Historys Mysteries: The tomb of Alexander the Great

Kelsey Bruinekool

HIST 134 - Ancient World History

Section # 112327

Instructor - Dr. Alec Thomson

March 25, 2017

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One of the largest and most controversial mysteries of all time is the final resting place of

Macedonian King Alexander the Great. Many have heard of Alexander the Great, and many have

heard the stories that go along with his legacy. Alexander was named the great for a reason and

he took his power to another level and becoming legendary. He would ride on an eleven year

journey fighting and winning at least seventy different battles. Eventually he would become the

king of Macedon, the Pharaoh of Egypt, the emperor of Persia, and the ruler of Asia all by

twenty five years old. By the age of thirty Alexander had created one of the largest empires in the

ancient world. This alone would make the proposition of his death the source of contention

between all the people who wanted his body and tomb. However still to this there are many

questions that remain about his body, and what happened after his death.

Alexander III, later known as Alexander the Great, born July 356 BC in Palla, Macedon

(ancient capital of Macedonia, present day Greece) to Philip II who was King of Macedonia and

Olympias during that time. As a child Alexander spent much of his time watching his father

transform Macedonia through great military power. When Alexander was only thirteen years old

his father hired a Greek philosopher named Aristotle to be his sons personal mentor. Aristotle

mentored Alexander for three years in literature, philosophy, science, medicine and much more

that would become very vital later in life. At only sixteen years old his father would leave him

with the power of Macedonia while he was off at battle. During this time King Philip would find

himself in trouble and Alexander would have to lead an army to back up his father. In the end he

would defeat Maedi, and rename it Alexandropolis. At eighteen years old, King Philip would

give his son orders to lead the Macedonian army to invade Greece at the battle of Chaeronea,

where many believe Alexander won because of his drive and bravery. In summer 336 BC, King
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Philip was assassinated and Alexander was declared the next king right there at the young age of

twenty.

Although the mysterious remaining question is what happen to Alexanders body after his

death, questions still remain in his suspicious death. June of 323 B.C. in Babylon at the age of

thirty two, Alexander the Great became sick after drinking wine at a social function and

collapsing in extreme pain. Two weeks after the mighty king was dead. There are many

speculations of Alexanders death, mostly because his father had been murdered years earlier by

his own bodyguard. There are many that believe poisoning took Alexanders life, but present day

medical experts have thought a sickness, like malaria, lung infection or typhoid fever may have

been the actual cause of his death.2 According to some ancient historians, the tradition in

Babylon was for the dead to be buried in a shell of honey or wax. Many believe that this was in

fact done to Alexanders body. However many have also believed that the tomb of Alexander the

great has been thought to be in Alexandria, but has it always been there?

There are historians that have recorded, Alexanders generals were fighting for two year

about who would get his body. Some wanted his body to be buried in Macedonia, however

Ptolemy who was very close with Alexander wanted his body buried in Egypt. So what happened

during these two years that everyone was fighting over Alexanders body and where was he

finally laid to rest? At Alexanders death, it has been rumored that his body was embalmed with

honey, placed in a golden tomb and then put into a golden chariot that would transfer the body.

Two years later during the march from Babylon to Macedon, Ptolemy captured Alexanders body

and took it to Memphis. That is until Ptolemy II Philadelphus took the tomb to Alexandria where

it was thought to have remained for quite some time. But that would not be the end for Alexander

the Greats tomb.

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It has been heard that Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of Ptolemy's final successors, replaced

Alexander's sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convert the original to coinage. 1

Historians have also said there is evidence of many great people visiting alexanders tomb in

Alexandria including Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus. There have been stories that

Caligula was said to have taken Alexander's breastplate from the tomb for his own use, and

Augustus, accidentally knocked the nose off.4 One of the more recent discoveries may have led

to controversial evidence that Alexander could have been buried in Amphipolis (northern

Greece). Because of a tomb there that dated back to Alexanders time as well as the location of

the findings would have been the destination if Ptolemy wouldnt have captured the tomb in the

first place. It is now to be believed that this was in fact the location that Alexander the great

would have been Buried and laid to rest. Sometime around 200 AD Emperor Septimius Severus

would close Alexander's tomb from the public, and since then the details on Alexanders tomb

have been unclear and questioned about for years.4

That was until a Greek Archeologist named Liana Souvaitzi, who specialized in the

history of Alexander the Great. She and her colleagues believed that he was buried at the Siwa

Oasis.3 This was because Alexander believed he was the son of Zeus (Zeus-Amun = Amun Ra), a

theory that was later confirmed to him by the Oracle of Amun at Siwa, which was very important

temple in the ancient world. Amazingly her team made an extreme discovery of an entranceway

guarded by lion statues, which looked to be a very important piece of history. After years of

excavations, there it was, all the clues pointed straight to the tomb of Alexander the Great. In

1995 there was in international announcement made about the discovery and Greece was

overjoyed to have found this victory. However it was shut down very fast, the team was almost

to the final chamber when the Greek embassy told the Egyptian government to shut it down and
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would never be disturbed again. Today what is believed to be the final resting place of Alexander

the Great is surrounded by Egyptian authorities, never allowing permission into the final

chamber that could unveil some of the all-time greatest mysteries.

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Work Cited

1. Sami, Nermin. "In Search of Alexander the Great." tour egypt, 2013. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.

2. Chugg, Andrew M. "The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great." alexanderstomb, 5 Mar. 2009,

alexanderstomb.com. Accessed 26 Mar. 2017.

3. Black, John. "Tomb of Alexander the Great already found, archaeologist claims, but findings

have been blocked by diplomatic intervention." ancient origins, 13 Sept. 2014, ancient-

origins.net. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.

4. Kosmetatou, Elizabeth. The Aftermath: The Burial of Alexander the Great, Hellenic Electronic

Center, 1998, Greece.org. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.