Alexander the Great's Divinity

[Me]

Alexander didn't believe himself Divine, in the sense that he was a god... he was all too aware of his mortality. There was a clear division between the Gods and man.. men could, however, walk among the Gods if they lived a life according to what was best, according to the culture and time they existed.
To fight with honour was not an evil thing in the time of Alexander- men fought for many reasons: to enlarge territories to fed their populace, to expand border so that peace could reign within them and have a space between the populace and the enemy, to stop others from invading, to ensure the long-term economic stability of a land and people, to gain the potential for greater wealth... all reasons that to the men of the times were reasonable and good.
Today, men fight to ensure the power and wealth of corporations, to try to impose one religion over another, to maintain the global plutocracy, because one man's skin is another color or one man's tribal blood differs...
ALexander knew he wasn't divine, but he tried to act in a way worthy of what he beleived the Gods willed for men: to live with honour, speak with veracity, act with integrity, treat the weak kindly. He tried- and sometimes, he failed- terribly. Others before him had done the same and he tried to emulate their virtues, within the context of his culture, place and time.. but like all men, he fell prey to his own weaknesses and fears... you cannot kill a man nor enslave him without maiming a part of yourself or putting the other end of the slave chain around your own neck.. this, Alexander learned. Others after Alexander tried, also, and many have failed- terrifying are the weakneses of power- but in the trying, they left a legacy of how each man and woman might strive to be. In the end, it is not enough- but it may be all there is. To try t reach the Divine fire that resides within each man and woman, each living thing.
Enough philosophy for today

[agesilaos]

Alexander sent a letter to the Greeks demanding recognition of his godhead and upon the basis of this supra-legal status sought to enforce the Exiles Decree. This is clear the argument is whethere he believed he was a God or was it a politcal ploy. Frankly the history of the later reignis one of challenging the Gods, the Rock of Aornos, the Gedrosian Desert etc; success had gone to his head. The Blood not Ichor story is apologetic not symptomatic having rid himself of Parmenion he becomes increasingly megalomaniac and violently unstable. He was historically more significant than Joshua Bar Joseph called the Christ and even than Mohammed, since his conquests were his own and not those of future followers; he is nothing to do with religions anymore than Stalin or Hitler or Ghengis Khan; he was a successful militarist and as such appreciated the value of Terror and Division he was not a unifier and the evidence can point just as well to an unreasoned belief in his divinity as calculation, perhaps more so.

[Me]

Of course, Karl, if you look at him through modern eyes- but the Gods were "real" then, more so than today... and even today, there are those for whom a God is real, and they certainly do enough destruction while believing themselves the chosen one/ones/people/etc of their god...whether fundamentalist Christina, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan, etc. Believing in the gods is not a guarantee of being peaceful, or even loving.. at least ALexander was prepared to absorb the pantheons of gods they met! And the ancient Makedons were not the only ones to believe that appropriate behavior (depending on cultural values) would ensure men a place beside the gods.
Alexander was capable of seeing the value of being seen as a god without having to buy into the concept except in the abstract. DId he seek to be included in the gods? Of course..and like now, there were many who purported to believe in the gods while not really believing in them at all..and some who beleive they will become gods upon their death... but both Philip and Alexander thought it possible to be placed among them, recognizing the human mortality at the same time, and both men believed in them.
The paradoxes and dichotomies of the ancient world.
One can feel chosen by the gods, special to them, and still recognize mortality in ones self, while still believing one will join the gods upon death, and much depends upon what a culture or religion teaches you will "get you to paradise" or help you "become as the gods".