alexander

90 THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
An impossibly grand funeral was held, but most important,
a funeral bier was built that, according to Arrian, was
so large, composed of so much gold, and so grand, that it
became an immediate tourist attraction. The bier was to be
brought back to Pella, but was expropriated by Ptolemy
(one of the Companions, a childhood friend of Alexander’s,
and a rumored half-brother), who took it to Alexandria in
Egypt and founded a dynasty there. Every tourist, from
Roman emperors to slaves, visited the bier for centuries.
Nero probably stole it for the gold to be melted down. Alexander’s
body disappeared without a trace. In the late twentieth
century, a Greek archaeologist found evidence of Greek
writings in Siwah. The archaeologist contends it may well
be where Alexander’s body was interred.
Inferences and Allegations
Alexander was mortal, despite being considered a god in his
lifetime. The funeral bier would have helped consolidate his
identity and his successors, and it would have strengthened
unity by being displayed throughout the empire on its return
to Pella. Irony is a jealous god—it turned out that Alexander’s
body, once it was stolen by Ptolemy, actually
contributed to the empire’s disintegrating immediately after
his death.
Leading Lessons
In the end, we are all mortal. Buddha put it better than
anyone: ‘‘We have all been dying since we were born.’’ Rec-