To What Extent Does Arrian (Books 2, 3 and 7) Suggest Alexander the Great Believed in His Own Divinity and Manipulated Religion and His Alleged ‘Divinity’ for His Own Gain?

Throughout the life of Alexander of Macedon as portrayed in works such as Arrian, Plutarch and Curtius the question of Alexander’s divinity has always been a prominent debate. Alexander believed that he may have been descended from the Greek warrior Achilles on hid father side and Heracles on his Mother’s. It has been argued by historians that Alexander used his alleged divinity to his advantage in both politics and warfare. However, Alexander’s belief in his own divinity did not arise out of an ideological vacuum and in his age and area there was a religious climate that fostered such ideas. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that by Alexander believing and promoting his divinity that he was granted great respect by both his friends and his enemies. The Persian army quickly became very demoralised and fearful when they learned that they were facing an army led by a God, if this were a part of Alexander’s tactics it was definitely an extremely beneficial tactic. Arrian is at times sceptical of Alexander’s belief in his own divinity but has no doubt that even if Alexander never intended to promote his own Legend it was a pivotal reason for Alexander’s successes in Persia.

The primary source used to investigate this will be Books 2, 3 and 7 in Arrian’s The Campaigns of Alexander. By looking at events such as Alexander’s journey to the shrine of Ammon, the untying of the Gordian knot, the visits to the tombs of his alleged ancestors Heracles and Achilles, his military victories and finally the legend he leaves behind in Book 7 after he dies.

Plutarch, Curtius and books 1, 4, 5 and 6 of Arrian are available secondary sources that contain relevant information which will be useful, albeit to a lesser extent. Robin Lane-Fox’s Alexander the Great provides a more modern historical view on Alexander which gives both comparisons and contrasts to Arrian.

The untying of the Gordian knot is one of Alexander’s most famous acts of intelligence, or intolerance