Alexander: Destiny and Myth

Few figures from history have aroused as much admiration as Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king who, between 334 and 323 B.C., conquered the immense Persian Empire, led his army as far as India, and transformed the known world. Even in antiquity, he was an almost mythical hero, and over the centuries he has been remembered as the paragon of martial brilliance. But for the historian, Alexander presents both a tantalizing subject and a formidable challenge. For all his achievements, there is very little direct evidence of his existencea few inscriptions, some coins and portraits, and allusions to him in speeches of the dayand the oldest surviving accounts of his life were written three or more centuries after his death.