In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

1998 British TV series or programme

In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great

Genre| Documentary
Written by| Michael Wood
Directed by| David Wallace
Presented by| Michael Wood
Composer| John Eacott
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of series| 1
No. of episodes| 4
Production
Executive producers| Leo Eaton (PBS)
Laurence Rees (BBC)
Producer| Rebecca Dobbs
Cinematography| Peter Harvey
Linette Frewin
Alistair Cameron
Peter Jeuvenal
Running time| 57-60 minutes
Production company| Maya Vision International
Original release
Network| BBC2
Release| 14 July (1998-07-14) –
4 August 1998 (1998-08-04)

In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great is a BBC documentary television series, first shown in 1998. Written and presented by historian and broadcaster Michael Wood,[1] it retraced the travels of Alexander the Great, from Macedonia to the borders of India and back to Mesopotamia.[2][3]

## Production

[edit]

Wood was prevented by the government of Greece from interviewing Eugene N. Borza, a professor specializing in the history of Macedonia, anywhere within Greece, apparently because of Borza's controversial[4] views on the ethnic differences between the Greeks and Macedonians in ancient times.[5]

## Episodes

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Episode one: Son of God

Macedonia to Turkey

First broadcast on BBC2 on 14 July 1998[6]

Episode two: Lord of Asia

Zagros to Persepolis

First broadcast on BBC2 on 21 July 1998[7]

Episode three: Across the Hindu Kush

The golden road to Samarkand

First broadcast on BBC2 on 28 July 1998[8][9]

Episode four: To The Ends of the Earth

Pakistan to Babylon

First broadcast on BBC2 on 4 August 1998

## Broadcast and release

[edit]

The series was broadcast in the United States on PBS on 4 and 5 May 1998.[10]

The series was released on DVD by BBC Worldwide,[11] and on DVD by PBS Home Video in 2004.[12]

## Reception

[edit]

In an article published in Summer 1998, Eugene N. Borza expressed approval of the series but was unhappy with the accompanying book.[13]

## Book

[edit]

The book In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia, by Michael Wood, is a companion to the television series. It was published, by the University of California Press in Berkeley and Los Angeles, by Routledge in New York, in 1997.[14]

The book was ranked fifth in the original non-fiction section of the Bookwatch bestsellers list published in The Independent on 14 August 1998, and was included in the lists published on 28 August and 18 September 1998.[15]

## See also

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* In the Footsteps of Marco Polo

## References

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* K R Moore (ed). Brill's Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great. (Brill's Companions to Classical Reception, vol 14). Brill. Leiden and Boston. 2018. pp 707 & 708
* John Leonard, "Smart Alex", New York Magazine, 4 May 1998
* Don Heckman, "PBS Deftly Traces Epic Life of Alexander the Great", Los Angeles Times, 4 May 1998
* Tom Huntington, "Multi-Media Review: In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great", HistoryNet, 19 August 2000
* "In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great", Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, 3 May 1998

1. ^ Top Documentaries: In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. Accessed 17 February 2013
2. ^ Michael Wood: In the Footsteps of Alexander The Great - A Journey from Greece to Asia
3. ^ Amazon. Accessed 18 February 2013
4. ^ Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (7 July 2011). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. John Wiley & Sons. p. 586\. ISBN 978-1-4443-5163-7.
5. ^ Joseph Roisman (16 December 2002). Brill's Companion to Alexander the Great. BRILL. p. 359\. ISBN 978-90-04-21755-3.
6. ^ For reviews of this episode, see Peter Waymark, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great" in "Television Choice: Of tears and somersaults", The Times, 14 July 1998, p 46; and Peter Barnard, "Some talk of Alexander, some of Cecil Gee", The Times, 15 July 1998, p 47.
7. ^ The Times, 21 July 1998, p 43. The Independent, 21 July 1998, "The Tuesday Review" section, 21 July 1998, p 20
8. ^ For a review of this episode, see Nancy Banks-Smith, "Well, that's poetry that is", The Guardian Weekly, Volume 159, Number 6, 9 August 1998, p 26.
9. ^ The Times, 28 July 1998, p 47
10. ^ Walter Goodman, "Traveling Many Miles to Ask What Made Alexander Great", The New York Times, 4 May 1998, Section E, p 8
11. ^ For a review of the DVD, see Casey Burchby, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great", DVD Talk, 25 May 2010
12. ^ Skelton and Dell. Empire of Alexander the Great. Revised Edition. Chelsea House. 2009. p 143
13. ^ (1998) 75 The Classical Outlook 139 (No 4, Summer 1998) (American Classical League, New York University)
14. ^ For reviews of this book see, Janet Grossman, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great", Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 4 May 1998; Andrea Berlin, "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great" in "Reviews" (1999) 62 Near Eastern Archaeology 58 (No 1); P Green, "Book Reviews" (1999) Current Contents 132; E N Borza, "Book Reviews" (1999) Current Contents 60; (1999) JACT Review 24; and "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great", Publishers Weekly; "In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great", Kirkus. For other commentary on this book, see Rupert Matthews, Alexander the Great at the Battle of Granicus, Spellmount, 2008, p 249.
15. ^ "Books: Bestsellers", The Independent, 14 August 1998; "Books: Best-sellers", The Independent, 28 August 1998; "Books: Best-sellers", The Independent, 18 September 1998.

## External links

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* In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great at BBC Online
* In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great at IMDb

*[No.]: Number