INTRODUCTION

There are many ways of experiencing Alexander1 III of Makedonia (356-323 bc). Historians and archaeologists have studied his personality, his legacy and the impact of his reign from various perspectives. Material culture and ancient literary sources provide the basis for our modern image of Alexander the Great. This study allows an understanding of the socio-cultural processes which culminated in the rise of Makedonia to be the leading power in Greece, the conquest of the Persian empire and, after Alexander’s death, the fragmentation of his realm. Much of Alexander’s importance lies in his posthumous fame. In antiquity and the medieval and early modern periods, the king and conqueror became a shining vessel of contemporary fascination as well as imagination. Thus we learn not only about Alexander but about the cultural preoccupations of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and later societies, including our own.