I brought the cassette with the lyrics to my history teacher in school after he mentionned Alexander the Great in class in the late 80's. "Did you know there's a song about him?" He used it in his lessons until he retired, I heard. Salut Monsieur Pineault!
1980's Maiden is awesome and they have reviewed numerous Maiden songs from the 1980's. 2000's Maiden is also awesome and they have reviewed zero Maiden songs from the 2000's.
@Vin : Alexander was not a jihadist. The Greeks (including the Macedonians) and Persians had been "butting heads" for generations. A hundred years prior there had been the great Persian invasion of Greece ("immortalized" in the movie "300", if you've seen that).
His father Phillip actually had begun the invasion of Persia, but died early on in its planning. Phillip and Alexander presented themselves as the inheritors and continuation of true Greek culture (even though they were Macedonian). Alexander was said to have thought himself either the son of Zeus or as Zeus himself. Of course, by the time he reached Babylon, he became enchanted by the culture there and started seeing himself as a divine king in the mode of the Mesopotamian kingdoms. Because of this conquest, elements of Greek culture spread as far as Afghanistan and western China. That's why you see Greek-style Buddha statues in Afghanistan. However, he basically left the infrastructure of the Persian empire in place. Very little changed for the common person, besides seeing some new statues, some new cities named after Alexander, and more Greeks showing up traveling through. In Asia Minor (Turkey), Greek was already the primary language and culture- this was the case until after the Islamic conquest. Their satraps were still mostly foreigners, just now Greeks instead of Persians. Greek did become the language of trade and government across a wider area than before. The Hellenistic era was marked by the empire of Alexander being divided up among his generals, who ruled their territories as kings, conflicting with each other. It was into that political situation that the Romans came, at first settling disputes between them and taking sides, and later just conquering many of them and making them provinces. Christianity wouldn't be what it is without Roman infrastructure, the Greek language, philosophy, and religion, and the destruction of Jerusalem and final diaspora of the original core of the Jewish disciples of Jesus. So thank the brutality of Titus and Vespasian for making the Hellenized Paul the dominant voice of Jesus' cult in those early decades, otherwise it may never have become much more than another Jewish Messianic movement. The Mediterranean was a multicultural area for as long as there has been civilization, learning other languages was how trade was conducted, which was essential for all civilizations to grow. Everyone borrowed things from everyone else (like the alphabet). There was still racism, xenophobia, etc, but in the trade areas people had to know one another's languages. Alexander himself doesn't influence Christianity, except in the spread of Greek culture and language closer to the Levant.
@Βarry Αllen it means that the Greeks didn't necessarily consider them Greek, they might have been considered barbarians, like the Thracians, Phrygians and Illyrians. They were certainly in the sphere of Greek cultural influence, connected by trade and the nearby colonies of Athens, and had the same gods and maybe a greek dialect or similar language (no one's really sure), but never adopted the same political and social structures. It's still debated just how "greek" they were, compared to how much influence came from peoples further east and north. Of course, as far as the rest of the world was concerned- Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, etc- they were Greek.
in that case Spartans weren't Greek either. They too didn't follow the same political and social structures as the Athenians, who I presume you consider the Greek standard. As for the language since there's no way to speak to an ancient Macedonian, we have to take scriptures as the best piece of evidence for what language they spoke and there is no uncertainty on that. Plus they participated the Olympic Games where only Greeks, or more accurately Hellenes, were allowed to participate.
@@Jim.G The Macedonian were definitely Greek . Because those days there wasn't a Greek State but Cities - States like Athens, Sparta, Theves , Corinth etc this is a common mistake that people makes .
As a Greek I would like to add/mention some things. Firstly, I agree that due to our today civilisation, any warlord does sth bad. But it was a different era, so the world at that time didn t work this way. Now sth about who Alexander was. He was a small guy, really short in height but he was a monster strategist. He beat so many battles, with enormous disadvantage in army numbers. He had 15000-30000 army and he was against armies of over 100000 soldiers. And all of them were crushing victories. Also, he was on of only few generals in all history, that actually was at the front line in every fight, actually fighting.. The war begun because Persians had conquered Asia Minor (as the song says) which was greek on century before, in order to free those lands. Then the war was about diifferent civiliisations and different way of lives. Persia was a country where the king was actually a God and all the people were practically slaves to him. For Greeks, whose most important idea was freedom, thiis was a reason to try in their way of thinking of liberate them. So that s why, he tried to spread hellenism. Furthermore, Alexander's ethics in battle were impressive. He never killed an enemy army who had surrendered, never violated any city who conquered and paid great respect to the conquered people. He was respectful to enemy journals and tried to avoid any battles wqhen possible. Also , he gave freedom to every major civilization he ran into, suchh as Jews, Babylonians, Egyptians etc. If you look for writings of those ages, almost everyone was really grateful and happy of him being conqueror and even conquered people loved him. But this lasted for only few years, as he died at age 33 of fever, and then the 4 generals took his place, and they weren t such good guys as him.
Lots of mistakes in your comment.persians were slaves?????its a joke like your ancestors you just say big sweet lies.cyrus was the liberator of slaves.for godsake do some research.the difference is because of different of our geography.because people was slave they were talking to their own language and worships their gods...funny.people were well paid in making of persepolice.we had women headworkers.while women in greece was just a thing to fuck.
@@christopherhmt859 Sorry mate, but you are talking of a different era. Cyrus the great or the Elder(as we know him in Greece) was a great king, conqueror and a huge personage. He is vere respected here in Greece and he was also respected in the ancient times. You are right about him, he liberated the slaves in East and he even respected as Alexander did, the customs, religions and civilisations as well. He even brought many famous greek philosophers , such as Solon to Persia in order exchange parts of the civilisations and the way of thinking. But we are talking 300 years before Alexander. Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes etc. who folowed him in the throne where nothing in front of him. Just as the 4 generals who followed Alexander. They made people behave as slaves, because were practically the God on Earth. Persepolis was built during Cyrus era. I am not talking about that era. About the women, you are right, Persians respected them much more than many other civiliasations , even thousands years later. But do some rersearch too, on Greeks. It is true that in many places (Athens, Corinthus etc) they were not respected, but on Macedonia, Sparta, even Crete thousands of years before , they were repectful and in many places the true leaders. Also, please try to stay on hstorical facts and not personal attack such the section of me telling lies as my ancestors did. Personally I don t give a shit about my ancestors. After so many thousands of years and after so many cultures we had here as rulers, I don t even know if I have Greek genes. I rrepect and love Greek culture and civilisation, and I also love and repsect other major civilisations, such as Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Arabian etc.
@@Edrahill sorry brother i was giving u some informations.at last we are all human and connected to each other.but you know my country history better than me???kings were very powerfull in hakhamanesh empire.but they never mention that they are gods.never.they were zoroastrians.praying ahuramazda and mythra.persepolice first section built in the darius era.and he wad a great king.yes after 300 years persians become corrupted and lazy.entire empire were collapsing.then alexander came.sorry again if i bother u have a nice day
Alexander the Great was great indeed, not a jihadist and not a bad man at all. He received education from the philosopher Aristotle. His battle tactics as a general of his age were phenomenal. He united ancient Greece for the first time and went after the Persians who before that were trying to conquer Greece for centuries on a retaliation quest. He tried to spread the western civilization (Hellenic culture) to the whole known world at the time, but he learned to respect the eastern civilization that he met during his campaign. Alexander comes from the greek verb Alexo (to protect) and the noun in genitive case Andros (of man) and means the protector of man
lol He respect Eastern Civilizations?! Like how he burnt down Persepolis and all the libraries in it? And I'm not even talking about India. Go do your research first please.
@@FarazOloumi yes he destroyed a few buildings, especially the one of Xerxes, he was after Persians what did you expect? After all Xerxes had done the same damages to the Parthenon in Acropolis of Athens a few years before... eventually Alexander learned to respect the eastern civilization and tried to unite it with the Hellenic one. You were lucky to have him there once!
The very fact that you shout it here instigates the debate. Stop it! No one is disputing that the ancient Macedonians were a part of the Hellenic phyla, culture and heritage.
Great reaction guys... Fans have been asking this song for a long long time... BTW you haven't yet reacted to the song Maiden plays the most number of times... The Trooper...
Vin, Antiochus IV Epiphanes actually ruled almost 150 years AFTER Alexander's death. Alexander died 323 BC, Antiochus died 164 BC. Alexander's empire was first inherited by his son Alexander IV, who was born after his death, and Alexander's half brother Philip (who was feeble-minded). In reality the empire was to be governed by one of Alexander's cavalry commanders Perdiccas, who would act as regent until Alexander IV came of age. Other generals were assigned as governors of the empire's provinces, which resulted in ever growing thirst for power. Perdiccas was murdered in two years' time, and through years of basically civil war (and all the while Alexander IV was still the nominal king), several strong military commanders of Alexander established their rule as governors of several regions. And as their strength grew and they became more and more sovereign and established their dynasties, the empire finally disintegrated into several Diadochi (Successor) kingdoms. One of them was Cassander, who gave orders to kill Alexander IV, Roxanne (Alexander's wife) and Olympias (Alexander's mother). The three most prominent and enduring were: the Antigonid kingdom of Macedon (ruled by the successors of Alexander's general Antigonus the One-Eyed), the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt (ruled by the successors of Alexander's general Ptolemy; the last ruler of this dynasty was Cleopatra) and the Seleucid Empire (ruled by the successors of Alexander's general Seleucus; to this dynasty belonged Antiochus III the Great, who eventually lost to the Romans, and his son Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("God Manifest", or Epimanes - "the Mad one")). Sorry for the long post :)
I'am neither white or black , But a historian. Macadonians were a nomadic Celtic tribe , Alexander had Blond hair and blue eyes . his greatest feat was once and for all uniting all of Greece . I find with great humour that ego is inserted in history. 200 hundred years from now , they will say " Hillary Clinton" was a Black woman. lol
“Celtic tribe”? Are you serious? According to most historians the ancient Macedonians were, most likely of Doric descent (like the Spartans). Themselves proclaimed that they were descendants of kings from Argos (south Greece - Peloponnese).
I still remember the day I bought this album (on cassette) when I was in high school. I've heard the album countless times since but it always brings back great memories.
That first clean solo over the military style snare beat is just fucking incredible! So melodic and full of feel, yet pretty technically impressive as well. Has always blown me away!
I remember sitting in my room as a teenager listening this one over and over and over again. Not only this one, but the whole discography of Iron Maiden till then. Back at that time their discography was allready impressive. They made perhaps 10 CD's eversince (correct me if I'm wrong). Nowadays more into technical (death) metal. So my suggestion is Allegaeon - Grey matter mechanics or The Black Dahlia Murder - Nightbringers.
Mark Blaauw the 80’s were the Golden Age of Iron Maiden’s discography. Simply impeccable. The 2000’s are more prog/metal oriented which I learned to enjoy over the years.
@@MauricioDiMase Those were the days. All though the music I listen to nowadays is technically better and musically more interesting I'm getting easily a bit melancholic thinking of that time😄
Thanks for the reaction! Of all the songs that Maiden has never played live, this is the one the hardcore fans would want to hear the most. The singer has promised they would someday...
One of my *all-time* favourite Maiden songs! Thanks, V&S, and Merry Christ-doesn't-existmas! 😉 Btw, Alexander was a good guy. He was all about conquering, but once he conquered a territory, other than replacing administration, he left the population pretty much alone. He acknowledged the gods of the conquered people and respected them.
Fever? That was the tale for a long time. It is widely excepted now that most likely he was poisoned by his generals. Tired of fighting and being away from home.
To me Iron Maiden is my 2nd best all time favorite band. Only because Black Sabbath owns the title! But when it comes down to these facts. musicianship and lyrics the band can't be matched! Then the live concerts! Truly amazing! Some of the best artist I've ever seen! A class act!
Iron Maiden have done so many songs about history, religion, literature, even pop culture like movies. There's a great meme I once saw, of a "Bill & Ted" Keanu Reeves, with the caption "What if Iron Maiden was invented by educators to trick kids into learning about history, religion, and literature?"... :-D So true.
That's a great fucking song. You can never go wrong with Maiden. My second metal show I went to was Maiden touring for Somewhere in Time. I've been to a hundred shows and that show is still one of the best I've ever been to.
Greeks were starch-like ready for harvest skin coloured, with most of them having light coloured eyes. In modern Greece you can find people from bleach, gingers, to darker skin coloured, like any European country. It really worths to search for Kalash People in modern Pakistan, although they have been heavily inter mixed, raped and killed by islamorks. At least, they literally exist as a separate community, just by the sole belief they are descendants of Alexander's troops.
we were learning about alexander the great and my history teacher said that he would show us the song and i loved it i keep on listening every time i play music.
Alexander was also hated by the Greeks as he adopted the Persian way of life, i even think (Not Sure) he married a Persian woman. His idea was to combine the two societies which failed completely, hell of conquest though, from Macedonia to India. If anyone doesn't know that's a long way by foot and on a horse.
Alexander the Great was adored by his soldiers, he was a benevolent and quite smart ruler/conqueror, and also very educated. As he himself said, his father had him memorize all of the two Homer's writings (dunno the exact terminology in English, you know the 2 legends of Troy and Odysseus' adventures). His people indeed started hating him after he adopted the persian way of life. He did that, some say to give an example to his people as to how they should live alongside Persians and mix the two civilizations, and others say cause he got arrogant (to the point of demanding of his soldiers to bow before him and worship him as a God, which was a persian custom for the persian kings and was very humiliating for Greek people, especially ones that knew him from a little kid. He was once forced to kill one of his best friends and mentors cause he wouldn't obey, as an example for others to learn obedience cause as I said, that was a very strange tradition to them). I'm Greek btw
@@ΒασίληςΤσώνης-υ9φ I think Alexander read Iliad and Odyssey without anyone urging him, as they were one of the fundamental texts an ancient Greek noble knew. And being (supposedly) descendant from Achilles himself (from his mother's side), I would think that that influenced him greatly as a person. The Macedonian nobility detested his adopting of the Persian customs, especially proskynesys (prostrating oneself before the king), which was an honour reserved for the gods in Greek civilization. But they opposed it mostly because the Macedonian nobility was still very much tribal in essence - no one, not even the king, was above the others; they were equal in their eyes, or at least not very different. So in their eyes Alexander put himself above them and cut with the Macedonian tradition by demanding that.
Congrats on the new bubba.(Btw after hearing this baby name if a boy should be alexander, or if a girl what about Alexandria after the city he founded?) Glad to see you guys enjoyed the song. Bruce Dickenson has a degree in history so he's found of chucking in some historical tidbits. In just a few short years he conquered a fair chunk of the ancient world but he wasn't a tyrant, in fact he was remarkably tolerant and installed efficient government, taxation etc.
Here’s a crazy idea! How about you talk about the music and the artists instead of talking about what you THINK the songs about.You guys are really becoming hard to watch.
Well, we can not judge people who lived thousands of years ago with today's standards. Was he a conqueror? Yes. Was he bad? Let me tell you about that and you tell me... Many nations saw him as a liberator because he freed them from a very cruel administration system (you could easily call it tyranny...). Also, although, he conquered many smaller kingdoms on his way, very rarely did he replace the local kings. In one occasion when a conquered king was brought before him Alexander said you can keep your kingdom and upon his question to Alexander, "and what do you want from me?", Alexander answered, "just remember Alexander". He also didn't allow his troops to plunder. He only allowed it in extremely few cases. The penalty for his soldiers for rape was death. The only precious artifact he took from the treasury of the mighty Persian Empire was a beautiful small case, big enough just for his copy of the Iliad he always carried with him next to his pillow. When he met Darius' mother, after Darius was dead, he treated her with so much respect that when she learned that Alexander had died, she committed suicide by refusing to eat or drink water. She didn't commit suicide when her son was killed, but when their "conqueror" died... Also, the fact that so many nations have incorporated him in their culture as a Hero, a God or a demigod and how they claim him to be their ancestor, shows that the overall impression he has left in their collective consciousness is positive. So, was he bad? With today's standards probably. With the standards of his era, imho, no.
man this brings back memories. Thanks to this song i was able to pass a history test in high school back in the 80's. i even remember having to pause half way through the test for the guitar solo in my head to end so i could answer the rest of the test lol
I am commenting even without seeing the reaction, thank you for uploading this. This is top 3, now missing Loneliness of the long distant runner, and caught somewhere in time. Thank you
Love the song, but have to mention the "Gone Fishing" reference hahaha! I find it one of those perfect films for when you're not in the mood for anything intense. Like you've been sick and having your first bowl of soup and feeling a bit better! Hahaha, it was Danny Glover and Joe Pesci right? And they come across a big alligator or something lol! I like it having older actors rather than teens in it too, more fun somehow! Anyway, good points, and a great song.
This song... The band brings me lots of good memories of my childhood... I was 13 when i first hear Iron Maiden... 20 years later i'm still a Fan. I'm Not Christian... But it's very cool what you do. And Alexander The Great it's a beautiful journey...
The Gordion know was just that: A knot. Or rather lots of knots in a rope. Legend had it that the one who was able to open this knot would become the king of Asia. Alexander's solution to the problem was unorthodox, but it worked. He took his sword and cut it open.
The song bridge , in 7/16 , that isa Macedonian Greek time signature dance , called Leventikos beat, changed by a 4/4 to 6/4 pattern with some 15/16 fills is fire, epic song. Marcing intro in 6/4 changes to 4/4 time signature . Fucking epic Iron Maiden. Time changes is their signature. Top song.
The Red And The Black (The Book Of Souls Live Chapter)..., it 'll be the first time somebody reacts to most recent(2016-2017) Maiden stuff..., how can a band be soooooo Incredibly Amazing at such an advance age?????, unreal....
I Googled on this song,and it´s interesting to read ..Bruce sings "He died of fever in Babylon"..the History sais "He got fever in Babylon,got really drunk..& 12 days later he passed away,only 32 years old..what caused his death,we will never know"..& I love to see Vin telling about the History after the song !
"We are actually less intelligent". "We just have their accumulated wisdom". An expression as wise and beautiful as the very song 'Alexander The Great' it self, which is The Beauty It Self. Written and performed by wise guys.
Up the Irons! They are touring the States next year, I have my tix. Next you should do Revelations, 22 Acacia Avenue from Live After Death. Maybe Remember Tomorrow or Killers, from the early years.
Iron Maiden have never performed this song live. I remember Adrian Smith saying in one of the documentaries that they have never tried it live and maybe he has forgotten all the notes. Top 10 Maiden song definitely.
I brought the cassette with the lyrics to my history teacher in school after he mentionned Alexander the Great in class in the late 80's. "Did you know there's a song about him?" He used it in his lessons until he retired, I heard. Salut Monsieur Pineault!
skulhed wise man 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Perfect : )!
No joke..I passed a test because of this song in high school..literally quoting lyrics
Sean O'Brien I totally believe
@@sean7735 I did the same thing
Them guitar solos are as legendary as the subject matter itself is
I love the key change in the middle eight. It's perfect.
Iron Maiden paint a picture with every song
Andrew Bickerdike nice definition 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
That's what good metal does
Yep, they are heavy metal storytellers. And the music is sometimes like a movie, as it changes to reflect the story.
taffer yep, the song matches with the lyrics and with the history
And teach you ancient history at the same time.
Man shall not live by 80's Iron Maiden alone.
Iron Maiden - Paschendale (from 2003)
Sorry no disrespect...I'm am old man just turned 46...but 80's Maiden was the best. But respect ur opinion
1980's Maiden is awesome and they have reviewed numerous Maiden songs from the 1980's.
2000's Maiden is also awesome and they have reviewed zero Maiden songs from the 2000's.
One can definitely do that. But Brave New World is too good to ignore.
Caught Somewhere In Time please :)
@Vin : Alexander was not a jihadist. The Greeks (including the Macedonians) and Persians had been "butting heads" for generations. A hundred years prior there had been the great Persian invasion of Greece ("immortalized" in the movie "300", if you've seen that).
His father Phillip actually had begun the invasion of Persia, but died early on in its planning. Phillip and Alexander presented themselves as the inheritors and continuation of true Greek culture (even though they were Macedonian). Alexander was said to have thought himself either the son of Zeus or as Zeus himself. Of course, by the time he reached Babylon, he became enchanted by the culture there and started seeing himself as a divine king in the mode of the Mesopotamian kingdoms. Because of this conquest, elements of Greek culture spread as far as Afghanistan and western China. That's why you see Greek-style Buddha statues in Afghanistan. However, he basically left the infrastructure of the Persian empire in place. Very little changed for the common person, besides seeing some new statues, some new cities named after Alexander, and more Greeks showing up traveling through. In Asia Minor (Turkey), Greek was already the primary language and culture- this was the case until after the Islamic conquest. Their satraps were still mostly foreigners, just now Greeks instead of Persians. Greek did become the language of trade and government across a wider area than before. The Hellenistic era was marked by the empire of Alexander being divided up among his generals, who ruled their territories as kings, conflicting with each other. It was into that political situation that the Romans came, at first settling disputes between them and taking sides, and later just conquering many of them and making them provinces. Christianity wouldn't be what it is without Roman infrastructure, the Greek language, philosophy, and religion, and the destruction of Jerusalem and final diaspora of the original core of the Jewish disciples of Jesus. So thank the brutality of Titus and Vespasian for making the Hellenized Paul the dominant voice of Jesus' cult in those early decades, otherwise it may never have become much more than another Jewish Messianic movement.
The Mediterranean was a multicultural area for as long as there has been civilization, learning other languages was how trade was conducted, which was essential for all civilizations to grow. Everyone borrowed things from everyone else (like the alphabet). There was still racism, xenophobia, etc, but in the trade areas people had to know one another's languages.
Alexander himself doesn't influence Christianity, except in the spread of Greek culture and language closer to the Levant.
@Βarry Αllen it means that the Greeks didn't necessarily consider them Greek, they might have been considered barbarians, like the Thracians, Phrygians and Illyrians. They were certainly in the sphere of Greek cultural influence, connected by trade and the nearby colonies of Athens, and had the same gods and maybe a greek dialect or similar language (no one's really sure), but never adopted the same political and social structures. It's still debated just how "greek" they were, compared to how much influence came from peoples further east and north. Of course, as far as the rest of the world was concerned- Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, etc- they were Greek.
in that case Spartans weren't Greek either. They too didn't follow the same political and social structures as the Athenians, who I presume you consider the Greek standard. As for the language since there's no way to speak to an ancient Macedonian, we have to take scriptures as the best piece of evidence for what language they spoke and there is no uncertainty on that. Plus they participated the Olympic Games where only Greeks, or more accurately Hellenes, were allowed to participate.
@@Jim.G The Macedonian were definitely Greek . Because those days there wasn't a Greek State but Cities - States like Athens, Sparta, Theves , Corinth etc this is a common mistake that people makes .
When you bought a Maiden Album you knew you had a masterpiece, everything from the cover Artwork to the impeccable production, music and lyrics.
Next time, Iron Maiden - Caught Somewhere In Time
And don't forget... Moonspell - Night Eternal
As a Greek I would like to add/mention some things. Firstly, I agree that due to our today civilisation, any warlord does sth bad. But it was a different era, so the world at that time didn t work this way. Now sth about who Alexander was. He was a small guy, really short in height but he was a monster strategist. He beat so many battles, with enormous disadvantage in army numbers. He had 15000-30000 army and he was against armies of over 100000 soldiers. And all of them were crushing victories. Also, he was on of only few generals in all history, that actually was at the front line in every fight, actually fighting..
The war begun because Persians had conquered Asia Minor (as the song says) which was greek on century before, in order to free those lands. Then the war was about diifferent civiliisations and different way of lives. Persia was a country where the king was actually a God and all the people were practically slaves to him. For Greeks, whose most important idea was freedom, thiis was a reason to try in their way of thinking of liberate them. So that s why, he tried to spread hellenism.
Furthermore, Alexander's ethics in battle were impressive. He never killed an enemy army who had surrendered, never violated any city who conquered and paid great respect to the conquered people. He was respectful to enemy journals and tried to avoid any battles wqhen possible. Also , he gave freedom to every major civilization he ran into, suchh as Jews, Babylonians, Egyptians etc. If you look for writings of those ages, almost everyone was really grateful and happy of him being conqueror and even conquered people loved him. But this lasted for only few years, as he died at age 33 of fever, and then the 4 generals took his place, and they weren t such good guys as him.
Lots of mistakes in your comment.persians were slaves?????its a joke like your ancestors you just say big sweet lies.cyrus was the liberator of slaves.for godsake do some research.the difference is because of different of our geography.because people was slave they were talking to their own language and worships their gods...funny.people were well paid in making of persepolice.we had women headworkers.while women in greece was just a thing to fuck.
@@christopherhmt859 Sorry mate, but you are talking of a different era. Cyrus the great or the Elder(as we know him in Greece) was a great king, conqueror and a huge personage. He is vere respected here in Greece and he was also respected in the ancient times. You are right about him, he liberated the slaves in East and he even respected as Alexander did, the customs, religions and civilisations as well. He even brought many famous greek philosophers , such as Solon to Persia in order exchange parts of the civilisations and the way of thinking. But we are talking 300 years before Alexander. Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes etc. who folowed him in the throne where nothing in front of him. Just as the 4 generals who followed Alexander. They made people behave as slaves, because were practically the God on Earth. Persepolis was built during Cyrus era. I am not talking about that era. About the women, you are right, Persians respected them much more than many other civiliasations , even thousands years later. But do some rersearch too, on Greeks. It is true that in many places (Athens, Corinthus etc) they were not respected, but on Macedonia, Sparta, even Crete thousands of years before , they were repectful and in many places the true leaders.
Also, please try to stay on hstorical facts and not personal attack such the section of me telling lies as my ancestors did. Personally I don t give a shit about my ancestors. After so many thousands of years and after so many cultures we had here as rulers, I don t even know if I have Greek genes. I rrepect and love Greek culture and civilisation, and I also love and repsect other major civilisations, such as Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Arabian etc.
@@Edrahill sorry brother i was giving u some informations.at last we are all human and connected to each other.but you know my country history better than me???kings were very powerfull in hakhamanesh empire.but they never mention that they are gods.never.they were zoroastrians.praying ahuramazda and mythra.persepolice first section built in the darius era.and he wad a great king.yes after 300 years persians become corrupted and lazy.entire empire were collapsing.then alexander came.sorry again if i bother u have a nice day
Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark Rock in Rio 2001 , Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death En Vivo
Alexander the Great was great indeed, not a jihadist and not a bad man at all. He received education from the philosopher Aristotle. His battle tactics as a general of his age were phenomenal. He united ancient Greece for the first time and went after the Persians who before that were trying to conquer Greece for centuries on a retaliation quest. He tried to spread the western civilization (Hellenic culture) to the whole known world at the time, but he learned to respect the eastern civilization that he met during his campaign. Alexander comes from the greek verb Alexo (to protect) and the noun in genitive case Andros (of man) and means the protector of man
lol He respect Eastern Civilizations?! Like how he burnt down Persepolis and all the libraries in it? And I'm not even talking about India. Go do your research first please.
@@FarazOloumi yes he destroyed a few buildings, especially the one of Xerxes, he was after Persians what did you expect? After all Xerxes had done the same damages to the Parthenon in Acropolis of Athens a few years before... eventually Alexander learned to respect the eastern civilization and tried to unite it with the Hellenic one. You were lucky to have him there once!
Iron Maiden - The Nomad
Off of my favorite Maiden album
Iron Maiden- The loneliness of the Long distance runner
Iron maiden-remember tomorrow
Yes, pure art!!!
Iron maiden blood brothers
ARUN SS mediocre song
@@ksylo4805 I don't think so I love the instrumentation in that song that gives me goosebumps every time
ksylo you are clearly between an iron maiden poser or a complete idiot
there is one mistake actually we dont know from what alexander died from its a mystery until now the most possible theory is that he was poisoned
Iron Maiden - The Duelists
Their best song.
underrated song
Iron Maiden.
They light fires in my head.
Love 'em to absolute bits,and live is such an experience,I've seen them 17 times since 1979.
MACEDONIA is one and only and it's GREEK.....
Always remember that...ALWAYS!!!!!
Ok!
everyone knows it man..keep the iron up.
The very fact that you shout it here instigates the debate. Stop it! No one is disputing that the ancient Macedonians were a part of the Hellenic phyla, culture and heritage.
Makedonia is greek end only greek
The Piper Never Dies - Edguy
One of my FAVORITE Maiden tracks. Insanely underrated. Great choice.
Great reaction guys... Fans have been asking this song for a long long time... BTW you haven't yet reacted to the song Maiden plays the most number of times... The Trooper...
Vin, Antiochus IV Epiphanes actually ruled almost 150 years AFTER Alexander's death. Alexander died 323 BC, Antiochus died 164 BC.
Alexander's empire was first inherited by his son Alexander IV, who was born after his death, and Alexander's half brother Philip (who was feeble-minded). In reality the empire was to be governed by one of Alexander's cavalry commanders Perdiccas, who would act as regent until Alexander IV came of age.
Other generals were assigned as governors of the empire's provinces, which resulted in ever growing thirst for power. Perdiccas was murdered in two years' time, and through years of basically civil war (and all the while Alexander IV was still the nominal king), several strong military commanders of Alexander established their rule as governors of several regions. And as their strength grew and they became more and more sovereign and established their dynasties, the empire finally disintegrated into several Diadochi (Successor) kingdoms. One of them was Cassander, who gave orders to kill Alexander IV, Roxanne (Alexander's wife) and Olympias (Alexander's mother).
The three most prominent and enduring were: the Antigonid kingdom of Macedon (ruled by the successors of Alexander's general Antigonus the One-Eyed), the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt (ruled by the successors of Alexander's general Ptolemy; the last ruler of this dynasty was Cleopatra) and the Seleucid Empire (ruled by the successors of Alexander's general Seleucus; to this dynasty belonged Antiochus III the Great, who eventually lost to the Romans, and his son Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("God Manifest", or Epimanes - "the Mad one")).
Sorry for the long post :)
I'am neither white or black , But a historian. Macadonians were a nomadic Celtic tribe , Alexander had Blond hair and blue eyes . his greatest feat was once and for all uniting all of Greece . I find with great humour that ego is inserted in history. 200 hundred years from now , they will say " Hillary Clinton" was a Black woman. lol
If you are a historian, then i am Napoleon Bonaparte. But yes, of course Alexander the Great was white..
Drugs are bad for you @Leroy Dishman
“Celtic tribe”? Are you serious? According to most historians the ancient Macedonians were, most likely of Doric descent (like the Spartans). Themselves proclaimed that they were descendants of kings from Argos (south Greece - Peloponnese).
he had one blue eye one brown didnt he?
You are like many whose feelings are hurt by history . Carry on Great keyboard warrior .
Near to the east...
In a part of Ancient Greece...
In an ancient land...
Called Macedonia...
Need to say more?
I still remember the day I bought this album (on cassette) when I was in high school. I've heard the album countless times since but it always brings back great memories.
I remember listening to this cassette over and over on long car trips with the family on my Walkman. Fantastic album.
I only listen to the first and last song. Play somewhere in time, stop ,change side and listen to Alexander the great. I think.
@@kyril98741 No Long Distance Runner? Love that song...
That first clean solo over the military style snare beat is just fucking incredible! So melodic and full of feel, yet pretty technically impressive as well. Has always blown me away!
I remember sitting in my room as a teenager listening this one over and over and over again. Not only this one, but the whole discography of Iron Maiden till then. Back at that time their discography was allready impressive. They made perhaps 10 CD's eversince (correct me if I'm wrong). Nowadays more into technical (death) metal. So my suggestion is Allegaeon - Grey matter mechanics or The Black Dahlia Murder - Nightbringers.
Mark Blaauw the 80’s were the Golden Age of Iron Maiden’s discography. Simply impeccable. The 2000’s are more prog/metal oriented which I learned to enjoy over the years.
@@MauricioDiMase Those were the days. All though the music I listen to nowadays is technically better and musically more interesting I'm getting easily a bit melancholic thinking of that time😄
FROM ONE GREEK THAT IS OUR STORY JUST AMAZING PERFORMANCE FROM IRON MAIDEN 1!!!!GOOD FROM YOU THANK YOU FOR THAT SONG!!!!!
Suggest "if Eternity Should Fail" from "The Book of Souls" album.
Thanks for the reaction! Of all the songs that Maiden has never played live, this is the one the hardcore fans would want to hear the most. The singer has promised they would someday...
One of my *all-time* favourite Maiden songs! Thanks, V&S, and Merry Christ-doesn't-existmas! 😉
Btw, Alexander was a good guy. He was all about conquering, but once he conquered a territory, other than replacing administration, he left the population pretty much alone. He acknowledged the gods of the conquered people and respected them.
Olivier Scheeck I don’t know why he was calling him a jihadist, it was starting to piss me off.
UP THE IRONS !!!!
...Seems like Sori has been converted to a true fan.
Up the Irons !
I'm documenting my translation to Vin's sign language used in most videos LOL
Hahaha
Fever? That was the tale for a long time. It is widely excepted now that most likely he was poisoned by his generals. Tired of fighting and being away from home.
Iron Maiden - Infinite Dreams
To me Iron Maiden is my 2nd best all time favorite band. Only because Black Sabbath owns the title!
But when it comes down to these facts.
musicianship and lyrics the band can't be matched!
Then the live concerts! Truly amazing! Some of the best artist I've ever seen! A class act!
And this is were the term ''Beast Mode'' comes from.
Love this song so much ❤❤❤
Iron Maiden have done so many songs about history, religion, literature, even pop culture like movies. There's a great meme I once saw, of a "Bill & Ted" Keanu Reeves, with the caption "What if Iron Maiden was invented by educators to trick kids into learning about history, religion, and literature?"... :-D So true.
Iron Maiden has another song named for an ancient conqueror, Genghis Khan, though it's instrumental, so there are no lyrics to analyze.
The best, unsurpassed metal tribute to an exceptional warrior and conqueror in the history of mankind....🤘🤘🤘
My favorite Maiden song. Thank you guys.
That's a great fucking song. You can never go wrong with Maiden. My second metal show I went to was Maiden touring for Somewhere in Time. I've been to a hundred shows and that show is still one of the best I've ever been to.
It’s good to see people hear maidens first ten year stuff ,
You can tell why so many people world wide love them, the harmonies are tremendous
Greeks were starch-like ready for harvest skin coloured, with most of them having light coloured eyes. In modern Greece you can find people from bleach, gingers, to darker skin coloured, like any European country. It really worths to search for Kalash People in modern Pakistan, although they have been heavily inter mixed, raped and killed by islamorks. At least, they literally exist as a separate community, just by the sole belief they are descendants of Alexander's troops.
we were learning about alexander the great and my history teacher said that he would show us the song and i loved it i keep on listening every time i play music.
22 Acacia Avenue - Iron Maiden
Gotta love Maiden!
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime album review?
At least Suite Sister Mary ruclips.net/video/8CZGion20E4/видео.html
Hope you have the lyrics in front of you, cause it's straight up summary of Alexanders life.. it's such an amazing song.
Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills
Alexander was also hated by the Greeks as he adopted the Persian way of life, i even think (Not Sure) he married a Persian woman. His idea was to combine the two societies which failed completely, hell of conquest though, from Macedonia to India. If anyone doesn't know that's a long way by foot and on a horse.
Alexander the Great was adored by his soldiers, he was a benevolent and quite smart ruler/conqueror, and also very educated. As he himself said, his father had him memorize all of the two Homer's writings (dunno the exact terminology in English, you know the 2 legends of Troy and Odysseus' adventures). His people indeed started hating him after he adopted the persian way of life. He did that, some say to give an example to his people as to how they should live alongside Persians and mix the two civilizations, and others say cause he got arrogant (to the point of demanding of his soldiers to bow before him and worship him as a God, which was a persian custom for the persian kings and was very humiliating for Greek people, especially ones that knew him from a little kid. He was once forced to kill one of his best friends and mentors cause he wouldn't obey, as an example for others to learn obedience cause as I said, that was a very strange tradition to them). I'm Greek btw
@@ΒασίληςΤσώνης-υ9φ I think Alexander read Iliad and Odyssey without anyone urging him, as they were one of the fundamental texts an ancient Greek noble knew. And being (supposedly) descendant from Achilles himself (from his mother's side), I would think that that influenced him greatly as a person.
The Macedonian nobility detested his adopting of the Persian customs, especially proskynesys (prostrating oneself before the king), which was an honour reserved for the gods in Greek civilization. But they opposed it mostly because the Macedonian nobility was still very much tribal in essence - no one, not even the king, was above the others; they were equal in their eyes, or at least not very different. So in their eyes Alexander put himself above them and cut with the Macedonian tradition by demanding that.
He married Roxana (Bactrian princess).
That's my most favorite song by Iron Maiden. Appreciate the fact that you guys didn't interrupt the song.
Anthrax - In the End (music video)
Melvin Andrade song is trash
UP THE IRONS 🤘🤘
Great reaction....
Rainbow- Man on the Silver Mountain(Dio vocals)
This is such an interesting conversation, glad you guys actually ponder the songs meanings
This song is epic, loved it for many many years and have heard it hundreds of times. Loved your reaction.
Congrats on the new bubba.(Btw after hearing this baby name if a boy should be alexander, or if a girl what about Alexandria after the city he founded?) Glad to see you guys enjoyed the song. Bruce Dickenson has a degree in history so he's found of chucking in some historical tidbits. In just a few short years he conquered a fair chunk of the ancient world but he wasn't a tyrant, in fact he was remarkably tolerant and installed efficient government, taxation etc.
Here’s a crazy idea! How about you talk about the music and the artists instead of talking about what you THINK the songs about.You guys are really becoming hard to watch.
hahaha
holy crap... they played it lived last summer 23 on sweden rock and it was soooo awesome...what a song, what a band...unbelievable.
Maiden - Blood Brothers, Rock in Rio version.
Well, we can not judge people who lived thousands of years ago with today's standards. Was he a conqueror? Yes. Was he bad? Let me tell you about that and you tell me...
Many nations saw him as a liberator because he freed them from a very cruel administration system (you could easily call it tyranny...).
Also, although, he conquered many smaller kingdoms on his way, very rarely did he replace the local kings. In one occasion when a conquered king was brought before him Alexander said you can keep your kingdom and upon his question to Alexander, "and what do you want from me?", Alexander answered, "just remember Alexander".
He also didn't allow his troops to plunder. He only allowed it in extremely few cases.
The penalty for his soldiers for rape was death.
The only precious artifact he took from the treasury of the mighty Persian Empire was a beautiful small case, big enough just for his copy of the Iliad he always carried with him next to his pillow.
When he met Darius' mother, after Darius was dead, he treated her with so much respect that when she learned that Alexander had died, she committed suicide by refusing to eat or drink water. She didn't commit suicide when her son was killed, but when their "conqueror" died...
Also, the fact that so many nations have incorporated him in their culture as a Hero, a God or a demigod and how they claim him to be their ancestor, shows that the overall impression he has left in their collective consciousness is positive.
So, was he bad? With today's standards probably. With the standards of his era, imho, no.
Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade
man this brings back memories. Thanks to this song i was able to pass a history test in high school back in the 80's. i even remember having to pause half way through the test for the guitar solo in my head to end so i could answer the rest of the test lol
I am commenting even without seeing the reaction, thank you for uploading this. This is top 3, now missing Loneliness of the long distant runner, and caught somewhere in time. Thank you
So glad you guys finally checked this one out!
Love the song, but have to mention the "Gone Fishing" reference hahaha! I find it one of those perfect films for when you're not in the mood for anything intense. Like you've been sick and having your first bowl of soup and feeling a bit better! Hahaha, it was Danny Glover and Joe Pesci right? And they come across a big alligator or something lol! I like it having older actors rather than teens in it too, more fun somehow! Anyway, good points, and a great song.
Portugal Maiden fans wich you guys a merry Christmas. UP THE IRON'S!!!
This song... The band brings me lots of good memories of my childhood... I was 13 when i first hear Iron Maiden... 20 years later i'm still a Fan. I'm Not Christian... But it's very cool what you do. And Alexander The Great it's a beautiful journey...
The Gordion know was just that: A knot. Or rather lots of knots in a rope. Legend had it that the one who was able to open this knot would become the king of Asia. Alexander's solution to the problem was unorthodox, but it worked. He took his sword and cut it open.
The song bridge , in 7/16 , that isa Macedonian Greek time signature dance , called Leventikos beat, changed by a 4/4 to 6/4 pattern with some 15/16 fills is fire, epic song.
Marcing intro in 6/4 changes to 4/4 time signature . Fucking epic Iron Maiden. Time changes is their signature. Top song.
This song is EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Iron Maiden the best of all time, thank you for your channel, guys!
chek infinite dreams .Hi from Spain
The Red And The Black (The Book Of Souls Live Chapter)..., it 'll be the first time somebody reacts to most recent(2016-2017) Maiden stuff..., how can a band be soooooo Incredibly Amazing at such an advance age?????, unreal....
Learned more from many Maiden songs easier than I did in high school.
Nwobhm ancient Greece and synthesizers=God mode love it
Metallica Blackened (studio ver.)
Metallica Damage Inc.
I Googled on this song,and it´s interesting to read ..Bruce sings "He died of fever in Babylon"..the History sais "He got fever in Babylon,got really drunk..& 12 days later he passed away,only 32 years old..what caused his death,we will never know"..& I love to see Vin telling about the History after the song !
iron maiden, a history lesson in each song
Iron Maiden - Moonchild
Great discussion.....he was born in Macedonia, at the time part of Greece. Greece does not produce black men.
Iron Maiden!!!! Love this song.... you two are awesome!!!
Told y’all it was kickass, lol. Thank you for doing this.
"We are actually less intelligent". "We just have their accumulated wisdom". An expression as wise and beautiful as the very song 'Alexander The Great' it self, which is The Beauty It Self. Written and performed by wise guys.
Plain & Simple
Iron maiden is the greatest metal band of all time .. music + history lesson in the same few mins clip OMG
The Greek guy was Black? Ok.
Yep, and a snowman is black because his coal eyes betray his racial ancestry, LOL!
I think they want to say subtly that they are Milwaukee Bucks fans!
Aiem very happy end very proud for creek history. Hi from Greece makedonia thesaloniki.
Bet you guys would love, "Mother Russia" from the, No Prayer For The Dying, album!
Up the Irons! They are touring the States next year, I have my tix. Next you should do Revelations, 22 Acacia Avenue from Live After Death. Maybe Remember Tomorrow or Killers, from the early years.
Happy holidays vin and sori
Caesar wept when he visited the Statue of Alexander.
Listening this song for this first time was my best history lesson, Iron Maiden can teach me history any time \m/
Iron Maiden have never performed this song live. I remember Adrian Smith saying in one of the documentaries that they have never tried it live and maybe he has forgotten all the notes. Top 10 Maiden song definitely.
Greatest band to ever walk the face of the Earth so be it.
IT'S TIME FOR AMERICANS TO STAND UP FOR WE THE PEOPLE! Enough of the Corruption!
Wow!! You were really in to that beginning!!!!!! Very cool!!!