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What Was Alexander's Belief In Ancient Greek

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This paper will examine Alexander III of Macedon’s belief in his own divinity as a living man and the extent to which this belief became a reality among his subjects. This question will be examined through the analysis of the leading Alexandrian ancient sources, including works by Arrian, Curtius, Diodorus, Justin and Plutarch. I intend to discuss two significant events in Alexander’s life: his expedition to see the oracle at Siwah, and his attempt to introduce proskynesis into his court. A brief discussion regarding Alexander’s childhood and upbringing will provide us with an understanding of the importance that religion played in Alexander’s life. Early life and emulation of the gods Alexander’s fascination with the divine began early …show more content…

The best example of this is the events that occurred just prior to his death at the wedding of his daughter. Philip entered the wedding behind thirteen statues, twelve of which depicted Olympian gods, with the thirteenth statue depicted himself as a god, an act that shocked those in attendance. Philip was murdered at this wedding, therefore it is difficult to determine if he considered himself and wanted other to consider him divine. Our sources tell us that Alexander was present at this wedding, therefore would have witnessed the procession of god-like statues. It is possible that Alexander wished to emulate his father’s step towards becoming a living …show more content…

Proskynesis is typically interpreted as obeisance. The Greeks typically referred to obeisance as the Persian greeting before their King. There was two ways in which this was done: a slight bow forward with a simultaneous kiss, or complete prostration before the monarch. In the Persian world, this act was a very common social procedure where someone of ‘lower-status’ does obeisance before a ‘higher-status’ individual. However in the Greek world, this act had a strict religious connotation. Greeks would only perform obeisance before the gods, it would be undignified and immoral for Greeks to perform this act before a mortal. Similarly, the Greeks considered Persian subjects slaves to their King, to perform proskynesis before the King or any other mortal man would be against the Greek sense of freedom. As proskynesis was reserved for deities, when Greeks witnessed Persian’s practising this before their King, they mistook this action as a form of

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