OK, I didn't see the trailer, nor will I probably see the film. Reason? Well, the best case scenario is that I will be underwhelmed. The worse case scenario is that I will want to kill Oliver Stone whose movies I have loved (so far).
Well, first things first.
We Greeks, understandably love Alexander. He is our greatest hero of all time, and I want to annotate HERO, not conqueror. He was the first to unite the Greeks under his banner in battle. It is a pity that this unity didn't last past his death. Who knows what might have been.
That is not the reason why we adore him though. It is more simple than that. Had it not been for him, we would not exist.
Let me make myself clear. Chi huang Ti was a great warrior, and for me one of the great unknown leaders of mankind (and the reason why you call CHI-NA as you do). He united the chinese under him in 224 BC. Had it not been for him, though some other leader would have done the same. China is a huge place both in territory and population. Not even Genghis Khan could make the chinese turn into Mongols. Instead quite the opposite happened.
Let us also take into account Hannibal. One of the worlds' greatest generals who led his nation into a futile war against his nation's arch-enemy and lost. What happened of his nations and all its works? It is a subnote in history books. It died.
Greece was not all that different from Carthage/Phoenicia. Embroiled with it in a bitter rivalry with Carthaginians to the west and the Persians to the east, Greece had just gone through a terrible war which included genocide, mass death due to plague, huge reversals of fate, and a spectacular traitor (Alcibiades, anyone?). Persians would play one nation against the other, weakening them for the eventual third assault that would certainly succeed. Not just that. I don't think that we would have last as long as we eventually did. Mediterranean and Europe in general is teeming with different cultures. What became of Etruscans, All the nations in Asian minor, all the nations of Italia (prior rome), the lusitans in Spain or the Moesians (who lived in what is now Bulgaria). GONE FOREVER. I believe we would have been in that list too.
Then Phillip rose in power. He created Alexander's army and enhanced his domain so much that Alexander's campaign in the east was the next logical step. History mistreated him. He wasn't a kind man. But he was a great man, (and possibly one of the few whose' tomb has been excavated in Vergina, Macedonia of Greece (the real one)--
that is the area around salonika and the land further east and west . AND A NOTE ON THAT.... The reason the other macedonia exists is purely ALEXANDER. He is the only known link to join together Albanians, Serbians, Bulgarians and Turks who live in that country, even if NO-ONE of those were in the area in the time of Alexander. Well, to each his own. They couldn't directly claim him so they claimed the name of his country. I guess we should feel flatered
Oh well!
Then comes Big AL. He conquers the world. Then there are Greek nations from massalia (Marseilles) to Indus river. Colonisation is underway for the 1000 cities that Alexanders' heirs founded (even if warring amongst themselves). Result? Until the Arabs, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel,Jordan Egypt, Lybia were greek. Not just greek descended but the population was largely greek-ified too. Ever since that period, The hellenistic era, our tongue became what is today, that is fixed vowels and consonnants, "what you read is what you get"
(I know it sounds hard to believe, but Greek is actually an easy language once you get used to using all the different sounds)
:thepimp:
In other words, we had been spared from the worst fate in history, oblivion. Being so large in both population and prestige, heritage, culture (also due to the enormous wealth that expansion and Alexander's raid of the Persian treasure troves), the Romans, our conquerors but mostly practical people let us be.
For what happened later with the Arabs, was fate, and with the Turks OUR FAULT. I can't imagine another empire squandering in so little time (like Byzantion did in the decade 1071-1081) what had taken eons (literally) to build. I guess it has to do with our worse disadvantage as a nation... Civil war. As a general rule, after Greeks emerge victorious from a difficult situation, they tend to fight among themselves. Happened in Byzantium, but also up untill recently (Last civil war was right after the liberation from the Germans)
As for the other "fault" other people find in us, I REALLY believe that Ancient Greeks became the posterboys for the gay community since time immemorial. I don't have any other reason for thinking the way I do, than our customs, our ways, the way we Greeks think, and the time I spent serving my country in the Greek Air Force. I don't think gays take to figthing all that well.
I may be a simpleton, I don't know. It's just that had the Ancient Greeks been Village people from yore, why should they fight in the Thermopylae, when they could turn around and bend over ?
But seriously now, They might have been or not, no way to know for sure, till someone comes back and tells us. Thing is one can only be sure for himself, and not blame others.
Oh, and do come down from your horse. We Greeks are diverse people. Southern Greeks are shorter and darker, same as us Northern Greeks are taller and lighter. Yes, Alexanders' army may well have been manned by blonde/ blue eyed Macedonians. While I am not a typical greek, I have dark brown hair, am 1.90 in height and blue eyes. A lot of Northern Greeks are of the same build as me. Don't overstereotype people. We are europeans in Greece. This isn't middle east! Come the olympiad, come down here and check it out for yourselves!
And so, to continue the story, why should Greeks survive? What makes them so different to deserve it? What have the Greeks done for you? The obvious answer, (because of the vagueness of ideas like, ÄÇÌÏÊÑÁÔÉÁ, ÅËÅÕÈÅÑÉÁ, ÉÓÏÔÇÔÁ, ËÏÃÏÓ, ÍÏÕÓ, ÐÍÅÕÌÁ and the sort) one simple thing.
Had it not been for the Carolvigians on France and Byzantines on the East, Europe now would be Sunni Arab. And Byzantium took about 80% of the assault, rather than the 20% that Charlemagne's father had to face. True, the Turks overwhelmed us, but by then Europe was ready. So, now we live in the future have a global civillisation worty of the name, who can be proud of its accomplishments. Because if we were living in a Sunni Arab continent, I don' think we would be having Freespace, let alone forums in which to discuss about Alexander.
(Not to mention Persians, and the Thermopylae thing)
So, to cut things short...
Alexander, being dreadfully jealous of the glory of Achilles, tried to match him in glory... and succeeded. In the process, he also saved his nation. Which in the fullness of time saved Europe. And again in the fullness of time, Europe came back to its rescue (It is well known that without European intervention in Navarin (Gr Brittain, France and Russia) in 1828, the Greek Rebellion of 1821 would wither and die).
And to end with the "fault" some of you find in us...
We Greeks, have saved your ass 2 times already! 
Stop telling lies about ours!!! ÊÁËÇÍÕ×ÔÁ!
