Alexander the Great
UFO Encounters

"329 BC Alexander the Great records two great silver shields, spitting fire around the rims in the sky that dived repeatedly at his army as they were attempting a river crossing. The action so panicked his elephants, horses, and men they had to abandon the river crossing until the following day."

"Frank Edwards, a prolific UFO reporter, in 'Stranger than Science'  quotes  an undisclosed source when he makes the following claim ...

 "Alexander the Great was not the first to see them nor was he the first to find them troublesome. He tells of two strange craft that dived repeatedly at his army until the war elephants, the men, and the horses all panicked and refused to cross the river where the incident occurred. What did the things look like? His historian describes them as great shining silvery shields, spitting fire around the rims... things that came from the skies and returned to the skies."

The reliability and integrity of Frank Edwards has been called into question by several scholars on a number of topics. In particular Author Irving Wallace and his research team who have compiled and published The Peoples Almanac, among other works . They were unable to substantiate many of Frank Edwards fantastic claims on various topics.

Frank Edwards cites that Alexander's Historian  "describes them as great shining silvery shields, spitting fire around the rims... things that came from the skies and returned to the skies." Alexander the Greats Court Historian was Callisthenes, a Nephew of Aristotle who was later executed on Alexander's orders. Some of his works have survived fragmentarily and in condensed forms See Penguin Classics "The Greek Alexander Romance (Penguin Classics)"   and  :The history of Alexander the Great..."   there is no clue in either of these works as to where Edwards may have obtained his information. [It is probable that Callisthenes did not actually write these works, and are most likely reworks of his writings by a mystery writer[s] of the 3rd or 4th Century commonly referred to as pseudo-Callisthenes.]

"332 BC Phoenicia, Tyre, a city-state. During a siege by the Greeks a fleet of flying shields is described as plunging from the sky and breaching the city walls. "

The following translation is from "Gods and Spacemen In Greece and Rome"  by W. Raymond Drake.  Drake cites Alberto Fenoglio^[1], who claims that he drew his information from a work by Johann Gustavo Droysen , 1808–1884.  Droysen, was a respected German Historian, his book on Alexander the Great [Geschichte Alexanders des Großen. ] is considered by many to be the best modern era work on the subject of Alexander.

"The fortress would not yield, its walls were fifty feet high and constructed so solidly that no siege-engine was able to damage it. The Tyrians disposed of the greatest technicians and builders of war-machines of the time and they intercepted in the air the incendiary arrows and projectiles hurled by the catapults on the city.   ..One day suddenly there appeared over the Macedonian camp these "flying shields", as they had been called, which flew in triangular formation led by an exceedingly large one, the others were smaller by almost a half. In all there were five. The unknown chronicler narrates that they circled slowly over Tyre while thousands of warriors on both sides stood and watched them in astonishment. Suddenly from the largest "shield" came a lightning-flash that struck the walls, these crumbled, other flashes followed and walls and towers dissolved, as if they had been built of mud, leaving the way open for the besiegers who poured like an avalanche through the breeches. The "flying shields" hovered over the city until it was completely stormed then they very swiftly disappeared aloft, soon melting into the blue sky."

 

This is a fascinating tale , if True, unfortunately, it is probably poppycock. There is no English language translation of the scholarly work by Droysen to verify the cited content.  Albert Fenoglio, from who Drake drew his data is a charlatan who has been known to have fabricated a number of UFO tales.

The Life and Deeds of Alexander the Great p. 70 records the conquest of Tyre, and states only that "they opened the gates of the city by night, entered and killed the guards ...sacked the whole city and leveled it to its foundations... "

Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, drawing on earlier Greek sources, describes a slightly differing version of the fall of Tyre in  The History of Alexander (Penguin Classics)

 "...The king himself climbed the highest siege-tower [which was full of catapults and other siege-engines]. His courage was great, but the danger greater for, conspicuous in his royal insignia and flashing armor, he was the prime target of enemy missiles. And his actions in the engagement were certainly spectacular. He transfixed with his spear many of the defenders on the walls, and some he threw headlong after striking them in hand-to-hand combat with his sword or shield, for the tower from which he fought practically abutted the enemy walls.


By now the repeated battering of the rams had loosened the joints in the stones and the defensive walls had fallen; the fleet had entered the port; and some Macedonians had made their way on to the towers the enemy had abandoned . The Tyrians were crushed by so many simultaneous reverses. Some sought refuge in the temples as suppliants while others locked their doors and anticipated the enemy by a death of their own choosing. Others again charged into the enemy, determined that their deaths should count for something. But the majority took to the rooftops, showering stones and whatever happened to be to hand on the approaching Macedonians...."    [Translation by John Yardley.]

 

Arrian of Nicomedia, a Greek historian, military commander and philosopher wrote the Anabasis of Alexander (History of Alexander and Indica), Books I-IV , nowhere does he mention - flying shields

The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote a Library of world history in forty books;  the conquests of Alexander is contained within his works - no flying shields.

The Greek historian Plutarch of Chaeronea wrote  On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander the Great - no flying shields

The Roman historian Justin wrote also wrote a history of Alexander - no flying shields
 

 [1] "Cronistoria su oggetti volanti del passato - Appunti per una clipeostoria",
 

 Gordon Creighton, "Flying Saucer Review,",  vol. 16, No. 1, Jan-Feb 1970, pp. 26-28:

THE CATALOGUE-(i) B.C. TO 1946 A.D.
1. Middle East (_Reign of Alexander the Great_, 356-323 B.C.) A historian of the reign of Alexander the Great allegedly tells of two strange craft that dived repeatedly at his army, until the war elephants, the men, and all the horses panicked and refused to cross the river where the incident occurred... The historian describes the objects as "great shining silvery shields,
spitting fire around the rims... things that came from the skies and returned to the skies." Frank Edwards: 'Stranger than Science' (See notes.) (Pan Books, London), p. 198.