The Greek Alexander Romance

I’ve always been fascinated by Alexander the Great, and the tales from the Alexander Romance have always been an interesting set of stories because of its shared history with some biblical and quranic stories, perhaps even some Arthurian ones too. The romances are not some histroical set of documents, they are almost like a collection of stories where history and perhaps mythology intermix. Overall these might lean more towards works like A Thousand and One Arabian Nights than perhaps a record from a Greek historian.

Alexander’s tales span from display and seeker of wisdom, to feats of strength and conquest, and to overall ambition.

Conquest

Often depicted as imposing an order and improving the nations and people’s livelihood, Alexander saw no limits to what his path to conquering the world. This wasn’t always through strength, sometimes it was through ‘tests’ to see if he was truly the legendary or prophetic man. One such test was the Gordian Knot, a puzzle that acts as a legitimacy test for kingship. Rather than even attempt to solve it, Alexander simply cuts it. Thus showing that despite this meant to be a intellectual test, or one that requires some ability to reason and put effort in, instead Alexander resorts to conquering it with his sword. Alexander doesn’t follow the rules and redefines the parameters to fit his status and go beyond the times conventional thinking.

Wisdom

Alexander is well known to have been a student of Aristotle, something these tales remind the reader of quite often. He was also well known to be open minded about other cultures and traditions, and a student of philosophy.

As a counterpose to his test of legitamacy and his acts of conquest, the Indian sages, naked philosophers, otherwise known as Gymnosophists, challenge Alexander’s intellect. Alexander travels to meet them and is ultimately told he has a lot to learn. Alexander’s frustration is there, but ultimately he recognizes and respects the sages because of their genuine wisdom and lack of seeking his approval or simply appeasing him. The rules of power no longer apply, and this lesson is meant to be a character defining moment for Alexander.

Ambition

There are several tales of ambition that include Alexander ascending into the sky on a carriage led by gryphons, to descending into the ocean in a diving bell to learn more about the creatures underwater, and even hitting the limits of the world where maps no longer have any value.

There are some themes even that tread on Arthurian legend like the Water of Life quest that feels similar to the quest for the Holy Grail, where Alexander seeks immortality and divine knowledge. This signals an ambition to conquer death itself.

Alexander’s ambition went from land, sky, sea, mortality, and perhaps divinehood.

Abrahamic faith connections

One tale that I grew up with is fascinating becaues it spans and intertwines Jewish, Christian and Islamic literatures. That is the tale of Gog and Magog, usually tied to the eschatology of each of those faiths, first originating with the book of Ezekiel closer to 600 BC. By the time the story of Gog and Magog is further expanded in the Bible and later in the Quran, the Alexander legend has evolved to tell tales of his travel to the Caspian mountains and barring their entry by building a gate to separate them from our world, preventing mass calamity. Of course, scholars continue to debate if the Quran is talking about Alexander or some other figure named ‘Dhul Qarnayn’ (literally the owner of two horns), or which story of the gate construction came first. This always fascinates me, where did the legend of the gates even come from since it wasn’t in the Christian bible, how did it become part of the legend and makes it way into the Quran?

The Alexander Romance is a read not based on historical fact, rather its revisionist telling and transformation of Alexander the Great into the mythical and legendary figure we know today. Yes, a lot of it is based on historical fact, but a lot of it comes from stories passed between merchants, traders, scholars, and such over time and then collected into a set of tales that made its rounds. I personally am a big fan of these tales because that’s part of what made Alexandros so great and legendary.