Daily Blog 1 Week 6

Konnor Drewen

2/25/011

How did Alexander create his own myth?

            Alexander created his own myth in many ways. The first that I will bring up is when he went to the oracle of Didyma. In Didyma Alexander the Great was told by the oracle that Apollo told the oracle that Alexander might be the son of a god.  It was only after Alexander had defeated the Persians that the oracle spoke again. If we are to believe the Macedonian propaganda, Apollo's first announcement was that Alexander was the son of a god indeed. The second thing I will bring up is the Gordian Knot. In 333 B.C. Alexander the Great had invaded Asia Minor and arrived in the central mountains at the town of Gordium. Undefeated, but without a decisive victory either, he was in need of an omen to prove to his troops and his enemies that the outcome of his mission was possible. In Gordium, by the Temple of the Zeus Basilica, was the ox cart, which had been put there by the King of Phrygia over 100 years before. The staves of the cart were tied together in a complex knot with the ends tucked away inside. After becoming frustrated Alexander drew his sword and severed the knot. That night there was an electrical storm and they say that was Zeus proclaiming that Alexander was his son. The final thing to bring up is the battle at Halicarnassus.  Alexander's army managed to break through the city walls. Memnon, the leader of the Greek mercenaries who was working with the Persians, now deployed his catapults, and Alexander's army fell back. Memnon then deployed his infantry, and shortly before Alexander would have received his first (and only) defeat, his infantry managed to break through the city walls, surprising the Persian forces. Memnon, realizing the city was lost, set fire to it and withdrew with his army. A strong wind caused the fire to destroy much of the city. The reason this built his myth is because against all odds he was able to break through the Persians and take Halicarnassus.