ALEXANDER III the GREAT 290BC Hercules Zeus Ancient Silver Greek Coin i54114

Item: i54114

Authentic Ancient

Greek Coin of
Macedonian Kingdom

Alexander III the Great
– King of 
Macedonia:
336-323 B.C.
Silver Drachm 16mm (4.02 grams) Struck circa 290-250 B.C.
Head of Alexander the Great as 

Hercules
right, wearing the lion-skin headdress.
AΛEΞANΔΡOY,
Zeus
Aetophoros seated left, holding 
eagle
and scepter.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, 

Authenticity.  

Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek
divine

hero Heracles
, who was the son of

Zeus (Roman equivalent
Jupiter
) and the mortal
Alcmene
. In
classical mythology
, Hercules is famous for his 
strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.

The Romans adapted the Greek hero’s iconography and myths for their 
literature and art under the name Hercules. In later
Western art
and literature and in
popular culture
, Hercules is more 
commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules was a 
multifaceted figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later 
artists and writers to pick and choose how to represent him. This article 
provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the
later tradition
.

Labours

Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches 
of the
Greco-Roman world
. One cycle of these 
adventures became
canonical
as the “Twelve Labours,” but the list 
has variations. One traditional order of the labours is found in the
Bibliotheca
as follows:

1. Slay the
   Nemean Lion
   .
2. Slay the nine-headed
   Lernaean Hydra
   .
3. Capture the
   Golden Hind of Artemis
   .
4. Capture the
   Erymanthian Boar
   .
5. Clean the Augean
   stables in a single day.
6. Slay the
   Stymphalian Birds
   .
7. Capture the
   Cretan Bull
   .
8. Steal the
   Mares of Diomedes
   .
9. Obtain the girdle of
   Hippolyta
   , Queen of the
   Amazons
   .
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster
    Geryon
    .
11. Steal the apples of the
    Hesperides
    .
12. Capture and bring back
    Cerberus
    .

The Latin
name Hercules was borrowed 
through
Etruscan
, where it is represented variously 
as Heracle
, Hercle, and other forms. Hercules 
was a favorite subject for
Etruscan art
, and appears often on
bronze mirrors
. The Etruscan form Herceler derives from the Greek 
Heracles via
syncope
. A mild oath invoking Hercules (Hercule! 
or Mehercle!) was a common
interjection
in
Classical Latin
.

Hercules had a number of
myths
that were distinctly Roman. One of 
these is Hercules’ defeat of
Cacus
, who was terrorizing the countryside 
of Rome. The hero was associated with the
Aventine Hill
through his son
Aventinus
.
Mark Antony
considered him a personal 
patron god, as did the emperor
Commodus
. Hercules received various forms 
of
religious veneration
, including as a
deity concerned with children and childbirth
, 
in part because of myths about his precocious infancy, and in part because 
he fathered countless children. Roman brides wore a special belt tied with 
the “knot 
of Hercules“, which was supposed to be hard to untie. 
The comic playwright
Plautus
presents the myth of Hercules’ 
conception as a sex comedy in his play
Amphitryon
;
Seneca
wrote the tragedy Hercules Furens 
about his bout with madness. During the
Roman Imperial era
, Hercules was worshipped 
locally from
Hispania
through
Gaul
.

Medieval mythography

After the Roman Empire became
Christianized
, mythological narratives were 
often reinterpreted as
allegory
, influenced by the philosophy of
late antiquity
. In the 4th century,
Servius
had described Hercules’ return from the 
underworld as representing his ability to overcome earthly desires and vices, or 
the earth itself as a consumer of bodies. 
In medieval mythography, Hercules was one of the heroes seen as a strong role 
model who demonstrated both valor and wisdom, with the monsters he battles as 
moral obstacles. One
glossator
noted that when
Hercules became a constellation
, he showed that 
strength was necessary to gain entrance to Heaven.

Medieval mythography was written almost entirely in Latin, and original Greek 
texts were little used as sources for Hercules’ myths.

Renaissance 
mythography

The Renaissance
and the invention of the
printing press
brought a renewed interest in 
and publication of Greek literature. Renaissance mythography drew more 
extensively on the Greek tradition of Heracles, typically under the Romanized 
name Hercules, or the alternate name
Alcides
. In a chapter of his book
Mythologiae (1567), the influential mythographer
Natale Conti
collected and summarized an 
extensive range of myths concerning the birth, adventures, and death of the hero 
under his Roman name Hercules. Conti begins his lengthy chapter on Hercules with 
an overview description that continues the moralizing impulse of the Middle 
Ages:

Hercules, who subdued and destroyed monsters, bandits, and criminals, was 
justly famous and renowned for his great courage. His great and glorious 
reputation was worldwide, and so firmly entrenched that he’ll always be 
remembered. In fact the ancients honored him with his own temples, altars, 
ceremonies, and priests. But it was his wisdom and great soul that earned 
those honors; noble blood, physical strength, and political power just 
aren’t good enough.

In the
ancient Greek
 
religion,
Zeus was the “Father of Gods and men” (πατὴρ 
ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε)
who ruled the Olympians of
Mount Olympus
 
as a father ruled the family. He was the
god of sky
 
and
thunder
 
in
Greek mythology
. 
His
Roman
 
counterpart is
Jupiter
 
and
Etruscan
 
counterpart is Tinia
.

Zeus was the child of
Cronus
 
and
Rhea
, 
and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he was married to

Hera, although, at the 
oracle of Dodona
, 
his consort was
Dione
: 
according to the Iliad
, 
he is the father of
Aphrodite
 
by Dione. He is known for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many godly and 
heroic offspring, including
Athena
,
Apollo
 
and Artemis
,
Hermes
,
Persephone
 
(by Demeter
),
Dionysus
,
Perseus
,
Heracles
,
Helen of Troy
,
Minos
, 
and the Muses
 
(by Mnemosyne
); 
by Hera, he is usually said to have fathered

Ares,
Hebe
 
and Hephaestus
.

As
Walter Burkert
 
points out in his book, Greek Religion, “Even the gods who are not his 
natural children address him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence.” 
For the Greeks, he was the
King of the Gods
, 
who oversaw the universe. As
Pausanias
 
observed, “That Zeus is king in heaven is a saying common to all men”. In 
Hesiod’s Theogony
 
Zeus assigns the various gods their roles. In the Homeric Hymns 
he is referred to as the chieftain of the gods.

His symbols are the
thunderbolt
,
eagle
,
bull
, 
and oak
. 
In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical “cloud-gatherer” 
also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the
Ancient Near East
, 
such as the
scepter
. 
Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, 
striding forward, with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated 
in majesty.

Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), 
commonly known as Alexander the Great from the Greek  alexo “to 
defend, help” +  aner “man”), was a king of
Macedon
, a state in northern
ancient Greece
. Born in
Pella
in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by
Aristotle
until the age of 16. By the age of 
thirty, he had created one of the
largest empires
of the
ancient world
, stretching from the
Ionian Sea
to the
Himalayas
.He was undefeated in battle and is 
considered one of history’s most successful commanders.

Alexander 
succeeded his father,
Philip II of Macedon
, to the throne in 336 BC 
after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip’s death, Alexander inherited a strong 
kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and 
used this authority to launch his father’s military expansion plans. In 334 BC, 
he invaded
Persian
-ruled
Asia Minor
and began a
series of campaigns
that lasted ten years. 
Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most 
notably the battles of
Issus
and
Gaugamela
. He subsequently overthrew the 
Persian King
Darius III
and conquered the entirety of the
Persian Empire
. At that point, his empire 
stretched from the
Adriatic Sea
to the
Indus River
.

Seeking to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea”, he
invaded India
in 326 BC, but was eventually 
forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in
Babylon
in 323 BC, without executing a series 
of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of
Arabia
. In the years following his death, a 
series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by 
the Diadochi
, Alexander’s surviving generals and 
heirs.

Alexander’s legacy includes the
cultural diffusion
his conquests engendered. He 
founded some
twenty cities that bore his name
, most notably
Alexandria
in Egypt. Alexander’s settlement of 
Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted 
in a new
Hellenistic civilization
, aspects of which were 
still evident in the traditions of the
Byzantine Empire
in the mid-15th century. 
Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of
Achilles
, and he features prominently in the 
history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against 
which military leaders compared themselves, and
military academies
throughout the world still 
teach his tactics.

Early life

Lineage and childhood

Alexander was born on the 6th day of the ancient Greek month of
Hekatombaion
,  in
Pella
, the capital of the
Ancient Greek

Kingdom of Macedon
.He was the son of the king 
of Macedon,
Philip II
, and his fourth wife,
Olympias
, the daughter of
Neoptolemus I
, king of
Epirus
. Although Philip had seven or eight 
wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely a result of giving 
birth to Alexander.

 

Philip II 
of Macedon
, Alexander’s father.

On the day that Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a
siege
on the city of
Potidea
on the peninsula of
Chalcidice
. That same day, Philip received news 
that his general
Parmenion
had defeated the combined
Illyrian
and
Paeonian
armies, and that his horses had won at 
the
Olympic Games
. It was also said that on this 
day, the
Temple of Artemis
in
Ephesus
, one of the
Seven Wonders of the World
, burnt down. This 
led
Hegesias of Magnesia
to say that it had burnt 
down because Artemis
was away, attending the birth of 
Alexander.

Bust of a young Alexander the Great from the Hellenistic era,
British 
Museum

In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse,
Lanike
, sister of Alexander’s future general
Cleitus the Black
. Later in his childhood, 
Alexander was tutored by the strict
Leonidas
, a relative of his mother, and by 
Philip’s general
Lysimachus
. Alexander was raised in the manner 
of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the

lyre, ride, fight, and hunt.

When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from
Thessaly
brought Philip a horse, which he 
offered to sell for thirteen
talents
. The horse refused to be mounted and 
Philip ordered it away. Alexander however, detecting the horse’s fear of its own 
shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed. 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. Macedon is too 
small for you”, and bought the horse for him.Alexander named it
Bucephalas
, meaning “ox-head”. Bucephalas 
carried Alexander as far as
Pakistan
. When the animal died at age thirty, 
Alexander named a city after him,
Bucephala
.

When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a
tutor
, chose
Aristotle
and provided the Temple of the Nymphs 
at Mieza
as a classroom. 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.

Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian 
nobles, such as
Ptolemy
,
Hephaistion
, and
Cassander
. Many of these students would become 
his friends and future generals, and are often known as the ‘Companions’. 
Aristotle taught Alexander and his companions about medicine, philosophy, 
morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle’s tutelage, Alexander 
developed a passion for the works of
Homer
, and in particular the
Iliad
; Aristotle gave him an annotated 
copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns.

At age 16, Alexander’s education under Aristotle ended. Philip waged war 
against Byzantion
, leaving Alexander in charge as
regent
and
heir apparent
. During Philip’s absence, the
Thracian

Maedi
revolted against Macedonia. Alexander 
responded quickly, driving them from their territory. He colonized it with 
Greeks, and founded a city named
Alexandropolis
.

Upon Philip’s return, he dispatched Alexander with a small force to subdue 
revolts in southern Thrace
. Campaigning against the Greek city of
Perinthus
, Alexander is reported to have saved 
his father’s life. Meanwhile, the city of
Amphissa
began to work lands that were sacred 
to Apollo
near
Delphi
, a sacrilege that gave Philip the 
opportunity to further intervene in Greek affairs. Still occupied in Thrace, he 
ordered Alexander to muster an army for a campaign in Greece. Concerned that 
other Greek states might intervene, Alexander made it look as though he was 
preparing to attack Illyria instead. During this turmoil, the Illyrians invaded 
Macedonia, only to be repelled by Alexander.

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. They went on to occupy the city of
Elatea
, only a few days’ march from both Athens 
and Thebes. The Athenians, led by
Demosthenes
, voted to seek alliance with Thebes 
against Macedonia. Both Athens and Philip sent embassies to win Thebes’ favor, 
but Athens won the contest.Philip marched on Amphissa (ostensibly acting on the 
request of the
Amphictyonic League
), capturing the mercenaries 
sent there by
Demosthenes
and accepting the city’s surrender. 
Philip then returned to Elatea, sending a final offer of peace to Athens and 
Thebes, who both rejected it.

As Philip marched south, his opponents blocked him near
Chaeronea
,
Boeotia
. During the ensuing
Battle of Chaeronea
, Philip commanded the right 
wing and Alexander the left, accompanied by a group of Philip’s trusted 
generals. According to the ancient sources, the two sides fought bitterly for 
some time. Philip deliberately commanded his troops to retreat, counting on the 
untested Athenian
hoplites
to follow, thus breaking their line. 
Alexander was the first to break the Theban lines, followed by Philip’s 
generals. Having damaged the enemy’s cohesion, Philip ordered his troops to 
press forward and quickly routed them. With the Athenians lost, the Thebans were 
surrounded. Left to fight alone, they were defeated.

After the victory at Chaeronea, Philip and Alexander marched unopposed into 
the Peloponnese, welcomed by all cities; however, when they reached
Sparta
, they were refused, but did not resort 
to war.At
Corinth
, Philip established a “Hellenic 
Alliance” (modeled on the old
anti-Persian alliance
of the
Greco-Persian Wars
), which included most Greek 
city-states except Sparta. Philip was then named
Hegemon
(often translated as “Supreme 
Commander”) of this league (known by modern scholars as the
League of Corinth
), and announced his plans to 
attack the
Persian Empire
.

When Philip returned to Pella, he fell in love with and married
Cleopatra Eurydice
, the niece of his general
Attalus
. The marriage made Alexander’s position 
as heir less secure, since any son of Cleopatra Eurydice would be a fully 
Macedonian heir, while Alexander was only half-Macedonian.

Alexander fled Macedon with his mother, dropping her off with her brother, 
King
Alexander I of Epirus
in
Dodona
, capital of the
Molossians
.He continued to Illyria, where he 
sought refuge with the Illyrian King and was treated as a guest, despite having 
defeated them in battle a few years before. However, it appears Philip never 
intended to disown his politically and militarily trained son. Accordingly, 
Alexander returned to Macedon after six months due to the efforts of a family 
friend,
Demaratus
, who mediated between the two 
parties.

In 336 BC, while at
Aegae
attending the wedding of his daughter
Cleopatra
to Olympias’s brother,
Alexander I of Epirus
, Philip was assassinated 
by the captain of his
bodyguards
,
Pausanias
. As Pausanias tried to escape, he 
tripped over a vine and was killed by his pursuers, including two of Alexander’s 
companions, Perdiccas
and
Leonnatus
. Alexander was proclaimed king by the 
nobles and
army
at the age of 20.

Alexander began his reign by eliminating potential rivals to the throne. He 
had his cousin, the former
Amyntas IV
, executed. He also had two 
Macedonian princes from the region of
Lyncestis
killed, but spared a third,
Alexander Lyncestes
. Olympias had Cleopatra 
Eurydice and Europa, her daughter by Philip, burned alive. When Alexander 
learned about this, he was furious. Alexander also ordered the murder of 
Attalus, who was in command of the advance guard of the army in Asia Minor and 
Cleopatra’s uncle.

News of Philip’s death roused many states into revolt, including Thebes, 
Athens, Thessaly, and the Thracian tribes north of Macedon. When news of the 
revolts reached Alexander, he responded quickly. Though advised to use 
diplomacy, Alexander mustered the Macedonian cavalry of 3,000 and rode south 
towards Thessaly. He found the Thessalian army occupying the pass between
Mount Olympus
and
Mount Ossa
, and ordered his men to ride over 
Mount Ossa. When the Thessalians awoke the next day, they found Alexander in 
their rear and promptly surrendered, adding their cavalry to Alexander’s force. 
He then continued south towards the
Peloponnese
.

Alexander stopped at Thermopylae, where he was recognized as the leader of 
the Amphictyonic League before heading south to
Corinth
. Athens sued for peace and Alexander 
pardoned the rebels. The famous
encounter between Alexander and Diogenes the Cynic
 
occurred during Alexander’s stay in Corinth. When Alexander asked Diogenes what 
he could do for him, the philosopher disdainfully asked Alexander to stand a 
little to the side, as he was blocking the sunlight. This reply apparently 
delighted Alexander, who is reported to have said “But verily, if I were not 
Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes.” At Corinth Alexander took the title of
Hegemon (“leader”), and like Philip, was appointed commander for the 
coming war against Persia. He also received news of a Thracian uprising.

Alexander’s army crossed the
Hellespont
in 334 BC with approximately 48,100 
soldiers, 6,100 cavalry and a fleet of 120 ships with crews numbering 
38,000,drawn from Macedon and various Greek city-states, mercenaries, and 
feudally raised soldiers from
Thrace
,
Paionia
, and
Illyria
. He showed his intent to conquer the 
entirety of the Persian Empire by throwing a spear into Asian soil and saying he 
accepted Asia as a gift from the gods. This also showed Alexander’s eagerness to 
fight, in contrast to his father’s preference for diplomacy.

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. Though Alexander believed in his 
divine right to expend the lives of men in battle, he did experience sorrow, as 
those who died were rewarded generously. He did not directly influence the 
culture of the Persians they did not feel the need to begin a rebellion as their 
men and rulers were treated with proper respect.

The Levant and Syria

Alexander journeyed south but was met by Darius’ significantly larger army 
which he easily defeated, causing Darius to panic. Although he was chased by 
some troops ‘Alexander treated them (his family) with the respect out of 
consideration’ which demonstrated his continued generosity and kindness towards 
those he conquered.Darius fled the battle, causing his army to collapse, and 
left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother
Sisygambis
, and a fabulous treasure.He offered 
a peace treaty
that included the lands he had 
already lost, and a ransom of 10,000
talents
for his family. Alexander replied that 
since he was now king of Asia, it was he alone who decided territorial 
divisions.

Alexander proceeded to take possession of
Syria
, and most of the coast of the
Levant
. In the following year, 332 BC, he was 
forced to attack
Tyre
, which he captured after a long and 
difficult
siege
.Alexander massacred the men of military 
age and sold the women and children into
slavery
.

Egypt

When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt 
quickly capitulated, with the exception of

Gaza. The stronghold at Gaza was heavily fortified and built on a 
hill, requiring a siege. Alexander came upon the city only to be met with a 
surprising resistance and fortification. When ‘his engineers pointed out to him 
that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible… this encouraged 
Alexander all the more to make the attempt’ . The divine right that Alexander 
believed he had gave him confidence of a miracle occurring. After three 
unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had 
received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to 
the sword and the women and children sold into slavery.

Jerusalem instead opened its gates in surrender, and according to
Josephus
, Alexander was shown the
Book of Daniel
‘s prophecy, presumably chapter 
8, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. He 
spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt.

Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a 
liberator. He was pronounced the new “master of the Universe” and son of the 
deity of Amun
at the
Oracle
of
Siwa Oasis
in the
Libyan
desert.Henceforth, Alexander often 
referred to
Zeus-Ammon
as his true father, and subsequent 
currency depicted him adorned with rams horn as a symbol of his divinity. During 
his stay in Egypt, he founded
Alexandria-by-Egypt
, which would become the 
prosperous capital of the
Ptolemaic Kingdom
after his death.

Bust of
Alexander 
the Great
as Helios (Musei 
Capitolini)

Assyria and Babylonia

Leaving Egypt in 331 BC, Alexander marched eastward into
Mesopotamia
(now northern

Iraq) and again defeated Darius, at the
Battle of Gaugamela
. Darius once more fled the 
field, and Alexander chased him as far as
Arbela
. Gaugamela would be the final and 
decisive encounter between the two. Darius fled over the mountains to
Ecbatana
(modern
Hamedan
), while Alexander captured
Babylon
.

Persia

From Babylon, Alexander went to

Susa, one of the
Achaemenid
capitals, and captured its legendary 
treasury. He sent the bulk of his army to the Persian ceremonial capital of
Persepolis
via the
Royal Road
. Alexander himself took selected 
troops on the direct route to the city. He had to storm the pass of the
Persian Gates
(in the modern
Zagros Mountains
) which had been blocked by a 
Persian army under
Ariobarzanes
and then hurried to Persepolis 
before its garrison could loot the treasury.

Alexander fighting the Persian king
Darius III
. 
From
Alexander Mosaic
,
Naples National 
Archaeological Museum

On entering Persepolis, Alexander allowed his troops to loot the city for 
several days.Alexander stayed in Persepolis for five months. During his stay a 
fire broke out in the eastern palace of
Xerxes
and spread to the rest of the city. 
Possible causes include a drunken accident or deliberate revenge for the burning 
of the
Acropolis of Athens
during the
Second Persian War
.

Fall of the 
Empire and the East

Alexander then chased Darius, first into Media, and then Parthia.The Persian 
king no longer controlled his own destiny, and was taken prisoner by
Bessus
, his
Bactrian
satrap and kinsman.As Alexander 
approached, Bessus had his men fatally stab the Great King and then declared 
himself Darius’ successor as Artaxerxes V, before retreating into Central Asia 
to launch a
guerrilla
campaign against Alexander. Alexander 
buried Darius’ remains next to his Achaemenid predecessors in a regal funeral.He 
claimed that, while dying, Darius had named him as his successor to the 
Achaemenid throne. The Achaemenid Empire is normally considered to have fallen 
with Darius.
Alexander viewed Bessus as a usurper and set out to defeat him. 
This campaign, initially against Bessus, turned into a grand tour of central 
Asia. Alexander founded a series of new cities, all called Alexandria, including 
modern Kandahar
in Afghanistan, and
Alexandria Eschate
(“The Furthest”) in modern
Tajikistan
. The campaign took Alexander through
Media
,
Parthia
,
Aria
(West Afghanistan),
Drangiana
,
Arachosia
(South and Central Afghanistan),
Bactria
(North and Central Afghanistan), and
Scythia
.

Spitamenes
, who held an undefined position in 
the satrapy of Sogdiana, in 329 BC betrayed Bessus to
Ptolemy
, one of Alexander’s trusted companions, 
and Bessus was executed. 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. Alexander personally defeated 
the Scythians at the
Battle of Jaxartes
and immediately launched a 
campaign against Spitamenes, defeating him in the Battle of Gabai. After the 
defeat, Spitamenes was killed by his own men, who then sued for peace.The empire 
began falling as military leaders and eventually Alexander died.

Problems and plots

During this time, Alexander took the Persian title “King of Kings” (Shahanshah) 
and adopted some elements of Persian dress and customs at his court, notably the 
custom of
proskynesis
, either a symbolic kissing of 
the hand, or prostration on the ground, that Persians showed to their social 
superiors. The Greeks regarded the gesture as the province of
deities
and believed that Alexander meant to 
deify himself by requiring it. This cost him the sympathies of many of his 
countrymen, and he eventually abandoned it.

A plot against his life was revealed, and one of his officers,
Philotas
, was executed for failing to alert 
Alexander. The death of the son necessitated the death of the father, and thus
Parmenion
, who had been charged with guarding 
the treasury at Ecbatana
, was assassinated at Alexander’s 
command, to prevent attempts at vengeance. Most infamously, Alexander personally 
killed the man who had saved his life at Granicus,
Cleitus the Black
, during a violent drunken 
altercation at
Maracanda
(modern day
Samarkand
in
Uzbekistan
), in which Cleitus accused Alexander 
of several judgemental mistakes and most especially, of having forgot the 
Macedonian ways in favour of a corrupt oriental lifestyle.

Macedon in 
Alexander’s absence

When Alexander set out for Asia, he left his general
Antipater
, an experienced military and 
political leader and part of Philip II’s “Old Guard”, in charge of Macedon. 
Alexander’s sacking of Thebes ensured that Greece remained quiet during his 
absence. The one exception was a call to arms by Spartan king
Agis III
in 331 BC, whom Antipater defeated and 
killed in battle at
Megalopolis
the following year. Antipater 
referred the Spartans’ punishment to the League of Corinth, which then deferred 
to Alexander, who chose to pardon them. There was also considerable friction 
between Antipater and Olympias, and each complained to Alexander about the 
other.

In general, Greece enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity during 
Alexander’s campaign in Asia. Alexander sent back vast sums from his conquest, 
which stimulated the economy and increased trade across his empire.However, 
Alexander’s constant demands for troops and the migration of Macedonians 
throughout his empire depleted Macedon’s manpower, greatly weakening it in the 
years after Alexander, and ultimately led to its subjugation by Rome.

Indian campaign

After the death of
Spitamenes
and his marriage to Roxana (Roshanak 
in
Bactrian
) to cement relations with his new 
satrapies, Alexander turned to the
Indian subcontinent
. He invited the
chieftains
of the former satrapy of
Gandhara
, in the north of what is now
Pakistan
, to come to him and submit to his 
authority.
Omphis
, ruler of
Taxila
, whose kingdom extended from the
Indus
to the
Hydaspes
, complied, but the chieftains of some 
hill clans, including the
Aspasioi
and
Assakenoi
sections of the
Kambojas
(known in Indian texts also as 
Ashvayanas and Ashvakayanas), refused to submit.In the winter of 327/326 BC, 
Alexander personally led a campaign against these clans; the Aspasioi of
Kunar

valleys
, the Guraeans of the
Guraeus
valley, and the Assakenoi of the
Swat
and
Buner
valleys.A fierce contest ensued with the 
Aspasioi in which Alexander was wounded in the shoulder by a dart, but 
eventually the Aspasioi lost. Alexander then faced the Assakenoi, who fought in 
the strongholds of Massaga, Ora and
Aornos
.The fort of Massaga was reduced only 
after days of bloody fighting, in which Alexander was wounded seriously in the 
ankle.

After Aornos, Alexander crossed the Indus and fought and won an epic battle 
against King Porus
, who ruled a region in the
Punjab
, in the
Battle of the Hydaspes
in 326 BC. Alexander was 
impressed by Porus’s bravery, and made him an ally. He appointed Porus as 
satrap, and added to Porus’ territory land that he did not previously own. 
Choosing a local helped him control these lands so distant from Greece.Alexander 
founded two cities on opposite sides of the
Hydaspes
river, naming one
Bucephala
, in honor of his horse, who died 
around this time.The other was
Nicaea
(Victory) located at the site of modern 
day Mong, Punjab
.

Revolt of the army

East of Porus’ kingdom, near the
Ganges River
, were the
Nanda Empire
of
Magadha
and further east the
Gangaridai Empire
of
Bengal
. Fearing the prospect of facing other 
large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander’s army mutinied at 
the Hyphasis River
, refusing to march farther east. 
This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander’s conquests. Alexander 
tried to persuade his soldiers to march farther, but his general
Coenus
pleaded with him to change his opinion 
and return; the men, he said, “longed to again see their parents, their wives 
and children, their homeland”. Alexander eventually agreed and turned south, 
marching along the
Indus
. Along the way his army conquered the
Malli
clans (in modern day
Multan
) and other Indian tribes.
Alexander sent much of his army to
Carmania
(modern southern

Iran) with general
Craterus
, and commissioned a fleet to explore 
the Persian Gulf
shore under his admiral
Nearchus
, while he led the rest back to Persia 
through the more difficult southern route along the
Gedrosian Desert
and
Makran
(now part of southern Iran and 
Pakistan).Alexander reached Susa in 324 BC, but not before losing many men to 
the harsh desert.

Last years in Persia

Discovering that many of his
satraps
and military governors had misbehaved 
in his absence, Alexander executed several of them as examples on his way to

Susa. As a gesture of thanks, he paid off the debts of his soldiers, 
and announced that he would send over-aged and disabled veterans back to 
Macedon, led by Craterus. His troops misunderstood his intention and mutinied at 
the town of Opis
. 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.

Death and succession

On either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of
Nebuchadnezzar II
, in
Babylon
, at age 32. Details of the death differ 
slightly – 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
.He developed a fever, which 
worsened until he was unable to speak.  Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin 
all mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned.

The strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days 
passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons 
were probably not available. In 2010, however, a new theory proposed that the 
circumstances of his death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river 
Styx (Mavroneri) 
that contained
calicheamicin
, a dangerous compound produced by
bacteria
.
Several
natural causes
(diseases) have been suggested, 
including malaria
and
typhoid fever
.

After death

Alexander’s body was laid in a gold anthropoid
sarcophagus
that was filled with honey, which 
was in turn placed in a gold casket. While Alexander’s funeral cortege was on 
its way to Macedon, Ptolemy stole it and took it to Memphis. His successor,
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
, transferred the 
sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least
late Antiquity
.
Ptolemy IX Lathyros
, one of Ptolemy’s final 
successors, replaced Alexander’s sarcophagus with a glass one so he could 
convert the original to coinage.

Pompey
,
Julius Caesar
and
Augustus
all visited the tomb in Alexandria. 
Caligula
was said to have taken Alexander’s 
breastplate from the tomb for his own use. In c. AD 200, Emperor
Septimius Severus
closed Alexander’s tomb to 
the public. His son and successor,
Caracalla
, a great admirer, visited the tomb 
during his own reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb are hazy.

Division of the empire

Alexander’s death was so sudden that when reports of his death reached 
Greece, they were not immediately believed.Alexander had no obvious or 
legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV by Roxane being born after Alexander’s 
death.According to Diodorus, Alexander’s companions asked him on his deathbed to 
whom he bequeathed his kingdom; his laconic reply was “tôi kratistôi”—”to the 
strongest”.

In 321 BC, Macedonian unity collapsed, and 40 years of war between “The 
Successors” (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into 
four stable power blocks: the
Ptolemaic Kingdom
of Egypt, the
Seleucid Empire
in the east, the Kingdom of
Pergamon
in Asia Minor, and Macedon. In the 
process, both Alexander IV and Philip III were murdered.

Character

Alexander earned the epithet “the Great” due to his unparalleled success as a 
military commander. He never lost a battle, despite typically being 
outnumbered.This was due to use of terrain,
phalanx
and cavalry tactics, bold strategy, and 
the fierce loyalty of his troops.The
Macedonian phalanx
, armed with the
sarissa
, a spear 6 metres (20 ft) long, had 
been developed and perfected by Philip II through rigorous training, and 
Alexander used its speed and maneuverability to great effect against larger but 
more disparate Persian forces.Alexander also recognized the potential for 
disunity among his diverse army, which employed various languages and weapons. 
He overcame this by being personally involved in battle,in the manner of a 
Macedonian king.

When faced with opponents who used unfamiliar fighting techniques, such as in 
Central Asia and India, Alexander adapted his forces to his opponents’ style. 
Thus, in Bactria
and
Sogdiana
, Alexander successfully used his 
javelin throwers and archers to prevent outflanking movements, while massing his 
cavalry at the center. In India, confronted by Porus’ elephant corps, the 
Macedonians opened their ranks to envelop the elephants and used their sarissas 
to strike upwards and dislodge the elephants’ handlers.

Physical appearance:

Greek historian Arrian
 
described Alexander as:

The strong, handsome commander with one eye dark as the night and one 
blue as the sky.

Alexander suffered from
heterochromia iridum
: that one eye was dark and 
the other light.

Personality

Some of Alexander’s strongest personality traits formed in response to his 
parents.His mother had huge ambitions, and encouraged him to believe it was his 
destiny to conquer the Persian Empire. Olympias’ influence instilled a sense of 
destiny in him, and Plutarch tells us that his ambition “kept his spirit serious 
and lofty in advance of his years”. However, his father Philip was Alexander’s 
most immediate and influential role model, as the young Alexander watched him 
campaign practically every year, winning victory after victory while ignoring 
severe wounds.Alexander’s relationship with his father forged the competitive 
side of his personality; he had a need to out-do his father, illustrated by his 
reckless behavior in battle. While Alexander worried that his father would leave 
him “no great or brilliant achievement to be displayed to the world”, he also 
downplayed his father’s achievements to his companions.

According to Plutarch, among Alexander’s traits were a violent temper and 
rash, impulsive nature, which undoubtedly contributed to some of his decisions. 
Although Alexander was stubborn and did not respond well to orders from his 
father, he was open to reasoned debate. He had a calmer side—perceptive, 
logical, and calculating. He had a great desire for knowledge, a love for 
philosophy, and was an avid reader.This was no doubt in part due to Aristotle’s 
tutelage; Alexander was intelligent and quick to learn. His intelligent and 
rational side was amply demonstrated by his ability and success as a general.

Alexander was erudite and patronized both arts and sciences.However, he had 
little interest in sports or the
Olympic games
(unlike his father), seeking only 
the
Homeric
ideals of honor (timê) and glory 
(kudos). He had great
charisma
and force of personality, 
characteristics which made him a great leader. His unique abilities were further 
demonstrated by the inability of any of his generals to unite Macedonia and 
retain the Empire after his death – only Alexander had the ability to do so.

During his final years, and especially after the death of Hephaestion, 
Alexander began to exhibit signs of
megalomania
and
paranoia
.His extraordinary achievements, 
coupled with his own ineffable sense of destiny and the flattery of his 
companions, may have combined to produce this effect.

He appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify 
himself. Olympias always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,a theory 
apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at
Siwa
. He began to identify himself as the son 
of Zeus-Ammon.Alexander adopted elements of Persian dress and customs at court, 
notably
proskynesis
, a practice that Macedonians 
disapproved, and were loath to perform. This behavior cost him the sympathies of 
many of his countrymen.However, Alexander also was a pragmatic ruler who 
understood the difficulties of ruling culturally disparate peoples, many of whom 
lived in kingdoms where the king was divine.Thus, rather than megalomania, his 
behavior may simply have been a practical attempt at strengthening his rule and 
keeping his empire together.

Personal relationships

Alexander, left, and
Hephaestion
, right

The central personal relationship of Alexander’s life was with his friend, 
general, and bodyguard
Hephaestion
, the son of a Macedonian 
noble.Hephaestion’s death devastated Alexander.This event may have contributed 
to Alexander’s failing health and detached
mental state
during his final months.

Alexander married twice:
Roxana
, daughter of the
Bactrian
nobleman
Oxyartes
, out of love; and
Stateira II
, a Persian princess and daughter of
Darius III
of Persia, for political reasons. He 
apparently had two sons, Alexander IV of Macedon of Roxana and, possibly,
Heracles of Macedon
from his mistress Barsine. 
He lost another child when Roxana miscarried at Babylon.

Alexander’s sexuality has been the subject of speculation and controversy. No 
ancient sources stated that Alexander had
homosexual
relationships, or that Alexander’s 
relationship with Hephaestion was sexual. Aelian, however, writes of Alexander’s 
visit to Troy
where “Alexander garlanded the tomb of 
Achilles and Hephaestion that of
Patroclus
, the latter riddling that he was a 
beloved of Alexander, in just the same way as Patroclus was of Achilles”. Noting 
that the word
eromenos
(ancient Greek for beloved) does 
not necessarily bear sexual meaning, Alexander may have been bisexual, which in 
his time was not controversial.

Influence on Rome

Alexander and his exploits were admired by many Romans, especially generals, 
who wanted to associate themselves with his achievements.
Pompey the Great
adopted the epithet “Magnus” 
and even Alexander’s anatole-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.
Julius Caesar
dedicated a
Lysippean

equestrian

bronze
statue but replaced Alexander’s head 
with his own, while
Octavian
visited Alexander’s tomb in Alexandria 
and temporarily changed his seal from a
sphinx
to Alexander’s profile. The emperor
Trajan
also admired Alexander, as did

Nero and
Caracalla
.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 jewelry, or 
embroidered into their clothes.

Alexander the Great’s accomplishments and legacy have been depicted in many 
cultures. Alexander has figured in both high and popular culture beginning in 
his own era to the present day. 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.