Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been preserved and depicted in many ways. Alexander has figured in works of both "high" and popular culture from his own era to the modern day.

Ancient and Medieval Literature

Alexander and Augustus depicted in a Byzantine style painting from 1568. Written on the left is 'Alexander, King of the Hellenes' and 'Augustus, Emperor of the Romans' on the right. From the Katholikon of Docheiariou Monastery, Mt. Athos, Greece.

Daniel 8:5–8 and 21–22 states that a King of Greece will conquer the Medes and Persians but then die at the height of his power and have his kingdom broken into four kingdoms. This is sometimes taken as a reference to Alexander.

Alexander was briefly mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees. All of Chapter 1, verses 1–7 was about Alexander and this serves as an introduction of the book. This explains how the Greek influence reached the Land of Israel at that time.

In the Qur'an

Alexander in the Qur'an sometimes is identified in Persian and Arabic traditions as Dhul-Qarnayn, Arabic for the "Two-Horned One", possibly a reference to the appearance of a horn-headed figure that appears minted during his rule and later imitated in ancient Middle Eastern coinage. Accounts of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an, and so may refer to Alexander. Noteworthy is the fact that his favorite horse was named Bucephalus, which means "bull's head", alluding to the shape of a horned bull at its forehead.

References to Alexander may also be found in the Persian tradition. The same traditions from the Pseudo-Callisthenes were combined in Persia with Sassanid Persian ideas about Alexander in the Iskandarnamah. In this tradition, Alexander built a wall of iron and melted copper in which Gog and Magog are confined.

Some Muslim scholars disagree that Alexander was Dhul-Qarnayn. There are actually some theories that Dhul-Qarnayn was a Persian King with a vast Empire as well, possibly King Cyrus the Great. The reason being is Dhul-Qarnayn is described in the Quran as a monotheist believer who worshipped Allah (God). This would remove Alexander as a candidate for Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander was a polytheist. Yet contemporaneous Persian nobles would have practiced Zurvanism, thus disqualifying them on the same basis.

In the Shahnameh

15th century Persian miniature painting from Herat depicting Iskander, the Persian name for Alexander the Great

The Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, one of the oldest books written in modern Persian, has a chapter about Alexander. It is a book of epic poetry written around 1000 AD, and is believed to have played an important role in the survival of the Persian language in the face of Arabic influence. It starts with a mythical history of Iran and then gives a story of Alexander, followed by a brief mention of the Arsacids. The accounts after that, still in epic poetry, portray historical figures. Alexander is described as a child of a Persian king, Daraaye Darab (the last in the list of kings in the book whose names do not match historical kings), and a daughter of Philip, a king. However, due to problems in the relationship between the Persian king and Philip's daughter, she is sent back to Rome. Alexander is born to her afterwards, but Philip claims him as his own son and keeps the true identity of the child secret. As noted by Ward Brown, "The genealogy attributed to Alexander in the 'Shahnameh' is a kind of belated vindication of the efforts made by Alexander himself in his own lifetime, to effect a reconciliation with the defeated Persians. The effect of centuries on collective memory would eventually bring the Persians, in their great national epic, to claim Alexander as one of their own, rather than a foreign conqueror".[1]

Other references

Alexander is also known in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian work Arda Wiraz Nāmag as gizistag aleksandar, "Alexander the accursed",[2][3][4] due to his conquest of the Persian Empire and the destruction of its capital Persepolis and burning the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism. He is known as Sikandar (سکندر), Iskandar (اسکندر), and Eskandar-e Maqdūnī (اسکندر مقدونی "Alexander the Macedonian") in New Persian, al-Iskandar al-Makduni al-Yunani[5] ("Alexander the Macedonian Yunani") in Arabic, אלכסנדר מוקדון, Alexander Mokdon in Hebrew, and Tre-Qarnayia in Aramaic (the two-horned one, apparently due to an image on coins minted during his rule that seemingly depicted him with the two ram's horns of the Egyptian god Ammon), الاسكندر الاكبر, al-Iskandar al-Akbar ("Alexander the Great") in Arabic, سکندر اعظم, Skandar in Pashto.

Alexander is one of the two principals in most versions of the Diogenes and Alexander anecdote.

Tatar legends and the Russian Tver Chronicle attribute to Alexander the founding of Aşlı, a mysterious medieval Volga Bulgarian town - though modern archaeological excavations place its foundation in the 11th century.

Cities

Around twenty towns or outposts were founded by Alexander the Great.[6] Some of the main cities are:

Alexander as City-Planner

By selecting the right angle of the streets, Alexander made the city breathe with the etesian winds [the northwestern winds that blow during the summer months], so that as these blow across a great expanse of sea, they cool the air of the town, and so he provided its inhabitants with a moderate climate and good health. Alexander also laid out the walls so that they were at once exceedingly large and marvelously strong.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, volume 8.

Literature

Television

Radio

Film

Date Title Country Notes IMDB
1941 Sikandar India Starring Prithviraj Kapoor as Alexander, directed by Sohrab Modi depicting Alexander's conquests in North-Western India.
1956 Alexander the Great USA / Spain Starring Richard Burton as Alexander, directed by Robert Rossen and produced by MGM.
1965 Sikandar-e-Azam India A Hindi movie directed by Kedar Kapoor starring Dara Singh as Alexandar depicts Alexandar's battle with the Indian prince Porus.
2004 Alexander Germany / USA / Netherlands / France Starring Colin Farrell as Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone. Based on the biography Alexander the Great (ISBN 0-14-008878-4) by Robin Lane Fox. It was released on November 24, 2004.
2006 Alexander Italy An animated film directed by Daehong Kim, and starring Mark Adair-Rios as the voice of Alexander.

Music

Date Title Artist/Group Notes Lyrics
1973 "Iskander" Supersister This Dutch prog band dedicated a full album to the story of Alexander. Track titles include 'Alexander', 'Dareios The Emperor', 'Bagoas', 'Roxane' and 'Babylon'.
1986 "Alexander the Great" Iron Maiden From the heavy metal album Somewhere in Time. The song describes Alexander's life.
1998 "Alexandre" Caetano Veloso Brazilian epic song about Alexander the Great from the album Livro.
2000 "Alexander the Great" bond String quartet release on the album Born.
2005 "Alexander the Great" Iron Mask Song about Alexander the Great from the album Hordes of the Brave by Belgian band Iron Mask.
2009 "Iskander Dhul Kharnon" Nile Song from the album Those Whom the Gods Detest.
2013 "Age of Glory" Serenity This song, from the album War of Ages, details Alexander's need for conquest while watching his life fade away.

Video Games

Airports

At least two airports have been named after Alexander:

Other

References

  1. Dr. Ward Brown, "Ancient, Medieval and Modern Perceptions of the West by the East and the East by the West" in Anthony Wheatley (ed.) "The Fluctation of Historical Narratives"
  2. Worthington (2004), p. 298
  3. Religious persecution under Alexander the Great Livius.org
  4. Alexander the Great by Nigel Cawthorne. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  5. "Alexander Historiatus a Supplement by D. J. A. Ross". Google.com. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  6. "Alexander the Great: his towns". Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  7. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gulliver/section9.rhtml
  8. "Kidman: 'Luhrmann Not Doing Alexander Film'", IMDb.com, November 1, 2004
  9. Bank of Greece. Drachma Banknotes & Coins: 100 drachmas. – Retrieved on 27 March 2009.
  10. TSGE Intellectual Property Policy – Retrieved on 19 March 2015.
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