Many once-glorious nations and civilizations had declined for all sorts of reasons, even disappearing forever.
Greece, Rome, the Byzantine Empire, Babylon, Egypt, and so on were examples. The story of Cleopatra and Caesar was familiar to everyone, yet she had been the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty. Her death marked the end of the age of Egyptian pharaohs. After her death, Octavian declared Egypt a province of Rome, and the heirs to the Ptolemaic throne were soon all murdered.
Relying on others was ultimately inferior to relying on oneself. Yet Cleopatra had already done all that a woman could possibly do. In Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Djed Pillar represented men, symbolizing stability and the backbone; in Western culture, Mars, represented by a shield and spear, stood for men.
When faced with the chaos brought by war, if the Djed Pillar could not remain stable and fell, then the world it held up would collapse along with it. If Ptolemy XIII had been a reliable pillar, why would his royal sister have needed to rule Egypt in his place?
War was unlike floods or droughts. When commoners heard that a great army was approaching, they would flee with all their possessions. Sometimes, once they fled, they never returned. Once-prosperous cities would become almost empty, taking many years to recover.
But sometimes commoners would not flee, because they had heard that the arriving army had come to liberate them from their former rulers. Not only would they stay, they would open the city gates and line the streets to welcome them. To soldiers who had endured a great war, that sight and feeling were the finest comfort.
What man did not want to be a hero?
Hollywood movies were always about Americans saving the world. It was as if, if Americans