Alexander the Great  

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Alexander the Great (July 20, 356 BC–June 10, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC),]] was one of the most successful Ancient Greek military commanders in history.

Then [344 BCE], one or two years later, Aristotle was summoned to his native Stageira by King Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor of Alexander the Great, who was then 13.

Lai d' Aristote

Aristotle, supposed tutor and counselor to Alexander the Great, fell for the scheme of the youthful monarch's paramour. One of the best loved medieval tales, the so-called "Lai d' Aristote," presented a scandalous image of the great philosopher. The story of Aristotle's fall remained popular for more than 500 years. --http://education.umn.edu/EdPA/iconics/aristotle/default.htm [Jul 2004]

His lover Hephaiston

Alexander the Great world conqueror but also a lover of men, particularly Hephaiston [1], whose death in 324 BC he mourns extravagantly.

Hephaestion (ca. 356 BC–324 BC), son of Amyntor, was a Macedonian aristocrat, the closest companion, general, bodyguard, and the lover of Alexander the Great.

In literature

  • From 1969 to 1981, Mary Renault wrote a historical fiction trilogy on the life of Alexander: Fire From Heaven (about his early life), The Persian Boy (about his conquest of Persia, his expedition to India, and his death, seen from the viewpoint of Bagoas, a Persian eunuch and Alexander's eromenos), and Funeral Games (about the events following his death). Alexander also appears briefly in Renault's novel The Mask of Apollo, and is alluded to directly in The Last of the Wine and indirectly in The Praise Singer. In addition to the fiction, Renault also wrote a non-fiction biography, The Nature of Alexander.
  • French writer Roger Peyrefitte wrote a trilogy about Alexander the great which is regarded as a masterpiece of erudition : La Jeunesse d'Alexandre (1977), Les Conquêtes d'Alexandre (1979) and Alexandre le Grand (1981).
  • A further trilogy of novels about Alexander was written in Italian by Valerio Massimo Manfredi and subsequently published in an English translation, entitled Child of a Dream, The Sands of Ammon and The Ends of the Earth.
  • David Gemmel's Dark Prince features Alexander as the chosen vessel for a world-destroying demon king. ISBN 0-345-37910-1.
  • Steven Pressfield's 2004 book The Virtues of War is told from the first-person perspective of Alexander. Pressfield's novel The Afghan Campaign is told from the point of view of a soldier in Alexander's army. Alexander makes several brief appearances in the novel.
  • Rudyard Kipling's story "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888) provides some glimpses of Alexander's legacy. Made into a movie of the same title in 1975, starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
  • In Alan Moore's Watchmen, one of the main characters, Ozymandias, goes into detail about how he followed in Alexander the Great's footsteps in order to achieve enlightenment.
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