We understand Hellenistic art as something with different aims and different aesthetics.”

As a Princeton graduate student, Rotroff was given a thorough introduction to the archaeology of the period by Dorothy Burr Thompson, a fellow Bryn Mawr graduate (and fellow winner of the AIA Gold Medal). She served as Thompson’s research assistant.

“She was working on Hellenistic figurines, trying to date them,” Rotroff recalls, “and she kept sending me back to the utilitarian pottery from the same site for reference. I decided that in my work, I would focus on the pottery.”

Rotroff ultimately co-authored a book on Hellenistic pottery and terracottas with Dorothy Burr Thompson and her husband, Homer Thompson.

Her professional activity ensures frequent contact with the Bryn Mawr Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Rotroff says.

“You can’t do classical archaeology without running into people from Bryn Mawr,” she says. “It’s just a major presence in the field.”

• Susan Rotroff ’68 Wins Top Archaeology Award, Joining a Long List of Bryn Mawr Grads So Honored | Bryn Mawr Now.