Evening Star Newspaper, September 28, 1931, Page 28

ALEXANDER TOMB SEARCH PLANNED Discoverer of King Tut’s Grave to Hunt Remains of Conqueror. BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT. Howard Carter, the discoverer of the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen in Egypt, is about to undertake the search for the last resting place of Alexander the QGreat, according to reports published abroad. Acting on the theory that Alexander is identical with the Zul-Karnein of Arabic history, Mr. Carter plans to look for his tomb in Solior Pompeiopolis, Minor. He belleves that he will find the object of his quest intact. Soli is a very ancient site on the coast of Cilicia, between the rivers Lamus and Pyramus, The town was founded by colonists from Argos in Greece and Lindus in Rhodes, and is first mentioned in connection with the expedition of the younger Cyrus. Pros- perous and populous for generations, it 'was destroyed by Tigranes in the Mith- radatic war. Pompey rebuilt and re- mamed the place and settled there many pirates he had captured. The city was cosmopolitan in character, and | the variety of Greek spoken within its boundaries was so imperfect that it gave rise to the term “solecism” which ‘we still employ. Ruins Now Quarry. Little remains of the town today; its ruins have been a quarry for many years for building materials for the modern city of Mersina, Mr. Carter will endeavor to find the relics of the Nebi-Daniel mosque which was erected on or near the site of a mosque named for Zul-Karnein. The researches of Prince Omar Toussoun and Prof. Breccia have furnished clues to the location. In recent years there have been no excavations at Spli, and Mr. Carter will have a virgin field in which to work. Should the present effort prove suc- cessful, the world will be given just such another view behind the scenes of an- cient history as it received when Mr. Carter disclosed the wonders of the mausoleum of the lorg dead Pharaoh seven vears ago. His new search will be watched with keen interest by the lay lic as well as by professional archeologists. ‘The name of Alexander still retains fts hold upon the imagination of man- kind. It is generally conceded that his s the most colorful and romantic figure of the period to which he belonged. His celebrity is international: he is ¢laimed by both East and West, and scores of legends center about his career. Of Mixed Temperament. Born in 356 B. C., he was the son of Philip II of Macedon and his wife, Olympias, an Epirote princess. “His father,” we are told, “was pre-eminent for practical genius: his mother was a ‘woman of half-wild blood, weird, vision- ary and terrible.” With this heredity, “Alexarder himself is singular among men of action for the imaginative Splendors which guided and | among romantic dreamers for the | things he achieved.” H. G. Wells says, “The strong sanity he inherited from his father made him a great soldier; | the teaching of Aristotle (who was his tutor for several years in his boyhood) had given him something of the scien- tific outlook upon the world. But also Alexander had the unstable emotional tiveness of his mother.” e key to his whole life is to be found, according to modern writers, in this mixed psychology; a struggle went on in his soul which now and again not be md‘:‘nwod'fih 5 was & Macedo- nian Hamlet, but his triumphs over 1f were more numerous than those | of the Danish prince immortalized by Shakespeare—he had the same unfor- | tunate lack of balance and when this is remembered his achievements take on a new significance. Alexander, Wells explains, was “a ly educated king; he was edu- cated for empire. * * * He was nursed into power. nerously and unsuspici- ously.” His father, “one of the great- x;aal;‘r:ll:. ll;f world has ever ses e policy to his son and e; trusted him with commands and a thority by the time he was 16. He led the cavairy against the Theban Sacred Band at the Battle of Chaeronea, in August, 338.° “The court at which he grew up was the focus of great activi- ties; the alr was charged with gmat ideas. * * * To unite the Greek race in a war against the Persian Empire was set up as the ultimate mark for embition, the theme of idealists.” Persia Menaced Greece, For generations the active threat of Persia had hung over Greece; to re- move that curse was the dream of the noblest leaders of the age. Ambition was not all that stimulated Philip to plan the invasion of the Persian realm and which after his 336 B. goaded LANSBURGH’S Christian German pilot, attended the service to | Rody. League founded by his father, and a mandate to wige & war of re % liberation and spoliation against e Persians.” This conflict has been discussed as naturally falling into two phases. The first, from 334 to 331, left Alexander in possession of all the lands around the Eastern Mediterranean included up to that time in Greek aspirations. “Not content with this, he succeeded in hurling the Persian King, Darius III, from his imperial throne and in as- serting his authority over all the Iranian peoples and the entire basin of the Indus.” The second phase, from 331 to 324, was a long enterprise of consolidation, exploration and man- agement, by means of which Alexander designed to “intermarry the East and the West” to form one great political and cultural structure under cenu-nl‘ control. In outline, the story of Alexander's endeavors may be sketched as follows: He crossed into Asia in 334, visited th site of Troy, defeated the Persians a the battle of Granicus, occupied Sardis, took Miletus, reduced Halicarnassus, cut ; the famous knot at Gordium, defeated Darfus at the battle of Issus in 333, took Tyre after a siege of seven months, took Gaza, occupled all Syria and Pal- estine, gained Egypt without fighting, founded the city of Alexandria, again defeated Darius at the battle of Arbela in 331, occupled Babylonia, took Susa, Persepolis and Ecbatana; crossed the Hindu Kush into Bactria, passed into the Punjab in 327, defeated the native Prince Porus at the battle of the Hy- daspes in 326, turned back when his Macedonians refused to go farther, rested at Susa, planned an exploration of the waterways around his empire and prepared a fleet to sail in June, 323. He was in the full flower of his genius as a_master of war and states- manship when fate wrote a sudden “finis” to the tale. He developed & fever and died June 13 or 28, 323. Re Was just 33 years old. Map Shows Triumphs. A glimpse at the map of Asia dem- onstrates the full grandeur of the task | he undertook 'and the full value of the work he accomplished. It was the greatest achievement of its kind in the history of the human race until the time of Julius Caesar (100-44 B. C.). Conventional historians in later days spoke of Alexander as having failed. His empire, " they said, fell to pieces when he disappeared from the scene. But in the wrting of competent co- temporary judges he is more justly es- timated. “The conquests of Alexan- der,” according to these authorities, “prepared the way for larger world unity by breaking down existent states. They permitted the expansion of the Greeks into the East.” They terminated the threat of Persia and decided the question of whether the civilization of Europe should be Eastern in character or Western. “The monarchy of Alex- ander * * * was actually one'all-embrac- ing autocracy. By divorcing government from self-government, it facilitated nu of Rome. * * * r “By uniting Europe and Asia in one denationalized political world the con- quests of Alexander favored the rise and spread of the religious ideas which ultimately found expression in Chris- tianity.” Wells remarks, “The career of Alexander . . . was not so much an end as a beginning: it was the first rev- elation to the human imagination of the oncwiess of human affairs. Before Alexander was dead and much more after he was dead and there had been time to think him over, the conception of a world law and organization was a practicable and assimilable idea for the minds of men.” He was thus a factor in the creation of the psychology of cosmopolitanism and international har- mony which motivates the League of Nations, the World Court and other enterprises toward world peace in our own era. Handicaps Great. Dead for 2,254 years, Alexander's legend marches on, and there will be many who will wish Mr. Carter well in his endeavor to cross the centuries and find the spot where rest the ashes of the hero. The difficulties of his quest are numerous and obvious. We are re- minded of the phrases which Shakes- peare wrote for the lips of the Prince of Denmark: “To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagi- nation trace the noble dust of Alexan- der, till we find it stopping a bung- hole?” Mere imagination will avail Mr Carter little, but modern science may help. In any case, the search has its value. It is part of the function of archeology to relate the world of today with its past, and the practical utflity of Mr. Carter’s earlier work has been made amply clear by the applause with which his discoveries in Egypt have been received. Rody Calls Rescue NEW YORK (/).—Willy Rody, who, with two companions, dropped into the sea near the end of an attempted trans- atlantic flight and survived six days of buffeting, believes their rescue was “a miracle of faith.” The prayers of the Portuguese, Fer- nando da Costa Viega, Rody said at “thanksgiving service,” kept hope alive for the three men. Johlnln"l;’. t] 7th, 8th and E Sts.—NAtional 9800 No Connection With Any Other Washington Store Miss Ethel A Representative Corporation of America Will Be in Our Drapery Section— Tuesday and Wednesday She Will Demonstrate The Decorative Possibilities The unrivaled richness of for the most discriminating shopper the question of drapery material to create the atmosphere of in- New Celanese taffetas, permanent moires and Ninon gauzes are the center of interest dividual charm. this season. Celanese Is Ideally Suited to Foresman of the Celanese of Celanese Celanese weaves, solves Drapery Fabric Because 1. They do not stretch or shrink. 2. They’re free from loading. 3. They’re easily washed and cleaned. 4. Rain or steam will not demage them. 5. Hang true without weights. 6. Do not absorb dirt and dust. 7. Colors are absolutely fast. DRAPERIES—FIFTH FLOOR. < THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, SEP&‘EMBER 28, 1931 Tall feathers add height to the newest hat fashions. The old - fashion Tippet comes back on coats. The draped tur- returning Corduroy jersey is sportswear’ est woolen. are in y with the Handbags follow the simple and nar- A row lines of chic. The Victorian bustle sways into the 1931 mode. Satin blouses are Fur Apron drapery of Big, " femis , frilly and 1878 reappears for lan Fall. broad, rag- shoulders are much in vogue. for sports. Regal Mink with all its stately dignity forms the massive collar and huge cuffs of this hand- sign beaded in some ‘coat of a white and ‘studded rough boucle 3 woolen. $115 That late after- of black After Vionnet's lovely cross - back evening gown! Moulded "of shim- mering satin in the The animal col- Even lar of genuine fox swirls in the ‘“Lei” fashion and buttons to the side to affect a higher waistline. One of our newer coats. sportswe: shows a romantic influence. This model of corduroy jersey shows the puffed sleeves and smartest of all scalloped opening. shades, Patou honey. $25 - $3950 sleev and yoke of sheer chif- fon with daisy de- $125 Living Model Fashion Revue Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 P.M. Presenting the Outstanding Fashions for Fall and Winter 1931-32 What a fascinating season it promises to be, with fashions inspired by the glamorous Empress Eugenie, the romantic Crinoiine Days and the Victorian Era! Come, see them tomorrow, actually worn by living thodels! And along with these new 1931-32 fashions ‘we are present- ing many lovely costumes from out of the past, that you may see what it was that influenced Paris to do such lovely things to the new mode! Fashion Shop—Second Floor LANSBURGH’S 7th, 8th and E Sts.—NAtional 9800 No Connection With Any Other Washington Store Buckles and high heels are truly Em. press Eug Elbow bands are A s o0p histicated dr traight iy A b i f the persion of the neck. Graceful open shank slippers for romantic clothes. is mould ning. jackets re- turn spotted or plain ering satin for eve- Sports coats look rough, nubby and hand-loomed. B closings have taken a fresh slant on life. Miniature jewelry returns for romantie the sid izing li (] induces the mew fgr ure lines. Novelty trimmed gloves threaten re- vival for daytime, 9 There are dark shadows in the new Fall hosiery. & Wrist length . ’Lwn are newest evening.