Alexander the Great: the making of a myth

The PastCast

In 336 BC, at the age of just 25, Alexander the Great had become ruler of Asia Minor, pharaoh of Egypt, and successor to Darius III, the ‘Great King’ of Persia. During the next seven years, Alexander became master of an empire that stretched from Greece in the west, into Central Asia and North Africa, and beyond the river Indus in the east, all before his early death in Babylon in 323 BC.

On this episode of The PastCast, Ursula Sims-Williams, co-curator of a new exhibition on Alexander the Great at the British Library, discusses his mythical legacy, where different traditions cast him variously as an accursed figure, a philosopher-king, and even a prophet. On this episode, she spoke with regular PastCast presenter Calum Henderson.

Ursula Sims-Williams is also the author of an article on the mythical history of Alexander the Great in the latest issue of Minerva magazine, which is out now in the UK and is also available to read in full on The Past website.

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Alexander the Great: the making of a myth runs at the British Library in London until 19 February 2023. More information about the exhibition can be found here. The accompanying catalogue and collection of essays, edited by Richard Stoneman, is on sale at the British Library shop.