Who was (reputed to be) Alexander The Great's real father?
Upvote:9
The source of this line of rumors seems to be the Alexander romance
The Romance of Alexander is any of several collections of legends concerning the mythical exploits of Alexander the Great. The earliest version is in the Greek language, dating to the 3rd century.
The Pharoah discussed as the possible deadbeat dad would be Nectanebo:
The Persians occupied Memphis and then seized the rest of Egypt, incorporating the country into the Achaemenid Empire. Nectanebo fled south and preserved his power for some time; his subsequent fate is unknown.
Of course everyone wanted to claim a piece of the credit and lay claim to the real parenthood of Alexander:
Soon after Alexander the Great's godhood was confirmed by the Libyan Sibyl of Zeus Ammon at the Siwa Oasis, a rumor was begun that Nectanebo II, following defeat in his last battle, did not travel to Nubia but instead to the court of Philip II of Macedon in the guise of an Egyptian magician.
Since the other contender was Zeus himself:
Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus.
And of course this exiled Pharaoh Nectanebo of course must have been a great magician to seduce Olympias:
while Philip was away on campaign, Nectanebo convinced Philip's wife Olympias that Amun was to come to her and that they would father a son. Nectanebo, disguising himself as Amun, slept with Olympias and from his issue came Alexander.
Of course, having controversy about your linage never hurts when you want to rule the world:
Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception.
More post
- π How is this pattern from Pompeii also in Cappella Sansevero?
- π Did "music pendants" exist in the 1800s/early 1900s?
- π What are exceptions to the hypothesis that "climate determined "regional" loyalties in the U.S. Civil War"?
- π How have European microstates survived?
- π What is the other ancient Indian magic trick described by Adi Shankaracharya?
- π What would have been the price of a loaf of bread in 1645 Amsterdam?
- π What name was given to Victorian era of confidence?
- π Did the Safavid rulers require all subjects to convert to Shi'a Islam?
- π Why did the Nazis guillotine criminals but mostly hang political enemies, and why were the White Rose group an exception?
- π Why did the recorded history of Poland start after the reign of Miezsko I?
- π When did England stop being a Papal fief?
- π Has there ever been a massacre or genocidal act via people thrown off a cliff?
- π When was the change from kalends, ides and nones to numbers
- π What was the social status of a man who failed the civil service exams in Imperial China ( 1200 - 1800 AD )?
- π What was Gandhi's post-factum view of the Partition?
- π Was "Aku Soku Zan" (ζͺε³ζ¬) a real Shinsengumi motto?
- π Did they use nicknames in ancient Rome?
- π What denomination of Christianity did Anne Boleyn believe in?
- π 1850s steel technology advance before the Bessemer converter
- π Did the Soviet army intentionally send troops (e.g. penal battalions) running over minefields?
- π Was Christianity legalized during the Meiji Restoration?
- π What is the earliest example of the usage of 'Nazis' to refer clearly and exclusively to the National-Socialists?
- π When was the Eastern Front founded?
- π Has a battering ram been used to breach a gate?
- π Is there any example of one country devastating a third?
- π How did the Filipinos lose the Philippine-American War?
- π What was Libya's form of direct democracy (Jamahiria) like in practice?
- π Where does Lincoln say the South wants us to believe as they believe?
- π Which religion was the first monotheistic one?
- π Did the Founding Fathers believe that states had the right to secede?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π Who was (reputed to be) Alexander The Great's real father?
- π Who governed while Alexander the Great was away conquering Asia?
- π Who was the real beginner of Lord Ganesha festival?
- π Who was the French king during Pope Alexander VI (Borgia)
- π What was the real name of the painter who made the Christ Pantocrator of Sant Climent de TaΓΌll Church?
- π Who was the real first president of the United states of america?
- π Who believed the earth was flat?
- π Was Alexander the Great Greek or Macedonian?
- π Who was the last leader of a country to call himself a dictator, or the last regime that called itself a dictatorship?
- π Who was the first female ruler to be given the suffix, "the great"?
- π Was there a King of England, or an heir to the throne, in 1831 who idolized Michael Faraday?
- π Was there a priest on the Titanic who stayed on the ship giving confession to as many as he could?
- π Who was the longest lived European monarch of the middle ages?
- π Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?
- π Who was responsible for the partition of India?
- π Who was the last European king to actively engage in combat?
- π Was the "natural born citizen" requirement for the President inserted into the US Constitution by Alexander Hamilton's enemies?
- π Who was the first woman ruler?
- π Who was the last US president who did not start a war?
- π Who was the English Knight Templar holding command in the Mongol Army?
- π Besides Mexico, who was considered as a potential ally of the Central Powers?
- π Who was the first head of government to support same-sex marriage?
- π Who was the last English king whose first language was French?
- π Was the Somerset Decision in 1772 in England the real underlying cause of the American Revolutionary war?
- π Who was the last person "Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered" under British jurisdiction?
- π Who was the richest person in the world at the start and end of WW2?
- π Who was Richard of York at the Battle of Grunwald?
- π Who was the first military force to use teppo (guns) in mass battles during the Sengoku-jidai?
- π Was Ford the only person who became a US president without winning an election?
- π What was the first map of Antarctica having a shape based on real evidence?
