I did not know how to title this one; ‘On becoming a god’, ‘The deification of Alexander’ or ‘How to become a God?’, are alternative titles.
Today I’ll tell the story of how Alexander became a god during his life time.
The road to Asia
From his mother’s mystical origins a lot has been written. Particularly relevant here is her possible status as a priestess of the cult of Dionysus. An ancient cult or (perhaps) religion which hasn’t been properly recorded. However with some degree of certainty we can say snakes were involved with rituals, this will become important later.
Alexander likely grew up hearing about his mythological origins, Plutarch wrote about his conception as if it was a divine endeavor intervened by Zeus himself. I’ll refrain to simply point out that tradition had Alexander as descendant of Achilles by his mother’s side and Heracles on his father’s. Quite a linage. Yet it wouldn’t be the first story of Zeus coming to the mortal world to father sons. Like the snakes, the issue of Zeus will be relevant further in this narrative. Imagine as a child being reminded frequently you are descendant of Achilles and Heracles.
During his short life the hegemon of Greece would try to emulate and pay homage to his demi-god ancestors. More importantly, before he left Greece to never return, he already had this idea in his mind: maybe he too was a god? Could it be true?
This probable thought on his head likely dictated two of Alexander’s more recognizable traits: recklessness and zealotry. The former since why would he worry about dying if he was immortal, the latter because he would not let anyone get between him and his self attributed divine duties.
Before crossing the Hellespont into Asia, sacrifice to the gods and prayer were conducted. A new world lay ahead. Alexander’s first action was to visit the city of Troy, yes that Troy. Alexander was an avid reader, it was said the kept Aristotle’s annotated copy of the Iliad below his pillow.
The Achillean fighter
In Troy he did not find the marvelous city that once stood there some 800 hundred years before. However he did find a temple dedicated to Achilles, in it there was a shield said to once belong to him. Alexander decided this shield would be put to better use with him. So, armed with the shield of his ancestral hero, he marched into his first mayor battle in Asia.
At the battle of the Granicus he hastily charged the Persian army. In the thick of battle Alexander started dispatching enemies, one of them managed to hit him on the helmet, how he didn’t die or fracture his head is beyond my comprehension. While in the ground, another enemy was about to slay him, but one of his bodyguards, Cleitus the black managed to kill the enemy before. The story (and demise) of Cleitus is a good story for another time. At this point suffice to say Alexander was ecstatic. The notion, the idea that protected by the relic of his ancestor and his divine lineage nothing could stand between him and his plans to conquer the world was growing on him. Maybe his mother did tell the truth when she claimed he was son of the gods.
Oh Paidos!
Some battles later, he arrived to the land of Egypt. Visiting the North, a new city was to be founded. The namesake of our protagonist: Alexandria. In fact the first of many cities that would be named after him. Tales say that it was Alexander who draw the layout of the city by using the army’s corn for such purpose. Over the next centuries Alexandria would become the most important city of the Hellenic world, but this is not a story about Alexandria.
The oracle of Siwa was renown in antiquity for it’s accuracy at faith telling. So Alexander having left the majority of his forces in Alexandria took his entourage and they started crossing the desert towards the Siwa oasis. The trek would take several days, however not even the Egyptian guides would save the party from getting lost. A sandstorm during the middle of the voyage hid all the markers placed in the desert to help travelers navigate. The guides probably got very concerned, Alexander was more relaxed.
In the middle of the confusion two snakes emerged from the sands of the desert. Alexander interpreting this as a symbol, as a reminder of the tales his mother the priestess with snakes told him about his deity.
“We will follow the snakes, they will guide us to Siwa” he allegedly said. Time later the party arrived to Siwa.
Many tales have been told of what Alexander asked the oracle at Siwa, this is the one that fits my narrative: one and only one question was asked by Alexander. He asked if he had avenged the murder of his father (Philip). To this, the oracle rather confused reminded him his father was Zeus-Ammon, thus he should not make such improper questions about his father.
This was enough for Alexander, he had his suspicions, but now he had the confirmation he needed. Her mother had told him the truth, he was the son of Zeus, he was a god. One can only imagine the thrill Alexander must have felt.
With this knowledge Alexander headed to Memphis, the capital of Egypt. Here he triumphantly entered and was crowned pharaoh of Egypt, the first Hellenic pharaoh. Who better than a son of Ammon to be crowned?
Beyond Egypt
Armed with this renewed confidence on his divinity Alexander continued his conquest of the world. Facing death head on he would often fight on the thick of battle exposing his life many times. Being injured many, many times, but all of them cheating death. After all he was a god. Alexander was generally leading his troops not from the rear but from the front.
At this point you might be thinking, how come Alexander only lived 32 years if he was a god. A fair question. I’ve been writing a 4 part blog on how (or rather why) Alexander died. But for now suffice to say, that he had an early dead because he stopped believing he was a god.
Your state of mind can definitely dictate how far you can reach.
