When the Pythia refused to answer Alexander, he began to drag her to the temple.They considered this blasphemy on Alexander's part and sure to bring condemnation from the gods. The Greek soldiers resisted, as such prostrations were reserved for honoring the gods. In 327 BC he introduced proskynesis, a ritualized honor accorded by Persians to their rulers. īy 330 BC, Alexander had started to adopt elements of Persian royal dress. Upon his return to Memphis in April, he met envoys from Greece who reported that the Erythraean Sibyl had confirmed that Alexander was the son of Zeus. After his visit to the Siwa Oasis in February 331 BC, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father. The snake was said to be Zeus Ammon in disguise. Olympias was from Epirus and may have practiced a mystery cult that involved snake-handling. A story told that one night King Philip had found a huge snake in the bed next to his sleeping wife. When Alexander went to Egypt, he was given the title " pharaoh," which included the epithet "Son of Ra," the Egyptian personification of the sun. Alexander himself was the model for the image of Apollo on coins issued by his father. The people of Eresus on the island Lesbos erected an altar to Zeus Philippios. In 336 BC, Philip sent Parmenion with an army of 10,000 men, as vanguard of a force to free the Greeks living on the western coast of Anatolia from Persian rule. When the young Alexander tamed the steed Bucephalus, his father noted that Macedonia would not be large enough for him. The seers told him that a son whose birth coincided with three victories would always be victorious. Then he got word of the birth of Alexander. ( Ephorus FGrH 70 217)Īfter Philip took Potidaea in 356 BC, he received word that his horse had just won at the Olympic games, and that Parmenion had defeated the Illyrians. The seer Aristander interpreted this to mean that Olympias was pregnant, since men do not seal up what is empty, and that she would bring forth a son who would be bold and lion-like. King Philip had a dream in which he took a wax seal and sealed up the womb of his wife. There are many legendary accounts surrounding the life of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, with a relatively large number deriving from his own lifetime, probably encouraged by Alexander himself.Īncient Prophesied conqueror
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