The Battle at Thermopylae, or the 300 as it appeared in recent cinema media, is often touted as how the west defended itself, or Hellenic culture from the onslaught of eastern barbarism. Yet soon after Thermopylae during the Pellopennesian War the Spartans kept their alliance against the Athenians alive with Persian money. It makes political sense, the two naval powers in the Middle East at the time were Athens and Persia.

Alexander's expansion from Macedon into Persia shows a similar pattern of ethnogenesis.

While Alexander trained Iranians in the latest Macedonian fighting techniques and technologies he also co-opted the Persian administrative structures and technologies to run his new Empire from the Danube to the Indus Valley. He established Macedonian satraps in Macedon as well as keeping in place Persian satraps in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The Roman Consul Crassus was probably not happy with the Parthians gaining access to Hellenic fighting techniques as the Persians proved a thorn in Rome's side many years later after Alexander's Empire had been replaced by the Roman Empire.

Once again we see cultural osomosis and ethnogenesis being more important for human progression and endeavour than cultural purity or isolation. One example of complete cultural isolation we have is the Tasmanian Aboriginies. They actually went backwards and lost as well as forgot technologies and cultural memory. The absence of cultural ethnogenesis actually forces human regression.

The grand narrative of history is popular. But when you see big statements like, "how the west was saved" you can cough BS with confidence. Human history is not that neat or saleably dramatic.

More Reading on Alexander the great

• Alexander the Great
• Persia
• Hellenism
• Cultural Ethnogenesis
• Cultural Osmosis
• Persian-Hellenic Ethnogenesis