Essay on Alexanders divinity - 3335 Words

What evidence is there that Alexander may have believed that he was of divine descent? And how convincing would this evidence have appeared to one of his followers? From studying the sources of the ancient world that talk about Alexander The Great, it is clear that many of them present Alexander as being some type of heroic figure or Demi-god. However you could question whether Alexander believed this himself. Only by studying his actions and the actions of those around him can we draw any type of conclusion on this matter. This can be done through the use of sources that exist from the time of and around his death. Most of these sources have been lost or are incomplete however, so I feel that it would be best to mainly consult the†¦show more content†¦So this may be why he visited the temple, not out of any personal belief that he was descended from Ammon, but instead, out of a sense of duty or to appear to be taking the fact that he was made Pharaoh by the Egyptian people as being a great honour. More over by visiting the temple he would be making his Egyptian subjects happy. Arrian further states that other accounts say that Alexande r went to the temple so that he could gain Ammon’s approval before founding Alexandria. This would seem plausible since, although there is question whether or not Alexander believed that he was of divine descent, it cannot be doubted that he took worship of the gods very seriously. And he would most certainly want a god of Ammon’s statures approval on something as important as the founding of Alexandria. Later Arrian states that when Alexander arrived at the temple, the priest answered the question of his divinity by greeting him as ‘son of Ammon’. This is, by Arrian’s wording, what ‘his heart desired’. This would once again indicate that both he and others around him did truly believe that he was of divine descent. Although Arrian is somewhat sceptical as to whether Alexander truly did crave this answer or if that is just what he said because it is what other people wanted to hear. Plutarch writes that some accounts say that when Alexander entered the temple the priest wished to greet him by saying ‘O, paidion’ meaningShow MoreRelatedThe Western World Essay1344 Words   |  6 Pagesemotional struggles. Whereas, Classical architecture focused on dedicating massive structures to the gods to emphasize their divinity, but Hellenistic architecture used advanced technology to exemplify Alexander the Great’s magnificence. 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