KULTURA / CULTURE
Aleksandar Veliki i Hefestion love lava - mozaik sa ostataka kraljevske palate u Peli Alexander the Great and Hephaestion hunting lion - mosaic from the remains of the royal palace at Pella
Reverence at the foot of the Acropolis Athens is inevitably the next stop. The relationship between Alexander and Athens was complex, representing a mixture of deep cultural respect and political rivalry. Alexander considered himself the heir and promoter of Hel- lenic culture, and he saw Athens as its brightest beacon. After consolidating his rule over Greece, Alexander visited Athens and the Parthenon, showing the greatest re- spect. Later, following his first major victory over the Persians at the Gran- icus River, Alexander had 300 suits of Persian armour sent to Athens as a gift to the goddess Athena, with the in- scription: “Alexander, son of Philip, and all the Greeks (except the Lacedaemo- nians (Spartans)) present this offering from the spoils taken from the barbari- ans who inhabit Asia”. The armour was hung proudly on the columns of the Parthenon as evidence of his triumph. Try to imagine that scene when you visit the Acropolis under the bak- ing July sun. Then walk to central Ath- ens and visit the ruins of Aristotle‘s Ly- ceum, a school founded by Alexander’s teacher with the help of his most fa- mous student. Next, head down to the Athenian Riviera, in Glyfada or Vouli- agmeni, where historical impressions blend perfectly with luxurious seaside relaxation.
Alexander’s mythical strides into Asia Before we head south to the Turk-
ish Riviera, flights to Istanbul or Izmir open the way for us to visit the places where Alexander’s Asian legend began. The young king’s first stop on Asian soil was Troy (near present-day Çanakkale). Alexander was obsessed with Homer’s Il- iad and considered himself a descend- ant of Achilles, which is why he rushed to the tomb of Achilles immediately af- ter crossing the Hellespont and left sacri- fices there, before taking a sacred shield from the temple of the goddess Athe- na that was believed to date back to the Trojan War. That shield was carried by his personal bodyguards in all of his fate- ful battles. Descending towards the Turkish re- sorts, we reach Ephesus, located close to Izmir and Kuşadası and considered one of the world’s most beautifully preserved ancient cities. Alexander had an almost cosmic relationship with Ephesus. Spe- cifically, on the night of his birth in Pel- la, Ephesus’s magnificent Temple of Ar- temis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, burned down. Legend has it that the temple burned down because the goddess Artemis was too busy help- ing Olympias give birth to Alexander. When Alexander marched on Ephe- sus years later, he offered to fully finance the rebuilding of this colossal temple, on condition that his name be engraved
on the dedication. The proud but diplo- matically wise Ephesians rejected him with words that have gone down in his- tory: “It is not fitting for one god to build a temple for another god”. Alexan- der merely laughed at that, but the tem- ple was nonetheless rebuilt, without his name. Where the fate of an empire broke Just a few kilometres south of Ephe- sus are the remains of Priene, a beau- tiful ancient city on the steep slopes of Mount Mycale. Its citizens eagerly ac- cepted Alexander’s funds to complete their Temple of Athena Polias. Visit this magical site today and see a replica of the inscription on one of the massive pillars (the original is held in the British Muse-
58 | Istorija » History
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