The Search for Alexander

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Alexander the Great inspired immense hero worship during his time, a phenomenon that continues today. In this companion to an art exhibition featuring artifacts from his reign and his father Philip II's tomb, historian Fox explores the motivations and personality of Alexander, suggesting he spent his life in competition with his hero, Homer's Achilles. The narrative seeks clues about Alexander's character while detailing his battles, bravery, and the challenges of leading a volatile group of Macedonians. Notably, Fox highlights moments that reveal this competition, such as Alexander's visit to Troy, where he honored Achilles and cast his friend Hephaestion as Patroclus. Utilizing contemporary sources, Fox also proposes that Alexander's mother, Olympias, may have constructed a tomb for Pausanias, Philip's assassin, adjacent to Philip's own. Tragically, Alexander's reign signaled the decline of Greece's golden age, as his reluctance to innovate in governance resulted in little progress. This account transforms the decline of Classical Greece’s democratic cities into an engaging adventure, serving as a more accessible version of Fox's earlier monumental work on Alexander, rich in romance and vivid detail.