By the time of his death in 323 BCE, Alexander the Great had conquered the largest empire the world had yet seen. Born in 356 BCE to King Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander’s mother was Olympias, princess of the kingdom of Epirus. The Argead dynasty to which Philip belonged claimed descent from the hero Heracles, and the Molossians of Epirus claimed to be descended from Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles.
As a young man, Alexander acted as regent of Macedonia and led several successful military campaigns. In 336 BCE, aged twenty, Alexander ascended the Macedonian throne. Shortly after, he led a combined Greek force across the Hellespont. By 331 BCE he had defeated the forces of the Persian empire, causing its king, Darius III, to flee. Alexander continued to campaign into modern-day Afghanistan and India before returning to Babylon where he died after a sudden illness.
Alexander had many of the characteristics required of a mythical hero: he was of noble birth, claimed descent from the divine, was pious in honouring the gods and was a great military leader. The name of Alexander was associated with power and authority. Recognised as a hero while alive, Alexander has been mythologised ever since.
