[68] At the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordium, Alexander "undid" the hitherto unsolvable Gordian Knot, a feat said to await the future "king of Asia". Therefore, since his feet did not reach its lowest step, one of the royal pages placed a table under his feet. [31], Philip and his army joined his son in 338 BC, and they marched south through Thermopylae, taking it after stubborn resistance from its Theban garrison. [153][162], Alexander's sexuality has been the subject of speculation and controversy in modern times. Plutarch's account is that roughly 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained admiral Nearchus and spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa. [143] During his visit to Pasargadae, Alexander ordered his architect Aristobulus to decorate the interior of the sepulchral chamber of Cyrus's tomb. [208][209][210] In The Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian is quoted as saying, "he had one eye dark as the night, and one blue as the sky". [275] Several Buddhist traditions may have been influenced by the ancient Greek religion: the concept of Boddhisatvas is reminiscent of Greek divine heroes,[278] and some Mahayana ceremonial practices (burning incense, gifts of flowers, and food placed on altars) are similar to those practised by the ancient Greeks; however, similar practices were also observed amongst the native Indic culture. [304] In Islamic Persia, under the influence of the Alexander Romance (in Persian: Iskandarnamah), a more positive portrayal of Alexander emerges. Alexander responded quickly and drove them from their territory. [29], At the age of 16, Alexander's education under Aristotle ended. He is described as having one eye light and one eye dark. Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River (Beas), refusing to march farther east. [270] Alexander sought to insert Greek elements into Persian culture and to hybridize Greek and Persian culture, homogenizing the populations of Asia and Europe. [271], The core of the Hellenistic culture promulgated by the conquests was essentially Athenian. [30], Upon Philip's return, Alexander was dispatched with a small force to subdue the revolts in southern Thrace. "[123] A similar slaughter followed at Ora. Due to the demand of his homesick troops, he eventually turned back at the Beas River and later died in 323 BC in Babylon, the city of Mesopotamia that he had planned to establish as his empire's capital. Earlier portraits of Alexander, in heroic style, look more mature than the portraits made after his death, such as this example. [198], The Alexander Mosaic and contemporary coins portray Alexander with "a straight nose, a slightly protruding jaw, full lips and eyes deep set beneath a strongly pronounced forehead". [62] Antipater referred the Spartans' punishment to the League of Corinth, which then deferred to Alexander, who chose to pardon them. Below is a coin with the face of Alexander the Great, depicting the king with the lion's scalp on his head. After the assassination of Perdiccas in 321BC, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40years of war between "The Successors" (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into three stable power blocs: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria and East, and Antigonid Macedonia. The Greek cities on the western coast of Anatolia revolted until the news arrived that Philip had been murdered and had been succeeded by his young son Alexander. This was a sign of Caracalla's increasingly erratic behaviour. Macedonian silver tetradrachm with Alexander the Great wearing Lion's Scalp On August 2, 338 BC, the Macedonians defeated the Greeks at Chaeronea in central Greece and conquered their country. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars broke out across the Macedonian Empire, eventually leading to its disintegration at the hands of the Diadochi. [106] This was one aspect of Alexander's broad strategy aimed at securing the aid and support of the Iranian upper classes. [9][10] He was the son of the erstwhile king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias (daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus). It is also known as the Macedonian Star, Macedonian Sun, Sun of Vergina, and Star of Vegina, after Macedonian royal tombs. Alexander the Great appears in Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism. There he was shown the chariot of the ancient founder of the city, Gordius, with its yoke lashed to the pole by means of an intricate knot with its end hidden. Heracles and Zeus were important deities for the Macedonians, with Heracles considered to be the ancestor of the Temenid dynasty and Zeus the patron of the main Macedonian sanctuary, Dium. [144] Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortly after Hephaestion. "[55] At Corinth, Alexander took the title of Hegemon ("leader") and, like Philip, was appointed commander for the coming war against Persia. [293], Caracalla's mania for Alexander went so far that Caracalla visited Alexandria while preparing for his Persian invasion and persecuted philosophers of the Aristotelian school based on a legend that Aristotle had poisoned Alexander. 505.38 NOK (20% off) Silver Coin Pendant - Alexander the Great - 925 Sterling Silver 336-323 BC. Alexander endeavored to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea" and invaded India in 326 BC, achieving an important victory over Porus, an ancient Indian king of present-day Punjab, at the Battle of the Hydaspes. "[300], In the first centuries after Alexander's death, probably in Alexandria, a quantity of the legendary material coalesced into a text known as the Alexander Romance, later falsely ascribed to Callisthenes and therefore known as Pseudo-Callisthenes. The reason is that Alexander the Great wasand still isa powerful symbol of power, military genius, and conquest, whether or not this description of him is historically accurate. Apart from a few inscriptions and fragments, texts written by people who actually knew Alexander or who gathered information from men who served with Alexander were all lost. ", Peter Turchin, Thomas D. Hall and Jonathan M. Adams, ", Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, pp 158. [113] Alexander sent back vast sums from his conquest, which stimulated the economy and increased trade across his empire. [66] Alexander left the government of Caria to a member of the Hecatomnid dynasty, Ada, who adopted Alexander. [22], During his youth, Alexander was also acquainted with Persian exiles at the Macedonian court, who received the protection of Philip II for several years as they opposed Artaxerxes III. Alexander died a mysterious death at the age of 32 in Babylon in 323 BC. Several fictitious letters, some perhaps based on actual letters, made their way into the Romance tradition. At first, the cities must have been inhospitable, little more than defensive garrisons. Olympias had Cleopatra Eurydice, and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. The Alexander Romance, in particular, has had a significant impact on portrayals of Alexander in later cultures, from Persian to medieval European to modern Greek. Apelles, however, in painting him as wielder of the thunder-bolt, did not reproduce his complexion, but made it too dark and swarthy. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for some time. [211] However, some have denied this claim as being used to emphasise the otherworldly and heroic qualities of Alexander. [258], The eastern borders of Alexander's empire began to collapse even during his lifetime. [152] Early sources indicated Aristotle was considered a potential assassination plotter for rumors had it that he had not forgiven Alexander for the fall of his grand-uncle, Callisthenes, hence he was the one who supplied the poison to Cassander, Antipater's son, who then handed it to his younger brother, Iolaus, the wine-pourer of Alexander. [80] Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of his divinity. Alexander then marched for three days to the Danube, encountering the Getae tribe on the opposite shore. After the defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace. Alexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek: , romanized: Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC - 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. In the spring of 335BC, he advanced to suppress several revolts. . For other uses, see. Alexander was the first king to wear the royal diadem, a band of cloth tied around the hair that was to become the symbol of Hellenistic kingship. (721) 404.30 NOK. When Alexander learned about this, he was furious. [155] However, in a 2003 BBC documentary investigating the death of Alexander, Leo Schep from the New Zealand National Poisons Centre proposed that the plant white hellebore (Veratrum album), which was known in antiquity, may have been used to poison Alexander. AR tetradrachm. The elephant had gold rings around its tusks and an inscription was on them written in Greek: "Alexander the son of Zeus dedicates Ajax to the Helios" ( ). [78], Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator. Pompey the Great adopted the epithet "Magnus" and even Alexander's anastole-type haircut, and searched the conquered lands of the east for Alexander's 260-year-old cloak, which he then wore as a sign of greatness. [220] He had great self-restraint in "pleasures of the body", in contrast with his lack of self-control with alcohol. [15] Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception. In the aftermath of Massaga and Ora, numerous Assakenians fled to the fortress of Aornos. According to Diodorus, Alexander's last plans called for military expansion into the southern and western Mediterranean, monumental constructions, and the intermixing of Eastern and Western populations. [252], According to Diodorus Siculus, Alexander accumulated a harem in the style of Persian kings, but he used it rather sparingly, "not wishing to offend the Macedonians",[253] showing great self-control in "pleasures of the body". [124] Alexander was impressed by Porus's bravery, and made him an ally. The surface is in good condition with only minor abrasions. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander. [69] According to the story, Alexander proclaimed that it did not matter how the knot was undone and hacked it apart with his sword. [62] Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander's death. Persian coins continued to circulate in all the satrapies of the empire.[119]. [313] In medieval Europe, Alexander the Great was revered as a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes whose lives were believed to encapsulate all the ideal qualities of chivalry. There have been, since the time, many suspicions that Pausanias was actually hired to murder Philip. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander's force. [199][198] Nevertheless, Andrew Stewart highlights the fact that artistic portraits, not least because of who they are commissioned by, are always partisan, and that artistic portrayals of Alexander "seek to legitimize him (or, by extension, his Successors), to interpret him to their audiences, to answer their critiques, and to persuade them of his greatness", and thus should be considered within a framework of "praise and blame", in the same way sources such as praise poetry are. [284] Polybius began his Histories by reminding Romans of Alexander's achievements, and thereafter Roman leaders saw him as a role model. Alexander then led the League of Corinth, and used his authority to launch the pan-Hellenic project envisaged by his father, assuming leadership over all Greeks in their conquest of Persia.[5][6]. In 336 he sent Parmenion, with Amyntas, Andromenes and Attalus, and an army of 10,000 men into Anatolia to make preparations for an invasion. The Theban resistance was ineffective, and Alexander razed the city and divided its territory between the other Boeotian cities. [102] Pierre Briant explains that Alexander realized that it was insufficient to merely exploit the internal contradictions within the imperial system as in Asia Minor, Babylonia or Egypt; he also had to (re)create a central government with or without the support of the Iranians. [56], Before crossing to Asia, Alexander wanted to safeguard his northern borders. [195], At Issus in 333 BC, his first confrontation with Darius, he used the same deployment, and again the central phalanx pushed through. [146] There are two different versions of Alexander's death, differing slightly in details. Writing shortly after Alexander's death, Onesicritus invented a tryst between Alexander and Thalestris, queen of the mythical Amazons. [245] The Roman era writer Athenaeus says, based on the scholar Dicaearchus, who was Alexander's contemporary, that the king "was quite excessively keen on boys", and that Alexander kissed the eunuch Bagoas in public. [223], Alexander was erudite and patronized both arts and sciences. [167][168] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever". He was taken to his bedchamber where, after days of agony, he fell into a coma and died. A history steeped in myth p. 75. He succeeded his father Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20, and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia . The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. [192] The Macedonian phalanx, armed with the sarissa, a spear 6 metres (20ft) long, had been developed and perfected by Philip II through rigorous training, and Alexander used its speed and manoeuvrability to great effect against larger but more disparate Persian forces. [221] He had a calmer sideperceptive, logical, and calculating. [78] He was pronounced son of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Born in 356 BC, Alexander was a successor to his father Philip II of Macedon. [219][222] However, he had little interest in sports or the Olympic Games (unlike his father), seeking only the Homeric ideals of honour (tim) and glory (kudos). Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip's generals. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture led to the overwhelming dominance of Hellenistic civilization and influence as far east as the Indian subcontinent. He then continued south towards the Peloponnese. [102] The latter were in many cases additionally connected through marriage alliances with the royal Achaemenid family. KINGS of MACEDON. From Pamphylia onwards the coast held no major ports and Alexander moved inland. Their works are lost, but later works based on these original sources have survived. As a young boy, Alexander was taught to read, write, and play the lyre. [67] In the following year, 332BC, he was forced to attack Tyre, which he captured after a long and difficult siege. "[263] This inscription is one of the few independent archaeological discoveries confirming an episode from Alexander's life. [104] However, when, at some point later, Alexander was on the Jaxartes dealing with an incursion by a horse nomad army, Spitamenes raised Sogdiana in revolt. In 333 BC Alexander was challenged to untie the knot. [7], Alexander III was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon,[8] on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC (although the exact date is uncertain). [120], After Aornos, Alexander crossed the Indus and fought and won an epic battle against King Porus, who ruled a region lying between the Hydaspes and the Acesines (Chenab), in what is now the Punjab, in the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326BC. Goldsworthy, Adrian (2009). The Hellenistic period developed through the Roman Empire into modern Western culture; the Greek language became the lingua franca of the region and was the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire up until its collapse in the mid-15th century AD. [61], After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis; he then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities. The famous encounter between Alexander and Diogenes the Cynic occurred during Alexander's stay in Corinth. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and by Lysimachus of Acarnania. Among Alexander's family, "the king or ruler who ended up dying in his bed was rare," says Philip Freeman, a biographer of Alexander the Great and a classical historian at Luther College in . [16] Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre, ride, fight, and hunt. [177][178][179] In addition, Leosthenes, also, likened the anarchy between the generals, after Alexander's death, to the blinded Cyclops "who after he had lost his eye went feeling and groping about with his hands before him, not knowing where to lay them". [147] Alexander developed a fever, which worsened until he was unable to speak. Having damaged the enemy's cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to press forward and quickly routed them. [205][206][207], Many scholars and historians attribute heterochromia to him. In the winter of 327/326BC, Alexander personally led a campaign against the Aspasioi of the Kunar Valley, the Guraeans of the Guraeus Valley, and the Assakenoi of the Swat and Buner Valleys. [251] Two of these pregnancies Stateira's and Barsine's are of dubious legitimacy. Alexander the Great became King of Macedonia in 336BC at the age of 20. However, Alexander was met with resistance at Gaza. [78] Alexander restored the temples neglected by the Persians and dedicated new monuments to the Egyptian gods. [141] In an attempt to craft a lasting harmony between his Macedonian and Persian subjects, Alexander held a mass marriage of his senior officers to Persian and other noblewomen at Susa, but few of those marriages seem to have lasted much beyond a year. [107], The foundation of the "new" Smyrna was also associated with Alexander. This ensured that Alexander would not be outflanked, while his phalanx, armed with long pikes, had a considerable advantage over the Persians' scimitars and javelins. But this mania for Alexander, strange as it was, was overshadowed by subsequent events in Alexandria. They refused to be sent away and criticized his adoption of Persian customs and dress and the introduction of Persian officers and soldiers into Macedonian units. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira, which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile. [262], In 334 BC, Alexander the Great donated funds for the completion of the new temple of Athena Polias in Priene, in modern-day western Turkey. [62], After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), Philip II began the work of establishing himself as hgemn (Greek: ) of a league which according to Diodorus was to wage a campaign against the Persians for the sundry grievances Greece suffered in 480 and free the Greek cities of the western coast and islands from Achaemenid rule. [200] Despite those caveats, Lysippos's sculpture, famous for its naturalism, as opposed to a stiffer, more static pose, is thought to be the most faithful depiction.[201]. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as a classroom. Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC. Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Augustus, among others, are noted as having . Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and Thebes, who both rejected it. [295] This act was in defiance of a prediction by Tiberius's soothsayer Thrasyllus of Mendes that Caligula had "no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae". For those peculiarities which many of his successors and friends afterwards tried to imitate, namely, the poise of the neck, which was bent slightly to the left, and the melting glance of his eyes, this artist has accurately observed. When the animal died (because of old age, according to Plutarch, at age thirty), Alexander named a city after him, Bucephala. In planning his invasion of the Parthian Empire, Caracalla decided to arrange 16,000 of his men in Macedonian-style phalanxes, despite the Roman army having made the phalanx an obsolete tactical formation. Following his conquest of Asia Minor, Alexander broke the power of Achaemenid Persia in a series of decisive battles, including those at Issus and Gaugamela; he subsequently overthrew Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety. [305] In Egypt, Alexander was portrayed as the son of Nectanebo II, the last pharaoh before the Persian conquest. Starting from Amphipolis, he travelled east into the country of the "Independent Thracians"; and at Mount Haemus, the Macedonian army attacked and defeated the Thracian forces manning the heights. [13], In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, Lanike, sister of Alexander's future general Cleitus the Black. According to Curtius, "Not only did Alexander slaughter the entire population of Massaga, but also did he reduce its buildings to rubble. [182], Arrian and Plutarch claimed that Alexander was speechless by this point, implying that this was an apocryphal story. Many of these areas remained in Macedonian hands or under Greek influence for the next 200300 years. On entering Persepolis, Alexander allowed his troops to loot the city for several days. [13] Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Alexander arranged a double phalanx, with the center advancing at an angle, parting when the chariots bore down and then reforming. This text underwent numerous expansions and revisions throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages,[301] containing many dubious stories,[299] and was translated into numerous languages. [187] Furthermore, Perdiccas had read the notebooks containing Alexander's last plans to the Macedonian troops in Babylon, who voted not to carry them out.[62]. Alexander III of Macedon (Ancient Greek: , romanized:Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great,[a] was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. [224] He had great charisma and force of personality, characteristics which made him a great leader. Curtius Rufus, a Roman historian from the first century AD, who wrote the Histories of Alexander the Great, gives this account of Alexander sitting on the throne of Darius III: Then Alexander seating himself on the royal throne, which was far too high for his bodily stature. [197] During his lifetime, Alexander carefully curated his image by commissioning works from famous and great artists of the time. The anguish that Alexander felt after Hephaestion's death may also have contributed to his declining health. Alexander was proclaimed king on the spot by the nobles and army at the age of 20. Taking advantage of this power vacuum, Chandragupta Maurya (referred to in Greek sources as "Sandrokottos"), of relatively humble origin, took control of the Punjab, and with that power base proceeded to conquer the Nanda Empire. In 326 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the northern territory of India. His official historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus, was implicated in the plot, and in the Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian states that Callisthenes and the pages were then tortured on the rack as punishment, and likely died soon after. [101] However, as basic forms of community life and the general structure of government were maintained and resuscitated by Alexander under his own rule, he, in the words of the Iranologist Pierre Briant "may therefore be considered to have acted in many ways as the last of the Achaemenids. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes's favour, but Athens won the contest. [216] Alexander's mother Olympia similarly had huge ambitions, and encouraged her son to believe it was his destiny to conquer the Persian Empire. This would fit with the intended destination of Alexander's funeral cortege. The earliest of these is Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), followed by Quintus Curtius Rufus (mid-to-late 1st century AD), Arrian (1st to 2nd century AD), the biographer Plutarch (1st to 2nd century AD), and finally Justin, whose work dated as late as the 4th century. Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed the suggestion as impious. GreekMythos. His military achievements and unprecedented enduring successes in battle made him the measure against which many later military leaders would compare themselves,[c] and his tactics remain a significant subject of study in military academies worldwide. The tomb of Alexander the Great is attested in several historical accounts, but its current exact location remains an enduring mystery. Alexander the Great, only twenty years old when he became king of Macedonia in 336 B.C., was perhaps the greatest general of all time. [284] The Macriani, a Roman family that in the person of Macrinus briefly ascended to the imperial throne, kept images of Alexander on their persons, either on jewellery, or embroidered into their clothes. [62] Alexander's sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his absence.
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