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This response is going to answer the focus question; ‘Did Alexander the Great receive himself as a god, and was he perceived as a god by his people? Questions to support this statement include, ‘Was Alexander the Great a descendant of Zeus-Mammon? ‘ ‘How vast was Alexander the Greats Empire, did it match his divine status? ‘How did religion play a role in Alexander the Greats life? ‘ ‘Was Alexander the Greats Mother Olympian responsible for Alexander belief he was divine? ‘ Was Alexander the Greats rule as an Egyptian Pharaoh sign of his divinity due to the Egyptian peoples belief that all Pharaohs were demigods? Zeus-Mammon was a God derived from Greek Mythology. This brings us to the opening support question; ‘Was Alexander the Great a descendant of Zeus- Mammon? ‘ Towards the end of Alexander reign and life it is said he became public of his claims of divinity. A quote from Alexander the Great from ‘Alexander the Greats Art of Strategy’ by Part Bose: Maybe your report will endear you to them and make you a source of envy and admiration in the eyes of men and woman devout in the eyes of God. This quote from Art of Strategy is a prime example of Alexander the Greats god complex for himself.
Alexander claimed that he was direct descendant of Zeus-Mammon. Zeus Mammon was supposedly the god of the sky and thunder. This being said adds to the disbelief that was created when talk of Alexander the Greats divinity came into 2) light. The Greek people as said were relatively skeptical Of the claim Of divinity, especially a satirical author, Lucian. Lucian portrayed Alexander claim as blasphemy. The authors story ‘Dialogue of the Dead’ was created after the death of Alexander however were still relevant. The story consisted of the characters Alexander and his father Philip.
The plot is basically Alexander being portrayed as one among the dead of the underworld, and is father mocking him and scolding him due to his claim of being son of Zeus Mammon. These claims came into light when Alexander visited the Oracle of Mammon in Libya. The Oracle of Mammon was a highly respected ancient oracle. The Oracle even had international recognition. Mammon welcomed Alexander the Great. Alexander presence was so welcome that the name ‘son of god’ was beginning to be used. The Oracle of Mammon was known by many as infallible. All the more reason for Alexander the Great to set out and pose his question concerning his divinity.
Alexander the Great aimed to become divine so he loud rival the great Hercules. Hercules being the first son of Zeus. Alexander was able to trace his bloodline to the Hercules. From then on he was convinced he was the son of Zeus. Alexander was successful in proving to his people at the time that he was a divine being, evidence of this is the links in his bloodline. Alexander also posing the question to the respectable Oracle of his divinity, and receiving the answer he desired concerning his divinity only strengthens claims that Alexander was in fact a descendant of Zeus Mammon.
Alexander did not comprehend the answer, however took advantage of his divine status to rather him in expanding his already vast empire. The news of his divinity was also a conversation among his people; it would bring him many great accomplishments as a divine ruler in addition to his achievements as a conqueror. Alexander the Great from the time of his reign to the time of his death conquered vast amounts of the world to build his vast empire. This poses the question, ‘How vast was Alexander the Greats Empire, did it match his divine status? Theoretically speaking if a world has one ultimate ruler, then what is standing in the way of that ‘ruler from 3) claiming himself as divine due his accomplishments. Alexander plan of unifying the world may seem like a plot for world domination similar to the Nazi Leader Doll Hitler. However Alexander ambitions were on a much larger scale. Alexander conquered numerous lands, these included; The Persian Empire, Greece, The Asia Minor, Tree, Lebanon, Gaza, areas near the Caspian Sea, Russian Turnpikes, and Afghanistan.
Alexander rule in many historians eyes both past and present is labeled as extraordinary. Alexander basically created his own world were he was the Head of the Empire, the King, and even The God. Alexander may not have achieved his ambition of being Ruler of the most powerful empire of his time. However his ambitions were quite clear. Alexander military was also very impressive. His military consisted of over 32 000 men who were trained to kill, and also do what their leader requested. The protection of Alexander was also a key objective for his armed forces.
His armed forces are only a mediocre example of his loyal followers of the time. Multiculturalism according to Art of Strategy by Part Bose was a huge part of Alexander the Greats Empire. It was spread throughout his empire. This allowed Alexander the Great to further his claims of divinity. The people of the time were very pleased with his attitude towards cultures flourishing. For example, Alexander allowed nations he conquered to thrive alongside the Greeks and Macedonian. Alexander was also very respectable of all cultures; Egyptian culture is an example in Art of Strategy.
Part Bose writes that when Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt he was very careful not to offend Egyptian spiritual sensibilities. Alexander approach to multiculturalism was one of the factors that allowed him to be invited into Egypt without the need to conquer it by force. This added to the vastness of his empire. Many would say all a religion needs is followers and a divine ruler. Alexander has the credentials of a divine ruler. He conquered major lands as mentioned before; he had a personal military that would die for their ‘God’. He achieved feats that would be near impossible for a common man.
Alexander achieved all his accomplishments at a young age and made it seem almost unproblematic. Also followers were not an issue; Alexander was the ideal leader and many people from the lands he conquered 4) believed in his principles. These followers respected Alexander from the day his reign began to the day of his downfall. Therefore, even if Alexander the Great was not a god his achievements gave him divine status among his people/followers. Religion played a pivotal role in Alexander the Greats life including during his time in power.
This leads to the next question; ‘How did religion play a role in Alexander the Greats life? ‘ As mentioned before, Alexander was quite the advocate for multiculturalism. He respected and took into consideration all religions and cultures. However according to present historians Alexander is labeled a man of blasphemy. Claiming divinity is morally controversial no matter what time period the claim was made. Alexander made this claim at a time when religion was a persons way of life, there reason to live. This being said, Alexander was still a ruler who believed in religion.
Alexander was a Pagan, therefore he believed in deities such as; Zeus, Hear, Athena, Apollo, Demeter, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemisia, Ares, Hyphenates, Dionysus. Alexander was a strong follower of the Pagan god and goddesses. Alexander as mentioned in the response was believed to be a direct descendant of Zeus Mammon. This adds to the belief that religion played an enormous role in his life. According to the Art of Strategy, Alexander life was tryingly impacted by his love of Greek culture. Greek culture obviously followed the pagan religion and way of life. This was evident in Alexander life with his interest in Zeus Mammon.
However the grounds for this interest may have changed towards the end of his life, religion was once very relevant in his life. Like most Greek citizens of the time. Alexander the Greats love and interest in played as said a pivotal role in his life. Alexander strongly followed the way of the Greek people, and this involved a strong respect and love for the Gods and Goddesses of the Pagan religion. Alexander did this by showing his almost frightening interest in Zeus Mammon. Alexander would later take a turn in his religious life style and claim divinity. Alexander the Great was destined for greatness since the day he was born.
Historians however believe that he is not solely responsible for his desire to conquer his 5) surrounding world and later claim divinity. This leads to the next question; ‘Was Alexander the Greats Mother Olympian responsible for Alexander belief that he was divine? This claim is not very known among historians; however in Graham Phillips ‘Alexander the Great Murder in Babylon’ one of he two quotes is about a dream that Alexander mother Olympian dreamt. Murder in Babylon reveals that; “The Delphic Oracle was a priestess who was believe to commune with the gods, foretell the future and offer divine advice.
Apparently, the oracle did no directly reveal the meaning Of Olympian’ dream, but told Philip that he should honor one god above all others – the god Zeus, the supreme deity in the Greek pantheon. Evidently Philip had no idea what to make of this, but Olympian interpreted the oracles words to mean that her unborn child was the son of Zeus who had been infused in her body by the thunderbolt in her dream. The second quote from the Murder in Babylon relates to Olympian telling Alexander tales of his birth, how we was destined for greatness, and of his divinity.
The source illustrates the story told to Alexander and how when he was born the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt to the ground in the Asia Minor. (An area that Alexander would later conquer) This led Olympian and Alexander to believe that the destruction of the Temple was due to the birth of Alexander. Alexander went his whole life believing the tales his mother told him. The tales of his conception, his birth, him being destined for greatness, al the supposed ‘truth’. These all led Alexander to believe his own propaganda and eventually led him deem he was son of Zeus Mammon.
It seems reasonably clear that the claims made by Olympian in the source Murder in Babylon are accurate. However there are some downfalls to the evidence found in the source. The main motivation for an historian to find the evidence found in the source to be questionable may be the fact that The Delphic Oracle “did not directly reveal the meaning of Olympian dream”. Nevertheless, Alexander the Greats achievements as well as his belief in his win divinity may without doubt be due to Olympian belief in The Oracle and the tales she told Alexander. 6) The Egyptian people place strong belief in the divine status of Pharaohs.
They are the most powerful and respected people throughout all of Egypt. Pharaohs such as Tutankhamen, Montmartre Seti I and Samoset were all considered Gods. Or as the Egyptians say, Demigods. This leads to the final sub-question, ‘Was Alexander the Greats rule as an Egyptian Pharaoh sign of his divinity, due to the Egyptian people’s belief that all Pharaohs were demigods? ‘ Alexander rule was very unique on contrast to any other Egyptian Pharaoh. This is due to the fact that Alexander was from Macedonian decent, and him being an Egyptian Pharaoh under any circumstance is quite remarkable.
Alexander was not only given the position of Pharaoh of Egypt, but he was welcomed to the land of Egypt. Alexander and his troops showed great respect for the Egyptian people and their traditions, this won over the respect of the Egyptian people. Alexander was also known as a savior and a liberator. These were attributes that citizens of Egypt took kindly to. Due to Alexander reputation and accomplishments and respect for the Egyptian people he was offered the Double Crown of the Two Lands. This accomplishment was because of the people’s choice, and want for Alexander as their ruler and Pharaoh.
Alexander was respected as a Pharaoh, and his divine status was taken into high regard. Alexander became very devout to the Egyptian religion and way of life, this added to status of God that was over Alexander head established by himself and even his people. Alexander equated his love for Zeus Mammon by worshipping the Egyptian equivalent, Amen. Alexander in his brief era as Pharaoh of Egypt won over the Egyptian people and was considered a God by Egyptians by giving orders to restore religious temples. These temples included the great southern temples of Luxury and Karma.
During the restoration of the temples statues Were created of Alexander dressed in traditional Egyptian formal wear, including the Ram Horns of Amen. The statues were placed all over Egypt, and read on a crouched (carved tablet/ plaque) with Alexander name translated into Egyptian: “Hours, the strong ruler, he who seizes the lands of the foreigners, beloved of Amen and the chosen one of Ra – Maryanne easterners Lawlessness”. 7) ‘Was Alexander the Greats rule as an Egyptian Pharaoh sign of his divinity, u to the Egyptian peoples belief that all Pharaohs were demigods? From what has been said, yes his rule as an Egyptian pharaoh was a sign Of his divinity. The Egyptian people highly regarded him, and even respected him as the ruler, even as their god. Also Alexander was welcomed into power, signifying that the Egyptian people also believed in his divinity. Finally his understanding of there culture cements the truth that Alexander the greats rule did in fact define him as a God. From the research taken, which included; websites and books such as Alexander the Great Murder in Babylon & Alexander the Great Art Of Strategy he conclusion can be made that Alexander the Great did perceive himself as a god.
This was due to his mother Olympian and tales she told him as a child. As for the second half of the question, was he perceived as a god by his people? This can also be concluded with a definite yes. Alexander followers such as the Egyptian people strongly believed he was a divine being. The people from lands which he had conquered all were also convinced that he was a divine being due to the feats he accomplished and the lands he conquered, also due to him being an avid multiculturalism.