I stayed up too late last night reading--I knew I had to get up around 10:30 for Church, but alas I wanted to finish Homer's "Catalog of Ships" (from the Illiad).  This part of his book explains who all the generals were who fought in the Trojan War: the most famous of which is Achilles, who led the ferocious Myrmidons.  Part of the reason I stayed up so late, and ended up sleeping in,was because I had to locate where all of the generals had come from: (is it possible to end that sentence without a preposition?)  Achilles was from the location right around Thermopylae, the site of the Spartan 300's last stand against the Persians.  As I read about Achilles, I could not help but to think about all of the similarities that he has with Alexander the Great.  It is as if the story of Achilles was a prophecy of Alexander; Homer wrote the Illiad ca. 800 BC, Alexander conquered the world ca. 320's BC.  Alexander loved Achilles; he is said to have slept with the Illiad under his pillow.  Perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy: A great warrior from Greece is destined to Conquer the East but die young.  When Alexander was my age, he had already defeated the Persian emperor twice and battle and was the Lord of Asia (i.e. the Persian Empire).  Both he and Jesus died about the same age, ca. 33.  I don't have long left if I am to conquer the world like Alexander.  However, his empire crumbled upon his death.    Jesus had a more effective approach: he conquered the world after he died.