God's Role in Alexander the Great's Pursuit of Divine Status
Discuss the role of the gods in Alexander’s vision and the construction of his self image. What were the repercussions of the divine relationship on his personal propaganda and for what reasons did Alexander seek divine status?
Scholars have long debated the factors that contributed to Alexander seeking divine status during his reign and if he actually claimed divinity during his lifetime. By analyzing several extracts from varying sources, I intend to illustrate that Alexander’s divine quest was not solely due to his visions of self grandeur and arrogance but rather an outcome impressed upon him by his environments, political situation and achievements. I will also acknowledge that he grew to believe that he was the son of Zeus towards the end of his reign, even though if he personally proclaimed his beliefs remains ambiguous. Taking into consideration the difficulty of this task bearing in mind the dearth of sources that tackle this topic, often offering contradictory views, I aim to prove my thesis by concentrating on the views held by Ian Worthington in Alexander the Great a Reader, W.W. Tarn, Alexander the great 2 vol. and Wilcken’s Alexander der Grosse.
Worthington’s book analyses several ancient source material and contemporary published articles that tackle all the points of Alexander’s quest for divinity. W.W Tarn argues that Alexander’s desire for divinity was a political strategy, but it fails to discuss Alexander’s views on his own origin. Wilcken disclaims the political argument, offering instead the view that Alexander’s desire for divinity was ‘rooted in his psychology’ (i.e. he was simply a very arrogant and self-indulgent leader who, due to amazing military feats, felt he should be recognized as a god. From my study of these materials and others from the source book I feel that Tarn’s view is correct but fails to consider aspects of Wilcken’s theory that should not be ignored; Alexander did seek divinity for political reasons but he also ultimately believed he was divine. A trait I feel was caused by his surroundings and upbringing. My paper is divided into three parts; illustrating the influences that affected Alexander as a youth to seek divinity, describing the events and portraits that track the development of Alexander’s psychology; from viewing himself as a military master to a god, and the repercussions of his view.
It is widely believed that his mother Olympias tried to convince a young, impressionable Alexander of his...