Alexander The Great - Historum

etak4444 · August 31st, 2009, 05:17 PM

Could someone tell me what is/are the primary source/s that confirm that Alexander The Great once lived?

Thanks.

Nick · August 31st, 2009, 06:45 PM

Coins bearing his face, testimony by his teacher Aristotle and the presence of Greek architecture in India.

The End · September 1st, 2009, 07:04 AM

THe only colour portrait we have of him comes from an excavated mosaic in Pompei.

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient...nder_great.jpg

**Belisarius** · September 1st, 2009, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by etak4444

Could someone tell me what is/are the primary source/s that confirm that Alexander The Great once lived?

Thanks.

What makes you think he didn't?

etak4444 · September 1st, 2009, 08:57 PM

Thanks for your replies. I didn't doubt that Alexander once lived (although my question may seem to imply it - apologies). I am just interested in the amount of evidence there is pointing to his life. I am not sure why I picked Alexander but he just came to mind. I was thinking there were some personalities throughout history whose confirmed existence is based on scant evidence and it is accepted. The thoughts coming to mind since roving about the forums the little time I have been here, are that it is important to question the credibility of sources, historians' and archaeological interpretations and the like so that we are not mislead in any way. Even with the same lot of evidence not everyone is led to the same conclusion.

**Belisarius** · September 2nd, 2009, 12:16 AM

Good point. A prime example of this phenomenon is Jesus.

As for Alexander, his contemporary biography has not survived. All we have to go on are accounts published about 100 years afterwards.

The End · September 9th, 2009, 05:45 AM

The fact is, to explain the following three centuries of Greco-Macedonian rule over Mesopotamia, Asia-Minor, Syria-Palestine and Egypt, we need some Greco-Macedonian general to have conquered the territory.

**Rasta** · September 9th, 2009, 06:40 AM

It is a good point. How do we know that we can trust the surviving sources? Well, the best way is to compare independant sources. If we don't have that, we go with what we got. The less corroborating evidence we have the less certain we can be.

**Sargon of Akkad** · September 9th, 2009, 08:08 AM

And that the Seleucid Empire ruled it for another few hundred years after that would indicate that he existed also.

etak4444 · September 9th, 2009, 04:27 PM

Thank you all for making the time to make comments. They are all very helpful.