Alexander Movie Quotes
Old Ptolemy
The truth is never simple and yet it is. The truth is we did kill him. By silence we consented... because we couldn't go on. But by Ares, what did we have to look forward to but to be discarded in the end like Cleitus? After all this time, to give away our wealth to Asian sycophants we despised? Mixing the races? Harmony? Oh, he talked of these things. I never believe in his dream. None of us did. That's the truth of his life. The dreamers exhaust us. They must die before they kill us with their blasted dreams.
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Alexander
Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death.
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[after reading a letter sent by his mother]
Alexander
It's a high ransom she charges for nine months lodging in the womb.
Hephaistion
Bring her to Babylon, Alexander. It'll give her such joy.
Alexander
Joy! I am the cracked mirror of her dreams... Stay with me tonight Hephaistion.
Hephaistion
What bothers you?
Alexander
I see in her everything I fear. Yet I have no idea what it is; this fear. She was always so sure I was born of Zeus. Why, Hephaistion?
Hephaistion
I think there are things beyond our imagining. Like the lightening. Tales of strange conceptions. I don't doubt it.
Alexander
What is being told me? What destiny do I have?
Hephaistion
Well, if I'm Patroclus, I die first. Then you, Achilles. The generals are upset. They question your obsession with Darius. They say it was never meant for you to be king of Asia.
Alexander
Naturally. They want only to return to their homes rich with gold, but I have seen the future, Hephaistion! I've seen it now a thousand times, on a thousand faces. These people want, need, change. Aristotle was wrong about them.
Hephaistion
How so?
Alexander
Look at those we've conquered. They leave their dead unburied, they smash their enemies skulls and drink them as dust, they mate in public! How can they think, or sing, or write when none can read? But as Alexander's army they could go where they never thought possible. They can soldier, or work in the cities. From the Alexandrias, from Egypt to the outer ocean. We could connect these lands, Hephaistion. And the people.
Hephaistion
Some say these Alexandrias have become extensions of Alexander himself. They draw people into the cities so as to make slaves.
Alexander
But we've freed them, Hephaistion, from the Persias, where everyone lived as slaves! To free the people of the world! Such would be beyond the glory of Achilles. Beyond Heracles! A feat to rival Prometheus, who was always a friend to man.
Hephaistion
Remember the fates of these heroes. They suffered, greatly.
Alexander
We all suffer. Your father, mine. They all came to the end of their time and in the end, when it's over, all that matters is what you've done.
Hephaistion
You once said the fear of death drives all men. Are there no other forces? Is there not love in your life, Alexander? What would you do if you ever reached the end of the world? I wonder sometimes, if it's not your mother you run from, so many years, so many miles between you, what is it you fear?
Alexander
Who knows these things? When I was a child my mother thought me divine; my father, weak. Which am I, Hephaistion? Weak or divine? All I know is I trust only you in this world. I've missed you. I need you. It is you I love, Hephaistion. No other.
Hephaistion
You still hold you head cocked like that.
Hephaistion
No, like a dear listening in the wind you strike me still, Alexander. You have eyes like no other. I sound as stupid as a school boy, but you're everything I care for. And by the sweet breath of Aphrodite I'm so jealous of losing you to this world you want so badly.
Alexander
You'll never lose me, Hephaistion. I'll be with you always. 'Til the end.
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Old Ptolemy
On the tenth of June, a month short of his 33rd year, Alexander's great heart finally gave out. And, as he vowed, he joined Hephaistion. But in his short life he achieved, without doubt, the mythic glory of his ancestor; Achilles. And more.
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Philip
[to Young Alexander]
A king isn't born, Alexander, he is made. By steel and by suffering. A king must know how to hurt those he loves. It's lonely. Ask anyone. Ask Heracles. Ask any of them. Fate is cruel. No man or woman can be too powerful or too beautiful without disaster befalling. They laugh when you rise too high. And they crush everything you've built with a whim. What glory they give in the end, they take away. They make of us slaves.
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[last lines]
Old Ptolemy
I've lived... I've lived long life, Cadmos, but the glory and the memory of men will always belong to the ones who follow their great visions. The greatest of these is the one they now call Megas Alexandros. The greatest of them all.
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Olympias
My poor child. You're like Achilles; cursed by your greatness. You must never confuse your feelings with your duties, Alexander. A king must make public gestures for the common people. You will be nineteen this summer, and the girls already say you don't like them, you like Hephastion more. I understand, it's natural for a young man. But if you go to Asia without leaving a successor you risk all.
Alexander
Hephastion loves me. As I am. Not who.
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Alexander
In the end, when it's over, all that matters is what you've done.
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Old Ptolemy
How can I tell you what it was like to be young; to dream big dreams? And to believe when Alexander looked you in the eye you could do anything. In his presence, by the light of Apollo, we were better than ourselves.
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Young Alexander
[trying to break in a horse Phillip has said could not be ridden]
You don't like your shadow, do you? It's like a dark spirit coming up to get you. But you see? That's us. It's just a trick of Apollo, the god of sun. Shh. I'll show you how to outwit him. You and me, together. Shh. Bucephalus, that'll what I'll call you. Strong and stubborn. Bucephalus and Alexander. Come, now, let's ride together.
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Philip
I'm sure you remember Achilles and the tales of Troy.
Young Alexander
He's my favorite.
Philip
Why?
Young Alexander
Because he loved Patroclus, and avenged his death. Because he lived without fear.
Philip
Some say he was a hotheaded fool, who fought only for himself and not for Greece.
Young Alexander
But he was a hero! The greatest at Troy.
Philip
And his fate?
Young Alexander
That he must die young, with great glory.
Philip
Did he have a choice?
Young Alexander
Oh yes. He could've had a long life, but there would be no glory.
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Alexander
I've come to believe the fear of death drives all men, Hephaistion. This we didn't learn as schoolboys.
Hephaistion
I've always believed, Alexander. But this seems so much bigger than us.
Alexander
Did Patroclus stare at Achilles when they stood side by side at the siege of troy?
Hephaistion
Patroclus died first.
Alexander
If you do... if you were to fall Hephaistion, I will avenge you, and follow you down to the house of death.
Hephaistion
I would do the same.
Alexander
On the eve of battle it's hardest to be alone.
Hephaistion
Then perhaps this is farewell, my Alexander.
Alexander
Fear not, Hephaistion. We are at the beginning.
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Hephaistion
You know better than any great deeds are donned by men who took, and never regretted. You're Alexander! Pity and grief will only destroy you.
Alexander
Have I become so arrogant that I am blind?
Hephaistion
Sometimes to expect the best from everyone is arrogance.
Alexander
Then it's true. I have become a tyrant!
Hephaistion
No! But perhaps a stranger. We've come too far. They don't understand you anymore.
Alexander
They speak of Phillip now as if I were a passing cloud, soon to be forgotten. I've failed. Utterly.
Hephaistion
You're mortal. And they know it. And they forgive you because you make them proud of themselves.
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Cassander
Alexander, if we must fight, do so with stealth. Use your numbers well; we should attack tonight when they least expect us.
Alexander
I didn't cross Asia to steal this victory, Cassander.
Cassander
No, you are too honorable for that, no doubt influenced from sleeping with tales of Troy under your pillow. But your father was no lover of Homer's.
Parmenion
The lands west of the Euphrates, Alexander, and his daughter's hand in marriage! Since when has a Greek ever been given such honors?
Alexander
These are not honors, Parmenion, they're bribes! Which the Greeks have accepted too long! You forget, Parmenion, that the man who murdered my father lies across the valley floor.
Parmenion
Come, Alexander, we're not really sure if it was Persian gold behind the assassination. It is no matter! Your father taught you never to surrender your reason to your passion! I urge you, with all my experience, regroup! Fall back to the coast, raise a larger force!
Alexander
I would, if I were Parmenion. But I am Alexander. And no more than earth has two suns will Asia bear two kings. These are my terms. And if Darius isn't a coward who hides behind his men then he'll come to me tomorrow. And *when* he bows down to Greece, Alexander will be merciful.
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[first lines]
Old Ptolemy
Our world is gone now. Smashed by the wars. Now I am the keeper of his body, embalmed here in the Egyptian ways. I followed him as Pharaoh, and have now ruled 40 years. I am the victor. But what does it all mean when there is not one left to remember - the great cavalry charge at Gaugamela, or the mountains of the Hindu Kush when we crossed a 100,000-man army into India? He was a god, Cadmos. Or as close as anything I've ever seen.
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Alexander
A thousand ships we'll launch from here, Hephaistion! We'll round Arabia, and sail up the gulf to Egypt. From there, we'll build a channel through the desert, out to the middle sea. And then we'll move on Carthage, and that great island Cecily; they'll pay large tribute. After that the Romans - good fighters, but we'll beat them. And then explore the northern forests, and add the pillars of Heracles to the western ocean. And then one day, populations will mix and travel freely. Asia and Europe will come together. And we'll grow old, Hephaistion, looking out our balcony at this new world.
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[referring to Philip, and his pregnant second wife]
Alexander
I'm his only worthy son, you crazed woman. He'd never hurt me. Even if Eurydice had a boy, he'd be twenty before he'd let him rule.
Olympias
Yes. And you would be forty. Old, and wise. Like Parmenion. And Philip's young son would be twenty. Like you, now. But raised by him. His blood. He will never give you the throne now, Alexander, never.
Alexander
What would you have me do?
Olympias
Whatever is necessary.
Alexander
Where have you lost your mind? There'd be civil war, clan against clan chaos!
Olympias
Yes. And you would win.
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Parmenion
I pray to Apollo you soon realize how far you've turned from your father's path.
Alexander
Damn you Parmenion, by the gods and your Apollo! War was in my father's guts! It wasn't over ripe and reason like yours.
Parmenion
He never lusted for war, Alexander, or enjoyed it so. He consulted his peers in council, among equals! The Macedonian way. He didn't make decisions based on his personal desires.
Alexander
I've taken us further than my father ever dreamed! Old man, we're in new worlds.
Cassander
Alexander, be reasonable! Were they ever meant to be our equal? Share our rewards? You remember what Aristotle said. An Asian? What would a wedding vow ever mean to a race that has never kept their word to a Greek?
Hephaistion
Alexander!
Alexander
By Zeus and all the gods, what makes you so much better than them, Cassander? Better than you really are! In you and those like you is this!
Alexander
What disturbs me most is not your lack of respect for my judgment. It's your contempt for a world far older than ours!
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Olympias
You are everything Phillip was not. He was coarse, you are refined. He was a general, you are a king. He could not rule himself. And you shall rule the world.
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Alexander
The greatest honor a man can ever achieve is to live with great courage, and to die with his countrymen, in battle for his home.
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Alexander
But you dream Crateros... Your simplicity long ended, when you took Persian mistresses and children, and you thickened your holdings with plunder and jewels... Because you have fallen in love with all the things in life that destroy men... do you not see... and you, as well as I, know, that as the year decline and the memories stale and all your great victories fade it will always be remembered, you left your king in Asia
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Old Ptolemy
It was said later that Alexander was never defeated in his lifetime, except by Hephaistion's thighs.
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Alexander
[after Philip's assassination]
Alexander
How could you behave so shamelessly in public?
Olympias
Because it was meant to be.
Alexander
This is not how I wanted to become king!
Olympias
No one blames you.
Alexander
They blame me already! Behind my back, in secret!
Olympias
Slander is not power.
Alexander
Shame is? Who killed my father? Tell me! Tell me or shall I put you on trial for his murder?
Olympias
Pausanias.
Alexander
He had help! Did you help him?
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Old Ptolemy
Alexander used to say that we are most alone when we are with the myths.
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Old Ptolemy
Within hours we were fighting like Jackals for his corpse. The wars of the world had begun. Forty years, off and on, they endured, until we divided his empire in four parts. I think Alexander would have been disappointed in us.
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Alexander
We leave for Arabia in the spring, I can't leave without you!
Hephaistion
Arabia... you used to dress me up like a sheik and wave your wooden scimitar...
Alexander
You were the only one who'd never let me win. The only one who's ever been honest with me. You saved me from myself. Please don't leave me, Hephaistion.
Hephaistion
...I remember the young man who wanted to be Achilles, and then out did him.
Alexander
And then what happens? That was a myth only young men believe!
Hephaistion
But how beautiful a myth it was.
Alexander
How we reach, we fall! Oh, Hephaistion.
Hephaistion
I worry for you without me.
Alexander
I am nothing without you!
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Olympias
Three months you have been in Babylon, and leave me at the mercy of your enemies, of which you have many. Antipater: accustomed now to the power that you have given him. I must watch him grow stronger. I am certain that he communicates secretly with Parmenion, who is dangerous. But beware most of all of those closest to you. They are like snakes, and can be turned. Cassander is Antipater's son. Even Cleitus, your father's favorite. And Ptolmey. Your friend, yes, but beware of men who think too much. They blind themselves. Only Hephastion do I leave out. But all of them you make rich, while your mother and yourself you leave in generous poverty. Why won't you ever believe me? It is only a dark mind like mine that can know these secrets of the heart. For they are dark, Alexander. So dark. But in you, the son of Zeus, lies the light of the world. Your companions will be shadows in the underworld when you are a name living forever in history as the most glorious, shining light of youth. Forever young, forever inspiring. Never will there be an Alexander like you, Alexander the Great.
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Cleitus
How can you, so young, compare yourself to Heracles?
Alexander
Why not? I've achieved more in my years. Traveled as far. Probably farther.
Cleitus
Heracles did it by himself! Did you conquer Asia by yourself, Alexander? I mean, who planned the Asian invasion when you were still being spanked on your bottom by my sister? Was it not your father? Or is his blood no longer good enough?
Alexander
You insult me, Cleitus. You mock my family, be careful.
Cleitus
Never would your father take barbarians as friends or ask us to fight with them as equals in war. Are we not good enough any longer? I remember a time when we could talk as men, strait to the eye, none of this scraping and groveling. I remember a time when we hunted, when we wrestled on the gymnasium floor. And now you kiss them? Take a barbarian, childless wife, and dare call her Queen?
Cleitus
Doesn't your great pride fear the gods any longer? This army's your blood, boy! Without it you're nothing!
Alexander
You no longer serve the purpose of this march! Get him from my sight!
Cleitus
What was I serving but to save your puppy life at Gaugamela? What if I left you to die in the dust?
Alexander
Arrest him for treason! Who's with him? I call father Zeus to witness! I call you to trial before him! And we'll see how deep this conspiracy cuts!
Hephaistion
In the name of the gods, get him out of here!
Cleitus
Now look at you! Great Alexander! Hiding behind his guards! Are you too great to remember whose life was saved by me? I am more man than you'll ever be!
[Cleitus is dragged out of the room]
Hephaistion
He's gone. He's gone, Alexander, gone! Alexander!
[Cleitus fights his way back into the room]
Cleitus
What a tyrant you are! Evil tyrant you've become, Alexander. You speak about plots against you? What about poor Parmenion? He served you well! Look how you repaid him! Have you no shame?
Alexander
You ungrateful wretch! No one, not my finest enemy has spoken like you to me!
Hephaistion
Please, Alexander...
[Alexander stabs Cleitus]
Hephaistion
NO!
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Alexander
May all those who come here after us know, when they see this altar, that titans were once here.
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[the first time the army has come across monkeys]
Hephaistion
They're animals. Monkeys.
Alexander
Monkey... look at his hands!
Hephaistion
So much like ours.
[to Hephaistion]
Alexander
Do they speak?
Hephaistion
No. But they do sing, and make noises from the roofs of forests.
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Attalus
To Philip and Eurydice and to their legitimate sons! To Philip...
[Alexander throws a wine cup at him]
Hephaistion
Alexander, don't...
Alexander
And what am I? You son of a dog. Come then.
[Attalus throws his cup at Alexander and soon a fight breaks out]
Philip
Shut up! Shut up all of you! This is my wedding, not some public brawl!
[Looks at Alexander]
Philip
Apologize by Zeus, before you dishonor me.
Alexander
You defend the man that called my mother a whore and me a bastard? And I dishonor you?
Philip
Ah!You listen more like your mother. Attalus is my family now, the same as you.
Alexander
Then choose your relatives more carefully. Don't expect me to sit here and watch you shame yourself.
Philip
Shame?
Attalus
You insult me!
Alexander
I insult you? Am I not fit to lick the ground my mother walks on?
Philip
Shame?
Alexander
You dog, questioning your Queen.
Philip
Shame? I have nothing to be ashamed of you arrogant brat. I'll marry the girl if I want, and I'll have as many sons as I want, and there's nothing that you or your harpy mother can do about it!
Alexander
Why, drunken man, must you think everything I do and say comes from my mother?
Philip
Because I know her heart, by Hera. And I see her in your eyes. You covet this throne too much. Now we all know that she-wolf for a mother of yours wants me dead. Well, you can both dream boy.
[Grabs his genitalia in a mocking way]
Parmenion
Come Philip, it is the wine talking. Leave the boy, it can wait till the morning.
Philip
Now! I command you, apologize to your kinsman.
[Alexander stands in silence looking at Attalus]
Philip
Apologize.
Alexander
His no kinsman to me. Good night old man, and when my mother remarries, I'll invite you to her wedding.
[Walks away]
Philip
You bastard! You'll obey me. Come here.
[Alexander looks at Philip and continues to walk away, Philip grabs his sword and prepares to attack Alexander, but falls to the ground]
Alexander
[Alexander sees Philip fall]
And this is the man who's going to take you from Greece to Persia? He can't even make it from one couch to the next.
Philip
Get out of my palace. Your exiled you bastard. Vanished from the land.You're not welcomed here. You're no son of mine
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Old Ptolemy
It was mad. Forty thousand of us against hundreds of thousands of barbarian races unknown to us, gathered under Darius himself. East and West had now come together to decide the fate of the known world. It was the day Alexander had waited for all his life.
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Young Alexander
One day I'll be on walls like these.
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Old Ptolemy
All men reach and fall...
[takes sand in his hand and lets it slip through his fingers]
Old Ptolemy
reach and fall...
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Alexander
You birthed me in a sack of hate! Hate you have for those stronger than you!
Olympias
I taught you my heart! And by Zeus and Dionysus you grew beautiful!
Alexander
Damn your sorceress soul!
Olympias
Your soul is mine, Alexander.
Alexander
No! You've taken from me everything I've ever loved! You've made me you!
Olympias
Stop it! Stop acting like a boy! You're a king, act like one!
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Old Ptolemy
All greatness comes from loss.
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Olympias
[instructing her son about snakes]
They are like people. You can love them for years. Feed them, nurture them, but still, they can turn on you.
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Hephaistion
The king lives! Alexander, son of Phillip! May the gods bless Alexander! Alexander is king!
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Attalus
[Raising a toast at Philip's wedding party]
To Philip and Eurydice! And to their legitimate son! To Philip...
Philip
[Attalus throws his cup at Alexander and soon a fight breaks out]
Quiet. Shut up! Shut up all of you! This is my wedding, not some public brawl! Apologize, by Zeus, before you dishonor me.
Alexander
You defend the man that calls my mother a whore and me a bastard? And I dishonor you?
Philip
Bah! You listen like your mother. Attalus is family now, same as you.
Alexander
Then choose your relatives more carefully. Don't expect me to sit here and watch you shame yourself.
Philip
Shame?
Attalus
You insult me!
Alexander
I insult you? A man not fit to lick the ground my mother walks on? You dog, questioning your queen!
Philip
Shame? I've nothing to be ashamed of, you arrogant brat! I'll marry the girl if I want, and I'll have as many sons as I want, and there's nothing you or your harpy mother can do about it!
Alexander
Why, drunken man, must you think everything I do and say comes from my mother?
Philip
Because I know her heart, by Hera! And I see her in your eyes. You covet this throne too much. Now! We all know that that she-wolf of a mother of yours wants me dead! Well, you can both dream boy.
Philip
Come Philip, 'tis the wine talking. Leave the boy, it can wait till the morning.
Philip
Now! I command you... apologize to your kinsman.
[Alexander stands in silence looking at Attalus]
Philip
Apologize!
Alexander
He's no kinsman to me. Good night old man, and when my mother remarries, I'll invite you to her wedding.
[Walks away]
Philip
You bastard! You'll obey me. Come here.
[Alexander looks at Philip and continues to walk away, Philip grabs his sword and prepares to attack Alexander, but falls to the ground in a drunken stupor]
Alexander
This is the man who's going to take you from Greece to Persia? He can't even make it from one couch to the next.
Philip
Get out of my palace! You're exiled, you bastard! Banished from the land, you're not welcome here! You're no son of mine!
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Hephaistion
[refuses to let Roxane see Alexander after the murder of Cleitus]
Roxane
Let me pass. I am the Queen! I want to see him! I've waited three days!
Hephaistion
He says none. Not even you.
Roxane
He needs me!
Hephaistion
No. He doesn't.
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Old Ptolemy
Who Roxane really was, I doubt any of us ever saw further than the pools of those black eyes.
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Alexander
[standing on the Hindu Kush with Ptolemy]
Yes, I have Babylon. But each land, each boundary I cross lets drip away another illusion. I sense, death will be the last. Yet still I push harder and harder to reach this... home.
[looking into the sky]
Alexander
Where has our eagle gone? We must go on, Ptolemy... until we find an end.
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Hephaistion
[crying softly, he shows Alexander a ring]
I found it in Egypt... the man who sold it to me said it came from a time when man worshiped sun, and stars. I'll always think of you as the sun, Alexander. And I pray your dream will shine on all men.
[puts the ring on Alexander's ring finger, then embraces him]
Hephaistion
I wish you a son. You're a great man. Many will love you, Alexander, but none so pure and deep...
Roxane
[Roxane enters]
Hephaistion
[Hephaistion exits guiltily]
Roxane
You... love him?
Alexander
He is Hephaistion. There are many different ways to love.
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Alexander
[after Princess Stateira has confused Hephaistion for Alexander]
You are not wrong, Princess Stateira. He too is Alexander.
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Alexander
Isn't it a lovely thing to live with great courage and to die leaving an everlasting fame? Come, Macedonians, why do you retreat? Do you want to live forever? In the name of Zeus, attack!
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Persian Prince
In the ways of my country those who love too much lose everything and those who love with irony last.
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Philip
There's no glory without suffering and this she will not allow. She makes you weak. The gods have never made it easy for man.Look, Herakles.Even after he accomplished his 12 labors he was punished with madness, slaughtered his three children. Poor Herakles. Great Herakles. All greatness comes from loss. Even you, the gods will one day judge harshly.
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Philip
They say already that Philip is a great general, but *Alexander* is simply great. But if you ever insult me again, I'll kill you.
[after a pause, he smiles]
Philip
I've missed you.
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Cassander
Would you say the love between Achilles and Patroclus is a corrupting one?
Aristotle
When men lie together in lust, it is a surrender to the passions and does nothing for the excellence in us. Nor does any other excess, Cassander, jealousy among them.But when men lie together, and knowledge and virtue are passed between them that is pure and excellent. When they compete to bring out the good, the best in each other this is the love between men that can build a city-state and lift us from our frog pond.
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Philip
It's never easy to escape our mothers, Alexander. All your life beware of women. They're far more dangerous than men.
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Crateros
In the rain and the sun we've fought for you. Some of us fifty battles we've been in. We've killed many a barbarian. And now when I look around, how many of their faces do I see?
Alexander
You know there's no part of me without a scar or a bone broken. I've shared every hardship with all of you!
Crateros
Aye, you have, my king. And we love you for it. But, by Zeus, too many have died. We're just humble men. We seek no disturbance with the gods. All we wish for is to see our children.
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Horse Seller
My noble king, it is a high spirited animal. High spirited and worthy of Philip of Macedon, for three and a half talents. I couldn't possibly make a bigger profit of it, but for you...
Philip
Why would I want such a beast? I already have a wife.
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Old Ptolemy
I've known many great men in my life, but only one colossus. And only now in old do I understand who this force of nature really was. Or do I?
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Old Ptolemy
[about the Hydaspes battle]
It was the bloodiest of his battles. Pure butchery, the end of all reason... we'd never be men again.
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[after Alexander's wedding to Roxane]
Philotas
But what's the point Alexander? She's your captive; just take her as your concubine!
Alexander
Because I want a son. Damn you, Philotas
Philotas
Half your nobles have sisters who would make fine Macedonian mothers.
Alexander
To take an Asian as my queen, not a captive, is a sign of deep respect for our subjects. It will, more than anything, bring us together. Unify us. Which is not to say I won't take a Macedonian one day.
Philotas
As a second wife? And insult Macedonia?
Antigonus
Never will our people accept this girl's son as king. They'll be angry enough when they find out their husbands all have second wives in Barbaria.
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Olympias
I was never a barbarian as Phillip said. We are of Achilles' royal blood.
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Philotas
Alexander, remember me for who I am!
Alexander
I do remember you, Philotas. But not as you remember yourself.
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Old Ptolemy
We all felt there was more here than sexual bickery. Alexander wanted the truth, and Philotas' answers were lacking merit. Alexander put him, silently and quickly, to trial by his peers. And whether plotter or opportunist, Philotas was found guilty of treason. None of us defended Philotas, but then again, none of us ever liked him.
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Cleitus
[sarcastically]
A toast to Bagoas, and to the 30 thousand beautiful Persian boys we're training to fight in this great army. And to the memory Philip, had he lived to see his Macedonians transformed into such a pretty army.
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Aristotle
I can only hope that you continue what you began as the boy I knew at twelve. Be that man always, Alexander, and you will not slip. And perhaps you will prove this old materialist, as you always thought me, a dreamer after all.
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[referring to Philip's murder]
Olympias
So many wanted it. Greeks, Persians, men, women, I would be shocked if there were not a god or two he had profaned.
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Old Ptolemy
In the end, I believe, Babylon was a far easier mistress to enter than to leave.
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Aristotle
I can only warn you, not teach you. Beware of what you dream for.The gods have a way of punishing such pride.
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Philip
Truth is in our hearts, and none will tell you this but your father. Men hate the gods. The only reason we worship any of them is because we fear worse.
Alexander
What's worse?
Philip
The Titans. If they were ever to be set free it would be a darkness such as we have never seen before.
Alexander
Could they ever come back? Can Zeus imprison the Titans forever under Mount Olympus?
Philip
It's said that when Zeus burned them to dust with his lightning bolt they took the Titans' ashes and, in a cold revenge mixed it with those of mortal men.
Alexander
Why?
Philip
Who knows these things? One day, things will change.Men will change. But first, the gods must change. But all this you'll forget, Alexander. That's why we call them myths. We can't bear to remember them.
Alexander
I'll remember. And one day, I'll be on walls like these.
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Hephaistion
What would you do if you ever reached the end of the world?
Alexander
I'd turn back and conquer its opposite.
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Olympias
In my womb I carried my avenger!
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Olympias
The world is yours. Take it!
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Philip
There's only one thing better than winning a battle, son...
[he kisses a beautiful girl]
Philip
... and that's the taste of a new woman. You'll find it far sweeter than self-pity.
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Old Ptolemy
His failure towered over other men's successes.
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[at a meeting with the generals after Alexander's wedding to Roxane]
Parmenion
Your father must be turning in his grave, Alexander. After all this time, a hill chief's daughter? Do you call this tribal wedding legitimate?
Alexander
You forget, Parmenion, that my father took a barbarian as his queen.
Parmenion
Yes, and few would call it a profoundly happy marriage.
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[referring to Philip and his pregnant new wife, Eurydice]
Olympias
Pregnant, so soon? The little whore. He will marry her in the spring, during Dionysus' festival. And when her first son is born, her sweet Uncle Attalus will convince Phillip to name the boy his successor. And you will be sent on some impossible mission against some barbarous northern tribe, to be mutilated in one more meaningless battle. And I, no longer Queen, will be put to death with your sister and the remaining members of our family.
Alexander
I wish sometimes you could see the light, mother. The truth is he's taken from you nothing that you've not been long without.
Olympias
The only way is to strike. Announce your marriage to a Macedonian, now! Beget a child of pure blood. He would be one of them, not mine. And he would have no choice but to make you king. Eurydice was perfect! If your father, that pig, had not ravaged her first...
Alexander
Say nothing more of my father! Do you hear me? Say nothing!
Olympias
You're right. Forgive me. A mother loves too much.
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[as the barbarians grovel in front of Alexander]
Cleitus
If I ever kneel down like that to any man, Crateros, kill me.
Hephaistion
Have another drink, Cleitus.
Cleitus
[mocking Hephaistion's love for Alexander]
Shouldn't you be bowing to the king?
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Philotas
[during the battle of Gaugamela]
Alexander! My father's lost! They've overrun the flanks, they're into the baggage trains!
Hephaistion
Parmenion's crumbling!
Ptolemy
Alexander, if you chase him you risk losing your army here!
Alexander
And if we capture him we gain an empire!
[yelling after Darius]
Alexander
You can run till the ends of the earth, you coward! But you'll never run far enough!
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Hephaistion
He is your king! Respect your king!
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Wrestling Trainer
You don't need much to fight. When you're in the front ranks of a battle, chasing some northern barbarian tribe. Courage won't be in the lining of your stomach Nearchus, is in the heart of a man. You don't need to eat everyday or until your full Ptolemy. You don't need to lay in bed in the morning when you can have some good bean soup,Cassander, after a forced night's march. Come on Alexander. Come on. Who'll ever respect you as king? Do you think it's because of your father? The first rule of war is to do what you ask your men to do, no more, no less.
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Young Nearchus
Master? Master?
Aristotle
Yes?
Young Nearchus
Master?
Aristotle
Yes, out with it, out with it.
Young Nearchus
Why are the Persians so cruel?
Aristotle
That is not the subject for today Nearchus. But it is true, the Oriental races are known for their barbarity and slavish devotion to their senses. Excess in all things is the undoing of men. That is why we Greeks are superior, we practice control of our senses. Moderation.
[laughs]
Aristotle
We hope.
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Roxane
Are you drunk again?
Alexander
He's dead!
Roxane
Who?
Alexander
Many hated him, but I don't think any other would have dared!
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Young Hephaistion
Can a man love a woman equally, Master?
Aristotle
A woman? Of course not. A woman is a slave to her passions, Hephaistion. Though, naturally, there are exceptions, and we must honor them. Such as Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. But never forget, she was sprung not from the loins of Zeus, but from his mind.
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Olympias
Making himself a thirteenth god! He's drunk so much wine, my poor Phillip, he's lost his mind.
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Alexander
Who is this great king, Darius, who enslaves his own men to fight? Who is this king but a king of air? They fight because this king tells them they must. And when they fight, they will melt away like the air because they know no loyalty to a king of slaves. But we are not here today as slaves! We are here today as Macedonian free men!
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Hephaistion
The army grows restless, questioning. Alexander, they need your reassurance.
Alexander
Like an old lover they forgive, but they will never forget.
Hephaistion
He was an ageing drunk!
Alexander
He was my friend.
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Aristotle
The East has a way of swallowing men and their dreams, but still to think it's these myths that lead us toward the greatest glory... Why is it wrong to act on them? I can only warn you, not teach you. Beware of what you dream - for the gods have a way of punishing such pride.
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Alexander's Army
[after Alexander expresses heartbreak that his army plundered after a battle] What do you want from us?
Alexander
I want you to be *excellent!*
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Young Alexander
It is, it has always been, our Greek dream to go east. My father long wants it.
Aristotle
The east has a way of swallowing men and their dreams.
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Olympias
Why won't you ever believe me? Philip did not want you! You had a condition of the breathing and he wanted to leave you in the mountains for the birds to peck out your eyes!
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Alexander
[to Olympias]
You lie and lie and lie! So many lies you've spun like a sorceress, confusing me!
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Parmenion
Alexander, I've known you since you were born. I supported you at your father's death. At the very least, for Zeus's sake and out of respect for the council that chose you king, give us a Macedonian heir.
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Philip
Shut your foul mouth, you ten-titted bitch from Hades!
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Aristotle
Although an inferior race, the Persians control at least four fifths of the known world. But, is it possible that the source of Egypt's mighty river Nile could rise in these distant mountains of the outer Earth? If so, an experienced navigator could find his way here, by this river, east, down into the great plains of India, out into the eastern ocean and end of the world, and by this route, up the Nile, back to Egypt, into the Middle Sea and home to Greece.
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Young Hephaistion
[after Alexander has lost a wrestling match to him]
Would you want me to let you win, Alexander?
Young Alexander
You're right. But I promise you, one day I will beat you, Hephaistion.
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Olympias
My little Achilles.
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Roxane
This I know, Alexander. In Persia you are a great king. Here, they hate you. Let us go back to Persia. There you are strong.
Alexander
We'll talk about this later.
Roxane
Yes. Later. Talk.
Alexander
I will come.
Roxane
And I will wait.
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Alexander
You and I together, one last time Bucephalus.
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Alexander
While in your mind and body are stretched to breaking you have no thought beyond the next. And you look back then and there it was, happiness. In the doing, never the thinking.
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Alexander
You've fallen in love with all the things in life that destroy men!
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Bagoas
[speaking to a dying Alexander]
You gave me the happiest days of my life.
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Philip
Let these Greeks see for themselves the way I can walk through my people. Then let them call me tyrant. Bring the main guard in after my entry only.
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Olympias
Women are the only ones who know Dionysus.
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Aristotle
To love excellence is truly to love the gods
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Alexander
If only thirst could quench sorrow, Ptolemy.
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Alexander
[looking at the towering mountains]
Were we gods, we'd breach these walls to the Outer Ocean.
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Alexander
Men of Macedon, we're going home.
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Alexander
Come, Macedonians! Ride! Ride!
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Old Ptolemy
The surveyors told us we were now on the boarders of where Europe and Asia meet. In fact, we were totally lost.
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Alexander
Stay with me tonight, Hephaistion.
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Old Ptolemy
I've paid my price, in blood. And in broken dreams.
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Alexander
As the years decline and the memories stale, and all your great victories fade, it will always be remembered that you left your king in Asia!
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