Ikr? Philip had way too many enemies to ever be caught in public without some kind of protection. Even if he wasn't, he was royalty. There's no way that he would wear drab clothing that looks so disgusting and impractical. He's the King of Macedon, not a beggar in Judea.
I don’t get why they hire experts, film them explaining the factual points. But not once do they also ask the experts “can you come to the filming site/costume department/writers room to point out inaccuracies that a TH-camr who is also an expert might rip to shreds in a 30 minute video?” 🤦♂️
If you're going to Munich, hop on the train and visit Regensburg. It's built on a Roman camp, ruins everywhere, 1000 year old stone bridge, site of Europe's forst postal service, and Germany's first café, gorgeous cathedral... and cheaper than Munich!
Thun and taxis who I believe were of Italian origin and the word "Taxis" comes from the Italian word for the yew tree (tasso) I believe that the word is also connected to the English word taxi -as to hire a taxi or not?
@kaloarepo288 No and no. The name Taxis here comes from Italian 'Tasso', or badger. "Taxis" is a very old way of spelling "Dachs", or badger. It's on the family crest. Taxi in English is of Greek origin. You can tell by the "-xi". It has to do with measuring or arranging.
@@sonyakinsey4376 But in Italian "tasso" is yew tree as well do you know? The word is related to the Greek word "toxoi" meaning poisonous as this tree is very poisonous but you are right about the badger thing.
@@ultramadscientistThere’s a clear line between fiction and reality with Shakespeare’s writing as I honestly doubt anybody believed he accurately portrayed historical figures or societies. Also helps it was at a theater where a bunch of dudes played women. Plus he had several plays unrelated to history. These shows purport themselves, much like those movies based on a “true story”, as telling the truth. Might as well watch watch Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson then. Or Black Panther instead of The Woman King. Or even Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and Django Unchained.
I was taught in (UK) high school (a good 20 years ago) that we’re pretty sure that Romans and Greeks didn’t have the concept of “Straight, gay or bi”, and that everyone sort of lived on a sliding spectrum I’ve always assumed this was the case, and I’ve seen dozens of movies and shows that know/assume this too
It depended whether you were the active or passive partner -the passive partner or the person who did the fellatio were despised in Roman culture virtually as much as they were in Christian.
I really really really doubt that. Animals understand sex. Plants understand sex. Yes, I'm sorry to say that, those flowers you like so much ... they're kind of dirty. Greeks had a really good understanding of psychology. If you read Homer today it can be a Mexican Telenovela. Maybe Achilles was bi. Maybe. But the entire story is literally about a dude stealing the gf of another dude and the second story is about a dude going home to his wife. All the other dudes were straight. So they knew gays existed, but it was kind of a fringe thing. Otherwise they'd have died out.
It's always baffling to me when people try to inject 21st century thinking about sexuality that was coloured a lot by Christianity into ancient history.
Every time somebody makes something about Alexander the Great i'm left wondering why they skip over what lead to Alexander Alexander was the conqueror, sure, but if you really want the Game of Throne level shit to make a real good drama? i mean, Phillip 'inherited' a kingdom in a three way civil war ON TOP of two external invasions and a blood feud with Athens.... and basically became the first effective king of all Greece Meanwhile in Persia you have a multi-level clusterfuck of succession wars leading to Darius, who himself was quite the schemer and conqueror And all of this steadily progressing to an inevitable collision course in Anatolia.... Basically Alexander is the end of the good stuff, but they always just act like he came out of nowhere from some backwater kingdom to somehow make him sound more interesting. Netflix, in typical Netflix fashion, missed a golden opportunity to really do something with this series.... but instead went for cheap melodrama....
I definitely agree, the geopolitical turmoil and military ingenuity that occurred in the period just before Alexander’s conquest would make for an amazing show if adapted, Phillip’s rise to power is especially phenomenal. There is no Alexander the Great without Phillip II of Macedon, that causal link between their success is one of the most amazing parts of both their stories, it’s a shame they don’t commonly get told together. It’s also unfortunate knowing that if this Netflix show is someone’s first introduction to Alexander’s story they’ll get the impression Phillip didn’t have much of a relationship with his son when that couldn’t be more untrue! The show completely omits how Phillips took Alexander on campaign with him numerous times and just how vital that experience was in making him capable of his own achievements later on. One example I can recall off the top of my head is the battle of Chaeronea 338BC where Phillip and Alexander go into battle together and it’s their collaboration that results in victory. In that battle Alexander’s hammer and anvil calvary charge is responsible for their victory, something that would become a staple means of attaining victory in his battles in Persia. There’s simply no way he’d have been successful in Persia without all that prior experience, so while Alexander is undoubtedly talented, a lot of the framing of his ability and subsequent achievements get framed in a way that insinuates they’re an anomaly with no contextual explanation. The forced ambiguity is completely unnecessary, if anything it’s so much more awe inspiring once you know the specificity of how Alexander truly became “the Great”. I’d absolutely love to see someone with a genuine academic background in ancient military history be put in charge of making a docudrama series, the fact the money to fund such a project existed but was wasted on this low-accuracy mess is just depressing 😔
Just like everything that lead to Julius Ceasar - Gaius Marius, Marcus Crassus, Pompey the Great, Lucullus, LUCIUS CORNELIUS SULLA (who basically gave Ceasar the blueprint) - was just, OH, no big deal!!
@@johnvannewhouse And none of the movies, docos, or docu-dramas I've seen _bother_ to mention that Marius & Caesar were related by marriage (Marius was married to a paternal aunt of his), so he was growing up at the center of all of this- & they never mention how important his maternal family was; they literally were able to save his life when his name was put on a proscription list- usually, you didn't make it off one of those alive - & forgetting the reason why a teenager was *put* on a death-list in the first place: his connection to Marius ( *_&_* he'd become a son-in-law to Marius' right-hand man, & refused to divorce the man's daughter- Romans, *especially* the nobility, often divorced at the drop of a hat, it feels like- so to have a mere teenager _refuse_ the political pressure to do so, it says something)- the guy who both revolutionarily changed the Roman military, for the first time in _ages_ & the man who achieved the most unheard of political accomplishments (going on to become consul a whopping **7** times- it's like Roosevelt's 3rd term, on acid). Yes, Caesar was a brilliant military mind, & a more than capable political one- whose end-goals we could debate 'til Doomsday, but he *didn't* live in a bubble -- there were things that drove him, that an audience would be able to see- if the people presenting the story just dug a little more, instead of repeating the same old points, & no nuance -- hell, even his death had precedents; other than the Gracchi brothers (both of whom were populist leaders, like him [they were probably *more* revolutionary, in fact]- who conservative politicians suspected, or tried to make people _believe_ that they were aiming to take supreme power for themselves, thus circumventing the old political structures, & possibly bringing back the old hated kingship)- one of his more flamboyant & divisive supporters was killed during civil conflict earlier on, & one of the buildings that got trashed in the wake of it- was the Senate building. And because of continuing conflict, money issues, political debate, & so on- no one just decided to put their differences behind them & rebuild it- no. They elected to use various public buildings instead, which is *_why_* Caesar was *actually* assassinated at the Theatre of Pompey (where he died at the foot of a statue of Pompey). He died at a Senate meeting, but not _in_ the Senate. I understand movies & even TV shows have to streamline some stuff, but it has always annoyed me how much stuff gets dumbed down- & turned into pop-culture sound-bytes...
@@OcarinaSapphr- Yeah, he was right in the mix.....fleeing the man that scared the shit out of him (and rightfully so!) : SULLA. And there is a reason that Sulla died of natural causes and Julius Ceasar didn''t - Ceasar was a victim of his own magnanimity in forgiving his adversaries after the civil war. Sulla wasn't going to take that chance.
I guess all the consultants that worked on this were paid handsomely. I mean, at least a danger bonus for moments in which they had to be screaming "THIS IS WROOOOOOOOOOOONG" and nobody listened.
Some actors do care about accuracy when it comes to film. Henry Cavil when it came to the Witcher. I can't remember the actor but he got stabbed in the back in the one Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson wanted him to yell but the actor told him that's not how a person reacts to being stabbed in the back. Yes I know those examples are from fantasy but still
@@MastemaJack it was Sir Christopher Lee that explained about that. It wasn't an argument really it was just that he had some experience with the situation and Jackson didn't know
@@chadfalardeau5396 thank you I always mix him up with two other old actors. You're right it wasn't an argument but it was an actor tell the director he was was wrong and the director listening to the actor.
What turned me off was the fact that all the experts see Alexander as a great hero, not as a blood soaked war monger responsible for countless needless deaths.
Just for clarity of who is being talked about, you mentioned Alexander's friend Ptolemy, but at 11:20 you say Alexander's father Ptolemy had 7 wives. You meant Philip there, right?
Would love to see you do a breakdown of netflix's golden age of pirates and age of the samurai. They are quite good and have decent battle depictions but i have no clue on how correct these "documentaries" are, which is something i don't want to be learning just to have to unlearn it because it wrong
Alexander was Achilles and I’m depressed now… I think the “outrage” of showing the men kissing is so disingenuous when there’s literally none for Cleo and Julius and Cleo and Marcus
might be able to make the peru one considering ill be on leave then i just came back from being stationed in Germany for the last three years the Christmas markets are pretty nice
@MonkeyJedi99 yo what are you referring too? Edit: Nvm I figured it out lmao Personally I need at least 4mg of Xanax if I go to the dentist. I don't want to remember it.
Not so long ago I had pneunomia. Wasn't fun, apart from one fever dream where you were explaining about ballerinas, how you can tell from which era they come from based on the shoelaces of the dresses they are dancing in. In a similar manner you are discussing the helmets and other gear in this video. =D
It's really great...many thanks to the Director & team for an inspiring story mostly the historians comments in the middle of the show..great...great..
20 years old was (and still is) young. If you lived through infancy there was a very good chance you'd live a pretty normal human lifespan of 60-80 years. The *average* lifespan was low because of the high rates of infant mortality.
So I told the historic advisor that wanted to put leather on the characters. He said it was inaccurate. So I got a new historic advisor. They pulled a Tom Cruise.
Just finished the video and there have been some positive things and the complaints have mostly just been details, not the core ideas. That's quite and improvement. Not sure what it says about Netflix's feminist empowerment that they screw up their shows about African queens so much but then seem to be doing so much better for a European king.
I'm curious why the series didn't show the process of Alexander becoming an experienced commander under his father which is essential for the understanding of him as a leader during his campaigns later ... and which is imortant to understand why his troops believed in his talents as a general in the first place. Great review!
Yep, why waste time with pop history from Netflix? Been watching Shogun, so far, although it's fiction, the period it's portraying is, so I've read so far, is authentic.
Frankly, I find amusing how there's quite *a lot* of evidence hinting or even confirming homosexual (or homosexual-like, since there's a debate that "sexuality" wasn't understood then as it is now) relationships in ancient nations, mainly Greece and the Roman Empire, and yet there's people that outright refuse to accept that a named historical figure, a hero of the past, might have been "sparring" with people of their same sex, while also accepting or just actively ignoring the fact that it happened around them at the time, so it would've been normal for them to partake as well. I personally don't care whether Alexander, Caesar, or Napoleon (to name some historical figures) went around kissing men in their free time, it does not take from them their achievements, nor it reduces their value. And let's be honest, it is always complaints about depicting *male* historical figures as gay or bi, females are kind of ignored in that regard...
I don't mind a bit of Hefastion, but NOT the first (or second) thing they tell us about him. How about a bit about his father, his teacher, the freakin' Aristotle, story about Bucefalos, talking with the foreign emissaries, or his role on Philip's campaign of creating Hellenic league... but no! Gay! Also, the whole first fantastic year of Alexander's Balkans campaign, destruction of Thebes... so many more interesting stuff... it's disappointing that they spent as much time on his sexuality and left out so much about his actual rise to power, but - that's Netflix.
@MastemaJack When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, at the age of 15, Jagama and his older brother went into the bush to join the Arbegnoch. At first, he had no gun - only his elder brother had one. But they ambushed Italian troops and gradually armed themselves. Peasants joined the struggle, and by the end of the war, they had over 3,000 fighters under their command, his forces were active in the mountainous areas of western Shewa.[8] On 2 December 1940, he and his soldiers raided the Italian garrison at Addis Alem. They killed 72 Italians in the engagement, including their commander Vittorio Casardi, and captured over 2,000 rifles.[10] On 5th May 1941, after years in exile in Britain, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital. Jagama, who had received no British help during the 5 years of the war, refused to go to Addis Ababa for the ceremony. In the end, the Emperor came to Ginchi. Jagama says he put his 3,500 troops on the parade to greet Haile Selassie. He was then driven in the Emperor’s own car to his palace, where he was awarded a gabardine coat and a gold watch. But the war was not yet over. Jimma was still under Italian control. The Emperor asked Jagama for help, and he says he led his forces into battle. Reports suggest the area was ‘swarming with Patriots’ - many of whom may have been loyal to Jagama. He told the BBC that his forces captured some 500 Italian soldiers, whom he handed over to the British[8] Works cited Forgacs, David (2014). Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories. Vol. XX (illus. ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05217-8. Jalata, Asafa (1998). Oromo Nationalism and the Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy. The Red Sea Press. p. 198. ISBN 1569020663. Pearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1632200969.
If Netflix skipped the battle of Chaeronea, that's a major oversight. It was Alexander's baptism by fire and set the stage for Macedonian dominance in Greece before conquering Persia.
Are you _trying_ to send the man to an early grave?! I watched all three- I don't mind telling you that they knock off Spartacus: Blood & Sand, in more ways than one - they leaned a little too hard into 'Gladiator' for the Commodus one, a bit into the 70's Caligula movie for the one on him, & the Caesar one was just another speedrun (they had a golden opportunity to do what no other movie or doco has ever done, & give context to his later choices- by giving us the world he came of age in, giving insight into his childhood & adolescence- but nope- they start when he was already a young man, beginning his military/ political career). Like, there are a couple of minor things I like about them, not gonna lie- & I *do* love me a game of 'Spot the Aussie', but they had an opportunity to do something really different & powerful with these mini-series- & they fumbled it...
I've been watching the little bts stuff- I watched one on the costumes yesterday & it's so wonderful how much care they're taking in the authenticity, but they can still capture the drama, too...
3:45 Darius did / does this to belittle Alexander. Several Greek city States also appear to have made the mistake of buying into the image of Alexander as what 21st century audiences would call a ''trust fund brat''. 🦁 ☀️ 🐝 ⚡ 🦅 ⚡ 🐝 ☀️ 🦁
Nothing at first. I had them lower the price to include more people. I think if I get like 12 people it’s enough to pay for my plane ticket. Past that I start to make money myself, but that’s the truth of it
I just wonder if they're trying to basically make the Persians look like Muslims and basically try to make them look like they're the victims of a classic white colonizing conqueror
Phillip the Second of Macedon, despite being one eyed, was one of the greatest rulers of all times and to imagine someone so relevant as a mere stepping stone on Alexandre's path to greatness is absolute tomfoolery. Phillip excelled in strategy, logistics and in the development of tactics and capabilities, all to most uncanny degree, whereas his son was as much a formidable conqueror as he was utterly incapable of holding on to any of his winnings. No amount of tactical prowess on the battlefield could have ever filled his fathers shoes, that is why Alexandre conquered as much land as he could, because he himself felt this which I say, that "Phillip was far greater than Alexandre could ever hope to be".
I think he was most likely by but it's also possible that he was just so how you say, anything with a pulse, that it didn't matter what gender they were Cuz that's also been a thing in history especially with powerful rulers that they're just so lustful they don't care what gender you are
When you say "different experts in the field" are they all actual experts this time around or do we have more cases of "my grandmother told me so" kind of hacks mixed in again?
It's useless to talk about Alexander and Hephaestion as boyfriends or even lovers. Where they sexuality intimate in addition to emotionally intimate? Quite probably. But saying they are gay or were a couple is imposing our own normative values regarding sex and relationships on people living over 2500 years ago.
I didn't think it was that bad. Pretty mid though, plenty of small inaccuracies but it generally traced his story in a very simplified way, it overvalued the importance of Egypt as well, going so far as have Alexander battle wearing a Pharaohs helmet, though he would have likely worn Egyptian apparel for the ceremony at Siwa. Still, i found it a 5/10 pushing for a 6/10 but not quite there. Big improvement over Cleopatra however. Oh and they desperately try to argue it wasn't the case but Darius was a coward!
@@MrPlainsflyer But I want to see the Netflix version of The Right Stuff where the black female astronauts were launch to the moon in a capsule fired from a giant cannon built by WW2 veterans who begged to be allowed to hammer-forge the steel with their bare hands so that their wives would finally treat them with a bare scrap of respect.
The problem was showing Alexander in a sexual scene isn't whether Alexander had been in a sexual scene but that they open with this. That is definitely making a statement. And it's a statement that doesn't need to be emphasized. And especially when they don't in any way show that even if he had been intimate with another man, this wasn't exactly abnormal at that time. Not in the least. It would not make him homosexual or even necessarily bisexual. You cannot apply our terms and our situations to the past. Especially the distant past
Man more people need to give Philip the credit he deserves, atleast get his looks right. Macedon would not have been able to achieve Alexander's goal without Philip. SMH.
But it's lazy! We know how the Persians dressed, from all the artefacts - is it so much harder to just replicate what's there, in the historical record?
Off topic from Alexander but are there any books on Roman history that you would recommend? I've got to dive back into the subject and it's been too long since I was working on a degree in the subject.
I thought the ottoman one with Mehmed vs Vlad Dracul was pretty good. Also, the Russian one with Rasputin wasn't bad at all. Haven't seen This one yet, how. Bad can it be?
Alexander's father was named Philip, not Ptolemy. However, it was probably just an in-the-moment oversight on account of your agitation. And the area of Epirus was called Molossia at the time.
From what I can tell the first time someone in history said Alexander was gay was over 400 years later and was a Roman historian. There aren't any contemporary sources that say he had any male lovers.
We don't know. Most likely, he was bisexual, but the problem with Alexander is that everyone had an opinion of him. From the Indians like Maurya, the Jews and Arabs, and the Carthaginians and Romans, there are so many people who had their opinions on him that it was basically impossible for a truly complete history to be written. What we can say for certain is that the practice of homosexuality was fairly common throughout Greece and Rome, and many other cultures in the region. Only the Jews were explicitly heterosexual by culture, as the Biblical definition of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. I don't know of any other culture that had a prohibition on homosexuality, and Macedon definitely had no such prohibition.
@@alanpennie They were most likely going off of earlier sources, that haven't come down to us- but it's always important to know, for context & to keep potential biases in mind.
@@OcarinaSapphr- I agree. The consensus appears to be that *the Alexander historians* are reasonably reliable. Lacunae of this kind are unfortunately quite common in the history of antiquity.
I am a very keen student of the history of Alexander the Great and was quite looking forward to this series, I was not expecting much from it, as any film, semidocumentary as this one is or documentary and even though now having far more money in numbers, locations and costumes are pretty dire now. BUT this one, is so 'bad', the acting is DREADFUL, it is like watching a school play. Most of all the person chosen to be Alexander has zero charisma, presence or shows any ability to display leadership traits and having served in the military I believe that is something I know about. It also is so painfully slow in its delivery, as if it was made for children of low ability and understanding. I have enough, I won't be watching any more.
Sexuality appears to have been part of life in ancient times in greece/rome. I mean just seems they didnt care as much as modern chritian purity b.s. does
I love how you won't play clips because youtube might smite you, while iilluminaughii built her entire channel off of stealing from others and was able to profit massively off it.
I just imagine someone on the netflix team will say something like "well the greeks were all very gay, we know this, so i believe its not out of the question that Alexander had gay lovers and was also himself gay." And ill just have to roll my eyes and refer to those on TH-cam whove debunked the "greeks were gay" myth in academia. Edit: i was right. Lmao.
Love your channel, but there is no textual evidence that Alexander was in a homosexual romantic relationship. When he mourned the death of his friend, it was customary in Greece to mourn for days. This is the one thing I've seen said multiple times online to prove that he was in a relationship with that person, but that doesn't prove it, it at most could be hinting at it, but to me even that is a stretch. I could also be wrong, but I havent found anything directly saying that he was romantically involved with men. If anyone has I would of course be willing to change my mind.
It is modern imposition of ideology on a time, place and people when they did not exist. "Homosexuality" is a modern invention. The acts were considered practical and had nothing romantic (yet again a fairly modern invention) about them. The dominant partner would take advantage of the subordinate for release. Being the dominant partner was important and it is unlikely the heir to the throne would have allowed himself to be used if for no other reason than the political consequences of positioning himself as a subordinate to anyone.
The word itself is, but the generally negative connotation goes back to the Bronze Age, with the Israelite conquest of Canaan and the founding of Judaism. The legend of Sodom and Gommorrah being incinerated by boiling oil and all that. The Jews differentiated themselves from surrounding cultures in several ways, but sexual purity was among the most enduring.
It's plausible either way, but you're certainly right that homosexuality is very modern. What would now be considered bisexuality seems very old though, see Sodom and Gommorragh. It's also blatantly obvious that the only reason Netflix is promoting such a thing is because they want to promote sexual immorality.
"We can't say that Alexander the Great DIDN'T ride a velociraptor, but I think that he would do it."
my grandmother told me Alexander rode an bradley light tank
Velociraptors were roughly dog sized
@@Specter_1125He'd breed horse sized ones just to ride them
LMFAO.....
@@eugenideddisthat's actually how he got the title of 'the great'
Netflix. Because accurate historical breakdowns are for TH-cam now
Despite the rampant censorship, youtube reallt has replaced TV for myself and a lot of others. Lol
"despite the rampant censorship" is actually fairly depressing lol@@alexanderrahl7034
Yeah, but Netflix throws in softcore pr0n with their inaccurate history!
I won't discuss the costumes, except to wonder why Phillip is shown wearing burlap, because there is enough misery in the world.
Ikr? Philip had way too many enemies to ever be caught in public without some kind of protection. Even if he wasn't, he was royalty. There's no way that he would wear drab clothing that looks so disgusting and impractical. He's the King of Macedon, not a beggar in Judea.
Finally, Alexander the Great follows in the footsteps of the pharaohs...by costing Stakuyi his sanity. Nice work Netflix.
"it looks like the armor from the TV show vikings"
It is. It's the same props reused
Im surprised anyone watched that show
@@logangrimnar3800 Vikings was good
10:10 "That's history. We can't do anything to change it." False. We can make a Netflix docudrama rewriting it.
I don’t get why they hire experts, film them explaining the factual points. But not once do they also ask the experts “can you come to the filming site/costume department/writers room to point out inaccuracies that a TH-camr who is also an expert might rip to shreds in a 30 minute video?” 🤦♂️
Netflix should probably evaluate some other experts first before they worry about that.
They were having a sword fight, then went to the river to have a sword fight. Got it!
If you're going to Munich, hop on the train and visit Regensburg. It's built on a Roman camp, ruins everywhere, 1000 year old stone bridge, site of Europe's forst postal service, and Germany's first café, gorgeous cathedral... and cheaper than Munich!
Thun and taxis who I believe were of Italian origin and the word "Taxis" comes from the Italian word for the yew tree (tasso) I believe that the word is also connected to the English word taxi -as to hire a taxi or not?
@kaloarepo288 No and no. The name Taxis here comes from Italian 'Tasso', or badger. "Taxis" is a very old way of spelling "Dachs", or badger. It's on the family crest. Taxi in English is of Greek origin. You can tell by the "-xi". It has to do with measuring or arranging.
@@sonyakinsey4376 But in Italian "tasso" is yew tree as well do you know? The word is related to the Greek word "toxoi" meaning poisonous as this tree is very poisonous but you are right about the badger thing.
"Docudrama"
They are starting to rewrite history is what they are doing.
not the first time netflix did that
Not rewriting
Stupefying
Which is worse cause you can hide the lies under the truth
You act like Shakespeare didn't dramatize historical events
@@ultramadscientistThere’s a clear line between fiction and reality with Shakespeare’s writing as I honestly doubt anybody believed he accurately portrayed historical figures or societies. Also helps it was at a theater where a bunch of dudes played women.
Plus he had several plays unrelated to history.
These shows purport themselves, much like those movies based on a “true story”, as telling the truth. Might as well watch watch Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson then. Or Black Panther instead of The Woman King. Or even Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and Django Unchained.
I was taught in (UK) high school (a good 20 years ago) that we’re pretty sure that Romans and Greeks didn’t have the concept of “Straight, gay or bi”, and that everyone sort of lived on a sliding spectrum
I’ve always assumed this was the case, and I’ve seen dozens of movies and shows that know/assume this too
It depended whether you were the active or passive partner -the passive partner or the person who did the fellatio were despised in Roman culture virtually as much as they were in Christian.
I really really really doubt that. Animals understand sex. Plants understand sex. Yes, I'm sorry to say that, those flowers you like so much ... they're kind of dirty. Greeks had a really good understanding of psychology. If you read Homer today it can be a Mexican Telenovela. Maybe Achilles was bi. Maybe. But the entire story is literally about a dude stealing the gf of another dude and the second story is about a dude going home to his wife. All the other dudes were straight. So they knew gays existed, but it was kind of a fringe thing. Otherwise they'd have died out.
It's always baffling to me when people try to inject 21st century thinking about sexuality that was coloured a lot by Christianity into ancient history.
Every time somebody makes something about Alexander the Great i'm left wondering why they skip over what lead to Alexander
Alexander was the conqueror, sure, but if you really want the Game of Throne level shit to make a real good drama? i mean, Phillip 'inherited' a kingdom in a three way civil war ON TOP of two external invasions and a blood feud with Athens.... and basically became the first effective king of all Greece
Meanwhile in Persia you have a multi-level clusterfuck of succession wars leading to Darius, who himself was quite the schemer and conqueror
And all of this steadily progressing to an inevitable collision course in Anatolia....
Basically Alexander is the end of the good stuff, but they always just act like he came out of nowhere from some backwater kingdom to somehow make him sound more interesting. Netflix, in typical Netflix fashion, missed a golden opportunity to really do something with this series.... but instead went for cheap melodrama....
I definitely agree, the geopolitical turmoil and military ingenuity that occurred in the period just before Alexander’s conquest would make for an amazing show if adapted, Phillip’s rise to power is especially phenomenal. There is no Alexander the Great without Phillip II of Macedon, that causal link between their success is one of the most amazing parts of both their stories, it’s a shame they don’t commonly get told together.
It’s also unfortunate knowing that if this Netflix show is someone’s first introduction to Alexander’s story they’ll get the impression Phillip didn’t have much of a relationship with his son when that couldn’t be more untrue! The show completely omits how Phillips took Alexander on campaign with him numerous times and just how vital that experience was in making him capable of his own achievements later on.
One example I can recall off the top of my head is the battle of Chaeronea 338BC where Phillip and Alexander go into battle together and it’s their collaboration that results in victory. In that battle Alexander’s hammer and anvil calvary charge is responsible for their victory, something that would become a staple means of attaining victory in his battles in Persia.
There’s simply no way he’d have been successful in Persia without all that prior experience, so while Alexander is undoubtedly talented, a lot of the framing of his ability and subsequent achievements get framed in a way that insinuates they’re an anomaly with no contextual explanation. The forced ambiguity is completely unnecessary, if anything it’s so much more awe inspiring once you know the specificity of how Alexander truly became “the Great”.
I’d absolutely love to see someone with a genuine academic background in ancient military history be put in charge of making a docudrama series, the fact the money to fund such a project existed but was wasted on this low-accuracy mess is just depressing 😔
Just like everything that lead to Julius Ceasar - Gaius Marius, Marcus Crassus, Pompey the Great, Lucullus, LUCIUS CORNELIUS SULLA (who basically gave Ceasar the blueprint) - was just, OH, no big deal!!
Go further Back with the gracchi Brothers
@@johnvannewhouse
And none of the movies, docos, or docu-dramas I've seen _bother_ to mention that Marius & Caesar were related by marriage (Marius was married to a paternal aunt of his), so he was growing up at the center of all of this- & they never mention how important his maternal family was; they literally were able to save his life when his name was put on a proscription list- usually, you didn't make it off one of those alive - & forgetting the reason why a teenager was *put* on a death-list in the first place: his connection to Marius ( *_&_* he'd become a son-in-law to Marius' right-hand man, & refused to divorce the man's daughter- Romans, *especially* the nobility, often divorced at the drop of a hat, it feels like- so to have a mere teenager _refuse_ the political pressure to do so, it says something)- the guy who both revolutionarily changed the Roman military, for the first time in _ages_ & the man who achieved the most unheard of political accomplishments (going on to become consul a whopping **7** times- it's like Roosevelt's 3rd term, on acid).
Yes, Caesar was a brilliant military mind, & a more than capable political one- whose end-goals we could debate 'til Doomsday, but he *didn't* live in a bubble -- there were things that drove him, that an audience would be able to see- if the people presenting the story just dug a little more, instead of repeating the same old points, & no nuance -- hell, even his death had precedents; other than the Gracchi brothers (both of whom were populist leaders, like him [they were probably *more* revolutionary, in fact]- who conservative politicians suspected, or tried to make people _believe_ that they were aiming to take supreme power for themselves, thus circumventing the old political structures, & possibly bringing back the old hated kingship)- one of his more flamboyant & divisive supporters was killed during civil conflict earlier on, & one of the buildings that got trashed in the wake of it- was the Senate building.
And because of continuing conflict, money issues, political debate, & so on- no one just decided to put their differences behind them & rebuild it- no.
They elected to use various public buildings instead, which is *_why_* Caesar was *actually* assassinated at the Theatre of Pompey (where he died at the foot of a statue of Pompey). He died at a Senate meeting, but not _in_ the Senate.
I understand movies & even TV shows have to streamline some stuff, but it has always annoyed me how much stuff gets dumbed down- & turned into pop-culture sound-bytes...
@@OcarinaSapphr- Yeah, he was right in the mix.....fleeing the man that scared the shit out of him (and rightfully so!) : SULLA. And there is a reason that Sulla died of natural causes and Julius Ceasar didn''t - Ceasar was a victim of his own magnanimity in forgiving his adversaries after the civil war. Sulla wasn't going to take that chance.
I guess all the consultants that worked on this were paid handsomely. I mean, at least a danger bonus for moments in which they had to be screaming "THIS IS WROOOOOOOOOOOONG" and nobody listened.
Something I'm wondering is if any of the actors who know history questioned any of the inaccuracies?
Probably not even if they cared you don't bite the hand that feeds
Some actors do care about accuracy when it comes to film. Henry Cavil when it came to the Witcher. I can't remember the actor but he got stabbed in the back in the one Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson wanted him to yell but the actor told him that's not how a person reacts to being stabbed in the back. Yes I know those examples are from fantasy but still
@@MastemaJack it was Sir Christopher Lee that explained about that. It wasn't an argument really it was just that he had some experience with the situation and Jackson didn't know
@@chadfalardeau5396 thank you I always mix him up with two other old actors. You're right it wasn't an argument but it was an actor tell the director he was was wrong and the director listening to the actor.
@@MastemaJack that's how things should work
What turned me off was the fact that all the experts see Alexander as a great hero, not as a blood soaked war monger responsible for countless needless deaths.
Just for clarity of who is being talked about, you mentioned Alexander's friend Ptolemy, but at 11:20 you say Alexander's father Ptolemy had 7 wives. You meant Philip there, right?
Yup
Yeah, he meant Phillip.
Whoops, must have missed a little thing there. You say the names so much in this it starts to blend
Would love to see you do a breakdown of netflix's golden age of pirates and age of the samurai. They are quite good and have decent battle depictions but i have no clue on how correct these "documentaries" are, which is something i don't want to be learning just to have to unlearn it because it wrong
Age of the Samurai was reviewed by another youtuber, Metatron
The events were correct but the armor and depiction was dumb
Alexander was Achilles and I’m depressed now… I think the “outrage” of showing the men kissing is so disingenuous when there’s literally none for Cleo and Julius and Cleo and Marcus
might be able to make the peru one considering ill be on leave then i just came back from being stationed in Germany for the last three years the Christmas markets are pretty nice
Stak u made it one episode you still have 10 seasons good luck
Why do you hate him so much?
What's next, making him try out drug-free meditation dentistry?
@@MonkeyJedi99 lol
@MonkeyJedi99 yo what are you referring too?
Edit: Nvm I figured it out lmao
Personally I need at least 4mg of Xanax if I go to the dentist. I don't want to remember it.
Not so long ago I had pneunomia. Wasn't fun, apart from one fever dream where you were explaining about ballerinas, how you can tell from which era they come from based on the shoelaces of the dresses they are dancing in. In a similar manner you are discussing the helmets and other gear in this video. =D
Netflix is playing a game. "Can we break Steven?"
It's really great...many thanks to the Director & team for an inspiring story mostly the historians comments in the middle of the show..great...great..
Surprised he wasn't portrayed as being black
That's what my grandma said! 🤣
Give it a few years
They already did that with Achilles🥲
He already checks one diversity checkbox, and they went 100mph out the gate with it
20 years old was (and still is) young. If you lived through infancy there was a very good chance you'd live a pretty normal human lifespan of 60-80 years. The *average* lifespan was low because of the high rates of infant mortality.
The rich and kings yeah, you can't convince me that manured-, toiled-, worked to death serfs lived to 60-80.
"Muh funny uncle told me, no matter what the teacher says, Alexander was Gay." I had to! I'll see myself out. :P
So I told the historic advisor that wanted to put leather on the characters. He said it was inaccurate. So I got a new historic advisor.
They pulled a Tom Cruise.
Just finished the video and there have been some positive things and the complaints have mostly just been details, not the core ideas. That's quite and improvement. Not sure what it says about Netflix's feminist empowerment that they screw up their shows about African queens so much but then seem to be doing so much better for a European king.
Me: *Taking seriously what stakuyi is saying at the beginning of the video*
Also Me: *Staring at Kimi ni Todoke.*
"They have a sword fight"
They were not subtile lmfao
It feels like there's at least an effort now to make it more accurate. Hopefully the trend continues, but knowing Netflix, it won't.
20 old king, raised up by mother and surrounded by soldiers his entire life, i can see why he would end Bi.
Ah ancient ppls didnt care nearly as much as us about it
When death is daily part of life for most of human history it changes perspectives
I'm curious why the series didn't show the process of Alexander becoming an experienced commander under his father which is essential for the understanding of him as a leader during his campaigns later ... and which is imortant to understand why his troops believed in his talents as a general in the first place. Great review!
Metatron, here are my noble ones, and today, i am gonna rip into another Netflix abomination
Yep, why waste time with pop history from Netflix? Been watching Shogun, so far, although it's fiction, the period it's portraying is, so I've read so far, is authentic.
Frankly, I find amusing how there's quite *a lot* of evidence hinting or even confirming homosexual (or homosexual-like, since there's a debate that "sexuality" wasn't understood then as it is now) relationships in ancient nations, mainly Greece and the Roman Empire, and yet there's people that outright refuse to accept that a named historical figure, a hero of the past, might have been "sparring" with people of their same sex, while also accepting or just actively ignoring the fact that it happened around them at the time, so it would've been normal for them to partake as well.
I personally don't care whether Alexander, Caesar, or Napoleon (to name some historical figures) went around kissing men in their free time, it does not take from them their achievements, nor it reduces their value. And let's be honest, it is always complaints about depicting *male* historical figures as gay or bi, females are kind of ignored in that regard...
I feel like Netflix should hire you as a consultant.
I hope you'll have fun touring our christmas markets, Stak. I quite like visiting them whenever I get a chance to.
I don't mind a bit of Hefastion, but NOT the first (or second) thing they tell us about him. How about a bit about his father, his teacher, the freakin' Aristotle, story about Bucefalos, talking with the foreign emissaries, or his role on Philip's campaign of creating Hellenic league... but no! Gay! Also, the whole first fantastic year of Alexander's Balkans campaign, destruction of Thebes... so many more interesting stuff... it's disappointing that they spent as much time on his sexuality and left out so much about his actual rise to power, but - that's Netflix.
Can you make a video about Jagama Kello, an Ethiopian solider who fought against the Italians in the Second Italo Ethiopian war at the age of 15?
What did he do?
@MastemaJack When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, at the age of 15, Jagama and his older brother went into the bush to join the Arbegnoch. At first, he had no gun - only his elder brother had one. But they ambushed Italian troops and gradually armed themselves. Peasants joined the struggle, and by the end of the war, they had over 3,000 fighters under their command, his forces were active in the mountainous areas of western Shewa.[8]
On 2 December 1940, he and his soldiers raided the Italian garrison at Addis Alem. They killed 72 Italians in the engagement, including their commander Vittorio Casardi, and captured over 2,000 rifles.[10]
On 5th May 1941, after years in exile in Britain, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital. Jagama, who had received no British help during the 5 years of the war, refused to go to Addis Ababa for the ceremony. In the end, the Emperor came to Ginchi. Jagama says he put his 3,500 troops on the parade to greet Haile Selassie. He was then driven in the Emperor’s own car to his palace, where he was awarded a gabardine coat and a gold watch. But the war was not yet over. Jimma was still under Italian control. The Emperor asked Jagama for help, and he says he led his forces into battle. Reports suggest the area was ‘swarming with Patriots’ - many of whom may have been loyal to Jagama. He told the BBC that his forces captured some 500 Italian soldiers, whom he handed over to the British[8]
Works cited
Forgacs, David (2014). Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories. Vol. XX (illus. ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05217-8.
Jalata, Asafa (1998). Oromo Nationalism and the Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy. The Red Sea Press. p. 198. ISBN 1569020663.
Pearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1632200969.
If Netflix skipped the battle of Chaeronea, that's a major oversight. It was Alexander's baptism by fire and set the stage for Macedonian dominance in Greece before conquering Persia.
Have you considered doing this with the Roman Empire Netflix series?
Are you _trying_ to send the man to an early grave?!
I watched all three- I don't mind telling you that they knock off Spartacus: Blood & Sand, in more ways than one - they leaned a little too hard into 'Gladiator' for the Commodus one, a bit into the 70's Caligula movie for the one on him, & the Caesar one was just another speedrun (they had a golden opportunity to do what no other movie or doco has ever done, & give context to his later choices- by giving us the world he came of age in, giving insight into his childhood & adolescence- but nope- they start when he was already a young man, beginning his military/ political career).
Like, there are a couple of minor things I like about them, not gonna lie- & I *do* love me a game of 'Spot the Aussie', but they had an opportunity to do something really different & powerful with these mini-series- & they fumbled it...
@@OcarinaSapphr- Oh I agree completely, but I would love to hear his input on it.
@@marcus6381
Oh, same! 😅😅😅
Looking forwards to hearing your thoughts on Shogun.
I've been watching the little bts stuff- I watched one on the costumes yesterday & it's so wonderful how much care they're taking in the authenticity, but they can still capture the drama, too...
@@OcarinaSapphr-Shogun is a masterpiece
11:25 "Alexander's father Ptolemy"? Don't you mean Philip? Or are we talking about another Alexander or Olympias?
By Ner'zhul, I'm so confused
3:45 Darius did / does this to belittle Alexander. Several Greek city States also appear to have made the mistake of buying into the image of Alexander as what 21st century audiences would call a ''trust fund brat''.
🦁 ☀️ 🐝 ⚡ 🦅 ⚡ 🐝 ☀️ 🦁
For transparency, how much are you keeping of those 2900?
Nothing at first. I had them lower the price to include more people. I think if I get like 12 people it’s enough to pay for my plane ticket. Past that I start to make money myself, but that’s the truth of it
@@historyofeverythingpodcast Thank you!
Honestly, a lot of this sounds like someone watched the Reign the Conqueror anime like it was factual.
I just wonder if they're trying to basically make the Persians look like Muslims and basically try to make them look like they're the victims of a classic white colonizing conqueror
Phillip the Second of Macedon, despite being one eyed, was one of the greatest rulers of all times and to imagine someone so relevant as a mere stepping stone on Alexandre's path to greatness is absolute tomfoolery.
Phillip excelled in strategy, logistics and in the development of tactics and capabilities, all to most uncanny degree, whereas his son was as much a formidable conqueror as he was utterly incapable of holding on to any of his winnings.
No amount of tactical prowess on the battlefield could have ever filled his fathers shoes, that is why Alexandre conquered as much land as he could, because he himself felt this which I say, that "Phillip was far greater than Alexandre could ever hope to be".
I think he was most likely by but it's also possible that he was just so how you say, anything with a pulse, that it didn't matter what gender they were
Cuz that's also been a thing in history especially with powerful rulers that they're just so lustful they don't care what gender you are
Gotta do Shogun!
I know not everyone will agree, but there *have* been good docudramas- the best one I have seen was about Nancy Wake
Good luck in Peru! I’m Peruvian myself! Enjoy the amazing food and archeological remains! Any suggestions, reach out!!!
The "docu-drama" doing neither is on purpose...
25:39 padrino porque esta en español esa parte?🤨
If you come to germany come visit Augsburgs Golden Haal, its pure Gold and augsburg is the city of the Renaissance
When you say "different experts in the field" are they all actual experts this time around or do we have more cases of "my grandmother told me so" kind of hacks mixed in again?
OH god what did they do how bad did they cock it up?!?!?!?!
So…. Netflix made a Gaia TV Classic with this one.
Alexander's father is Ptolemy? First time hearing that one. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It's useless to talk about Alexander and Hephaestion as boyfriends or even lovers. Where they sexuality intimate in addition to emotionally intimate? Quite probably. But saying they are gay or were a couple is imposing our own normative values regarding sex and relationships on people living over 2500 years ago.
The fact this show had a 5/10 on indb is crazy
Your coming to MY city? I hope you'll enjoy your time here at the foot of the alps!
Is there a way to actually meet you for a walk around town if I live in Vienna. since you are visiting :)
I didn't think it was that bad. Pretty mid though, plenty of small inaccuracies but it generally traced his story in a very simplified way, it overvalued the importance of Egypt as well, going so far as have Alexander battle wearing a Pharaohs helmet, though he would have likely worn Egyptian apparel for the ceremony at Siwa. Still, i found it a 5/10 pushing for a 6/10 but not quite there. Big improvement over Cleopatra however.
Oh and they desperately try to argue it wasn't the case but Darius was a coward!
Just keep Netflix away from Ancient Mediterranean History! Seriously, they suck at it.
Keep Netflix Away from history in general
@@MrPlainsflyer But I want to see the Netflix version of The Right Stuff where the black female astronauts were launch to the moon in a capsule fired from a giant cannon built by WW2 veterans who begged to be allowed to hammer-forge the steel with their bare hands so that their wives would finally treat them with a bare scrap of respect.
@@MonkeyJedi99 🤣🤣🤣
Awww. Yeah next year probably
The problem was showing Alexander in a sexual scene isn't whether Alexander had been in a sexual scene but that they open with this. That is definitely making a statement. And it's a statement that doesn't need to be emphasized. And especially when they don't in any way show that even if he had been intimate with another man, this wasn't exactly abnormal at that time. Not in the least. It would not make him homosexual or even necessarily bisexual. You cannot apply our terms and our situations to the past. Especially the distant past
What if Alexander and Darius kissed at Gaugamela?
😳👉👈
Alex would then Conquer Darius. He would Conquer him hard, slowly at first then gradually faster.
@@MrPlainsflyer That would be even a greater conquest than the one in battle I am not gonna lie.
The Metatron did a really good video on the sexuality of Alexander the Great
Man more people need to give Philip the credit he deserves, atleast get his looks right. Macedon would not have been able to achieve Alexander's goal without Philip. SMH.
I understand the reason for the headwraps, so you can see who is macadonian and who is Persian
But it's lazy! We know how the Persians dressed, from all the artefacts - is it so much harder to just replicate what's there, in the historical record?
Off topic from Alexander but are there any books on Roman history that you would recommend? I've got to dive back into the subject and it's been too long since I was working on a degree in the subject.
Power and Folly: The story of the Caesars
I miss when documentaries like WW2 in color and the civil war was made.
Alexander's father was Phillip NOT Ptolemy. Blind leading the blind.
He's stakuyi he learns it so you don't have to
Who was his father?
I thought the ottoman one with Mehmed vs Vlad Dracul was pretty good. Also, the Russian one with Rasputin wasn't bad at all. Haven't seen This one yet, how. Bad can it be?
Son of Zeus? Please. He was the son of Parmenion.
Man I'd love to do larp with you my friend, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut not in the US and no car... :/
Nothing to do with Alexander BUT I love Netflix recomendations jejeje 1:04
Alexander's father was named Philip, not Ptolemy. However, it was probably just an in-the-moment oversight on account of your agitation. And the area of Epirus was called Molossia at the time.
By "Ptolemy, father of Alexander" you mean the brother of Olympia so grandfather to OUR Alexander right ?
From what I can tell the first time someone in history said Alexander was gay was over 400 years later and was a Roman historian. There aren't any contemporary sources that say he had any male lovers.
We don't know. Most likely, he was bisexual, but the problem with Alexander is that everyone had an opinion of him. From the Indians like Maurya, the Jews and Arabs, and the Carthaginians and Romans, there are so many people who had their opinions on him that it was basically impossible for a truly complete history to be written. What we can say for certain is that the practice of homosexuality was fairly common throughout Greece and Rome, and many other cultures in the region. Only the Jews were explicitly heterosexual by culture, as the Biblical definition of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. I don't know of any other culture that had a prohibition on homosexuality, and Macedon definitely had no such prohibition.
That's because there aren't any contemporary sources.
Amazingly all we know about Alexander comes from Roman - era writers.
@@alanpennie
They were most likely going off of earlier sources, that haven't come down to us- but it's always important to know, for context & to keep potential biases in mind.
@@OcarinaSapphr-
I agree.
The consensus appears to be that *the Alexander historians* are reasonably reliable.
Lacunae of this kind are unfortunately quite common in the history of antiquity.
why would you do this to yourself after napoleon? oh right...us, thank you for your sacrifice.
Honestly why does it matter just tell the story as accurately as possible if he was gay then do what just tell his history
Recent searches: avatar the last airbender.
I recently started watching again for the who knows how many times now.
I am a very keen student of the history of Alexander the Great and was quite looking forward to this series, I was not expecting much from it, as any film, semidocumentary as this one is or documentary and even though now having far more money in numbers, locations and costumes are pretty dire now. BUT this one, is so 'bad', the acting is DREADFUL, it is like watching a school play. Most of all the person chosen to be Alexander has zero charisma, presence or shows any ability to display leadership traits and having served in the military I believe that is something I know about. It also is so painfully slow in its delivery, as if it was made for children of low ability and understanding. I have enough, I won't be watching any more.
Sexuality appears to have been part of life in ancient times in greece/rome. I mean just seems they didnt care as much as modern chritian purity b.s. does
Netflix docuseries and indian BJP govt are same , both rewriting history.
Greeks being mad about someone being gay or bi? Everybody, keep quiet! Don't tell them about....well, like half of ancient Greece.
I love how you won't play clips because youtube might smite you, while iilluminaughii built her entire channel off of stealing from others and was able to profit massively off it.
Yesssss
He looks nothing like Patton
Any historical person's sexually is the least important thing about them. I don't care if its depicted. I just don't think its important
The residents of Sodom and Gommorrah would like to have a word with you. 😂
I just imagine someone on the netflix team will say something like "well the greeks were all very gay, we know this, so i believe its not out of the question that Alexander had gay lovers and was also himself gay."
And ill just have to roll my eyes and refer to those on TH-cam whove debunked the "greeks were gay" myth in academia.
Edit: i was right. Lmao.
Alexander the gay -netflix
Love your channel, but there is no textual evidence that Alexander was in a homosexual romantic relationship.
When he mourned the death of his friend, it was customary in Greece to mourn for days. This is the one thing I've seen said multiple times online to prove that he was in a relationship with that person, but that doesn't prove it, it at most could be hinting at it, but to me even that is a stretch.
I could also be wrong, but I havent found anything directly saying that he was romantically involved with men. If anyone has I would of course be willing to change my mind.
It is modern imposition of ideology on a time, place and people when they did not exist. "Homosexuality" is a modern invention. The acts were considered practical and had nothing romantic (yet again a fairly modern invention) about them. The dominant partner would take advantage of the subordinate for release. Being the dominant partner was important and it is unlikely the heir to the throne would have allowed himself to be used if for no other reason than the political consequences of positioning himself as a subordinate to anyone.
The word itself is, but the generally negative connotation goes back to the Bronze Age, with the Israelite conquest of Canaan and the founding of Judaism. The legend of Sodom and Gommorrah being incinerated by boiling oil and all that. The Jews differentiated themselves from surrounding cultures in several ways, but sexual purity was among the most enduring.
It's plausible either way, but you're certainly right that homosexuality is very modern. What would now be considered bisexuality seems very old though, see Sodom and Gommorragh. It's also blatantly obvious that the only reason Netflix is promoting such a thing is because they want to promote sexual immorality.
I see no problem with you just saying Germany, Germany and Austria are basically the same, the Austrians are just to proud to admit it 😂