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Thanks neverdem.

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, wrote that "the exhibition clearly gives the lie to the common Western perception that the Achaemenid empire was a nest of despotism and tyranny that was swept away by Alexander.

Alexander, like his father Philip, was influenced by Isocrates, and Alexander had Aristotle as a teacher. Both were monarchists. However, the idea that the Persian Empire, with its living god kings was anything but despotism is just foolish, and MacGregor should be fired and blackballed.

The sum of his argument is, "oh lookie, what pritttie statues the Persians made! Must be they were trying to establish democracy throughout the part of Asia they brutally conquered. And those attempts to overrun Greece through force of arms, that's just a misunderstanding. It helps to justify the continued ownership of the Elgin Marbles by the British Museum."

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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