Tristan Hughes

It is still spectacular by any standards when you look at it.

It's hard.

I mean, it's still hard to pin him down, to know who he really was.

You can see what he did.

and why, but why he did it is harder.

And it's the frustration, and you can understand why I don't think there'll ever be a great film about Alexander the Great.

The story is too big.

The canvas is so vast, and it's complicated.

He packed an awful lot into that short time.

I mean, there's no surprise that you have the stories about Julius Caesar weeping when he sees a bust of Alexander the Great, because at his age, Alexander had conquered the world.

Caesar's just a minor Roman magistrate at this point.

But on the other hand, there's also, in many respects, he's a hard man to like.

You could admire aspects of him, you could deplore aspects of him, but he wouldn't have been easy to be around.

philip and alexander kings and conquerors in america and i think it's something else in britain but philip and alexander is the main thing it just goes for me to say well done and thank you so much for coming on the podcast thanks it's been lots of fun

Ever wondered why the Romans were defeated in the Teutoburg Forest?

What secrets lie buried in prehistoric Ireland?

Or what made Alexander truly great?

With a subscription to History Hit, you can explore our ancient past alongside the world's leading historians and archaeologists.

You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries with a brand new release every single week covering everything from the ancient world to World War II.

Just visit historyhit.com slash subscribe.