According to Jeremy McInerney in his lecture series Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, “Alexander is understood differently. After WWI, at the time of the League of Nations, some argued that Alexander’s empire was an ancient forerunner in the 20th century’s experiment in international cooperation. For others, like Ernst Badian, Alexander was nothing more than just another example of the paranoid, power-hungry tyrant that has afflicted us throughout history. The ‘court tradition’ is the sanitized view of Alexander. Like Napoleon, Alexander had a whole retinue of intellectuals with him. Callisthenes of Olynthus was the official court historian… he wrote in [a] grand inflated style. He would eventually fall out with Alexander and be executed, but he lived long enough to produce a highly eulogistic account of the great man. He is compared to the Homeric heroes, like Achilles.”
“But even in antiquity, there was also a very negative tradition about Alexander. Cleitarchus wrote negatively about Alexander; his work was hated by the critics but loved by the general populace. It became immensely popular reading during the Hellenistic period and into the Roman Empire. He portrayed an Alexander that flew into rages and would kill someone in a drunken brawl. Eventually, these two traditions would merge. Later historians, like Plutarch and Arrian, tried to marry the two traditions together.” Here are historical sites that you can visit today that are associated with moments in Alexander’s life:
Olympia, Greece: according to Kenneth Harl in his lecture series Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Age, “in 380 BCE at the Olympic Games, an Athenian intellectual known as Isocrates announced what later came to be called pan-Hellenism. He urged Athens and Sparta to sync their differences and lead a coalition of Greek city-states to conquer Asia Minor from the Persians and settle it. He says that Greek identity is no longer necessarily race, but the barbarians who would adopt Greek institutions, live in a city-state, have the elected government, could, too, become Greeks. Unwittingly, in his enthusiasm to end interstate war and urge a wider Greek alliance, Isocrates created the notion that the Greek city-state could be exported to the Near East. It would be the Macedonian kings, especially Alexander and his successors, who would do this.”
Amphipolis, Greece: in 359 BCE, Philip II became king of Macedonia. According to Kenneth Harl in his lecture series Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire, “in 357 BCE, Philip seized Amphipolis and gained control of the important gold mines to the west of Mount Pangaion.”
Samothrace temple complex, Greece: in 357 BCE, Philip II of Macedon marries Olympias. Harl states, “they met at the Mysteries of Samothrace. Olympias was a devotee of Dionysus and according to Plutarch, was really good at getting involved in Bacchic dances and had a very wild nature. She was the daughter of King Neoptolemus of Epirus, a Greek people who had never coalesced into city-states and were looked at as a bit slow politically. But she was regarded as a queen of great bearing—she was a Greek speaker, and she was of Greek ancestry. Her two children were Alexander, born 356, and Cleopatra, born 355. Olympias and Philip had a tempestuous love match. After they fell out of love, they became quite vindictive to each other.”
Pella, Greece: in 356 BCE, Alexander is born in Pella. Harl continues, “up until age 12 or 13, Olympias was in charge of Alexander’s education, as she picked the tutors. At age 13, Philip entrusted Alexander to a man who has recommended to him through various contacts in the Greek world—Aristotle.”
Philippi, Greece: In 356 BCE, Philip conquered the city Crenides and renamed it to Philippi. Harl states that the city, “allowed Philip to exploit the gold and silver mines and issue a vast coinage in gold and silver, which enabled him to pay for his military reforms, colonies, roads, and for the many expensive diplomatic gifts by which Philip bribed various politicians.”
Chaeronea, Greece: in 338 BCE, Alexander fights alongside his father Philip II at the Battle of Chaeronea. Their win gives Macedonia a foothold in Greece and represents a start toward Alexander’s eventual empire
Palace of Aigai in Vergina, Greece: in 336 BCE, Philip II was assassinated in this palace. The building was destroyed 200 years later. In 2024, it opened to visitors after being reconstructed.
Ancient Necropolis of Aigai in Greece: also in Vergina, Philip’s tomb was uncovered in the 1970s
Delphi, Greece: upon his father’s death, Alexander was proclaimed king. That same year, he went to consult the Pythia at Delphi. According to tradition, he forced her to proclaim him invincible.
Selcë e Poshtme, Albania: in 335 BCE, Alexander led his Balkan Campaign against rebellious vassals. He drove the Illyrian forces into the fortress at Pelion, whose location is debated. One suggestion has been Selcë e Poshtme, where you can see Illyrian royal tombs.
The Dardanelles, Turkey: in 334 BCE Alexander crosses the Hellespont by crossing from Sestos to Abydos. It is said that he hurled his spear into the ground to claim that Asia Minor was spear-won territory. This commences his wars against the Persian Empire
Biga River, Turkey: in May of 334 BCE Alexander wins the Battle of the Granicus, near the Biga River. According to McInerney, this was the first of his three great victories over the Persians.
Unknown: in 334 BCE, after his victory at Granicus, it is said that Alexander visited the tumulus of Achilles, famed hero of the Trojan War. It is said that Alexander was a descendant of Achilles through his mother’s side. Harl states that Alexander slept with a copy of the Iliad annotated by Aristotle under his pillow every night. Jonathan S. Burgess writes that, “the tumulus of Achilles is curiously mobile, since it has been impossible to decide upon a single, ‘real’ tumulus of Achilles, whether in a mythological, religious, or archaeological sense.” In the 4th century of the common era, the Roman Emperor Julian. In the 1400s, Mehmet II claimed to visit as well. According to some sources, the tumulus may have been in a city named Achilleion. The mosaics below are from Zeugma in Turkey and Rutland in England.
Sardis, Turkey: Harl states that, after Granicus, “there was little coordinated resistance to Alexander for the rest of the year. 334 BCE was essentially a march along the western shore of Turkey, liberating the Greek cities of Ionia.” In June of 334 BCE he takes Sardis without a fight. Two-hundred-years earlier, Sardis had been conquered by Cyrus the Great and the infamous king Croesus was killed.
Ephesus, Turkey: Alexander reached Ephesus after offered to pay for the reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis. Apparently they refused, stating, “it would be improper for one god to build a temple to another”
Priene, Turkey: Harl tells us that at Priene, Alexander was greeted with great pomp. He slept in a house, which then became a tourist attraction. He also paid for the Temple of Athena to be built.
Miletus & Halicarnassus, Turkey: Alexander did experience resistance at Miletus and Halicarnassus, but was able to subdue both. Halicarnassus is where Herodotus was born in 484 BCE and where the famed mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in 351 BCE. When Alexander conquered in 334 BCE, it was left apparently untouched and destroyed much later.
Alinda, Turkey: near these cities, at the Hecatomnid capital of Alinda, Queen Ada adopted Alexander as her son and heir. When she died in 326 BCE, Alexander inherited the region Caria.
Gordion, Turkey: Harl tells us that, “the conquests were spectacular. Alexander spent the winter of 334-333 BCE in great comfort at Gordian… the capital of the Phrygians. The Greeks claimed there was a legend of a sacred chariot or cart of some sort that belonged to King Midas, the legendary king [who is said to have ruled about 400 years before Alexander’s time]. The cart had an extremely complicated knot. If a man could loosen the knot, he would be the lord of Asia. Alexander solved it.”
Cilician Gates & Tarsus: in May of 333 BCE, Alexander left Gordion and his army seized the Cilician gates. He swam in the Cyndus River, fell ill with a fever, and had to spend the summer recuperating in Tarsus. During this time, Darius was preparing for battle. Many centuries later, the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mun also became sick after swimming in the river and died at age 46 from his illness. The Grand Mosque of Tarsus is said hold his remains.
Iskenderun, Turkey: after Alexander had recovered, his armies moved south. In November of 333 BCE, Alexander wins the Battle of Issus. Darius fled to Babylon. The well-known Alexander Mosaic, uncovered in Pompeii in 1831, depicts this battle. The modern city of İskenderun was reportedly founded by Alexander after this victory.
Tyre, Lebanon: Harl states, “Alexander moved down the shores of Phoenicia. Most of the cities welcomed him: Aradus, Byblos, Sidon. The Greek kings of Cyprus saw Alexander as one of their own. There was only one city that opposed Alexander: Tyre.” From January to July of 332 BCE, he lays siege to the city. Alexander won with the help of fleets from Sidon, whose king would commission a sarcophagus adorned with images of Alexander and his conquests. Both Tyre and Sidon is shown on the Tabula Peutingeriana. In Tyre today, you can visit the Al Mina site, which has Phoenician, Greco-Roman, and Byzantine ruins.
Gaza, Palestine: Gaza also resisted and in October of 332 BCE, Alexander lays siege to Gaza. Much of the ancient history of Gaza has been destroyed in the ongoing cultural genocide. Here is an image from the former Al Qarara Cultural Museum, which was destroyed in October of 2023.
Memphis, Egypt: Harl continues, “the victory at Issus and the capture of Tyre and Gaza allowed Alexander to enter Egypt in November of 332 BCE. He crossed the Sinai in about a week’s time. Once he overcame the desert, there was little resistance. It seems that Alexander was crowned pharaoh in Memphis.”
Alexander, Egypt: in the spring of 331 BCE, Alexander founded the city. Throughout his lifetime, Alexander founded many cities, but certainly the most famous is Alexandria. I’ve had the chance to visit the Gabbari necropolis, which serves as the final resting place for elites of Hellenistic Alexandria.
Siwa Oasis, Egypt: McInerney states that Alexander, “marched into the desert until he came to the oracle of a god known as Amun located at the oasis of Siwa. It appears as if Alexander was greeted as the son of a god, and it also appears as if he entertained that belief quite seriously thereafter.” Harl tells us, “in the ancient world, the line between the divine and the human wasn’t always sharply drawn. The oracle at Siwa was well known to the Greek world. The oasis they lived in was supported by date palms. To get there, it was over 175 miles of desert. Herodotus tell us that in the 6th century BCE, Cambyses sent an expedition out to Siwa, which essentially disappeared in a sandstorm. Alexander [also] got caught in a sandstorm, which covered up the usual markers. Miraculously, the way was shown by two serpents (what Callisthenes claims) or two ravens (what Ptolemy claims).” You can visit what remains of the temple today.
Cyrene, Libya and Dodona, Greece: these are not places Alexander visited, but instead relate to Siwa. Harl tells us, “many Greeks had visited the oracle. The Siwah Oracle was held on par with the Dodona Oracle, where Zeus revealed his will through the movement of the oak trees. In eastern Libya there were Dorian Greek city-states, notably Cyrene (linked linguistically and racially to the city of Sparta). They had been there since the 7th century BCE. They had made frequent visits to the oracle. They saw that the oracle was dedicated to Amun, the ram god of Thebes. They identified this god as Zeus, since the ram is the symbol of Zeus. Even in the Roman age, the oracle retained a powerful position. The poet Catullus (85 – 54 BCE) prepared to take a pilgrimage there to get over his love affair with his mistress lesbian.”
Thapsacus, Syria and Nineveh, Iraq: after spending 6 months in Egypt, Alexander and his army left in the spring of 331 BCE. They crossed the Euphrates at Thapsacus, which was the same point that the 10,000 did. They continued eastwards to the Tigris, where the ancient city of Nineveh once stood (marked by the X on the map below). By the time of Alexander, Karl states that, “Nineveh was nothing but a mound and a memory.” Many years later, in the 1840s, the city would be excavated by a team led by Austin Henry Layard. They discovered the Library of Ashurbanipal and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Nearby to Nineveh was Dur-Sharrukin, which made headlines in the fall of 2023 when a well-preserved lamassu was uncovered. The map below shows the route from Nineveh to Babylon, which Alexander didn’t make quite yet.
Tel Gomel, Iraqi Kurdistan: Darius was at Babylon and went northwards to meet Alexander. In October of 331 BCE, they fought the Battle of Gaugamela, which was a stunning victory for Alexander. The site of the battle is near Erbil. After his defeat, Darius fled eastwards.
Persian Gates, Iran: after Gaugamela, Alexander went to Babylon briefly and then went east in pursuit of Darius. He met resistance at the pass known as the Persian Gates, but successfully won the ensuing battle.
Persepolis, Iran: Alexander occupied Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire, and chose to winter there. In early 330 BCE, he ordered the burning of the city. Greek allies likely expected this as punishment for the Persian burning of Athens in 480 BCE.
Ecbatana and the “Gates of Alexander” in Iran: After wintering in (and burning) Persepolis, Alexander moved to Ecbatana, but missed Darius. He decided to center Parmenion’s forces there. He followed the caravan routes in pursuit of the Persian king, heading for the southern Caspian Gates. Harl states, “what Alexander didn’t know was that Darius had been deposed. The nobles around him were fed up. Bessus and Barsaentes arrested Darius and stripped him of his power.” Darius was killed in July of 330 BCE and eventually Bessus was proclaimed king by all the lords of Bactria and Sogdiana.
Tuz, Iran: Harl continues, “Alexander knew the next task was to defeat Bessus. In late summer of 330 BCE, Alexander reunited his forces at a city called Susia (the modern Tuz). At Areia (modert Herat), the satrap Satibarzanes submitted to Alexander. This also gave him control of the neighboring satrapy Margiane, which controlled the city of Merv (today in Turkmenistan). Alexander now had control of key caravan cities, from which he could launch a strike into Central Asia. This plan didn’t work because Satibarzanes rebelled in late 330 BCE.” In Tus today, you can see the tomb of Ferdowsi (940 – 1025 CE), known for writing the Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”), which prominently features Alexander/Iskandar.
Phrada, Afghanistan: in late 330 BCE, there was a conspiracy against Alexander led by Philotas in late 330 BCE in the town of Phrada (Farah in Afghanistan) and so he was executed. In 330/329 BCE, Alexander wintered in Drangiana. In the spring of 329 BCE, he moved to Phrada to Kandhar to Kabul and then to Bactra (modern-day Balkh). Harl continues, “the Macedonian army began to pursue Bessus across Sogdiana. It became clear that Bessus couldn’t oppose Alexander. Two Sogdian lords, Spitamenes and Datapharnes, arrested Bessus and handed him over to Alexander. Bessus was taken to Persia and executed [in the summer of 329 BCE].”
Nurata, Uzbekistan: Harl continues, “in July 329 BCE, Alexander had concluded that he had Central Asia under control. He set up garrisons in Bactria and Sogdiana. At the city of Merv, Alexandria Margiane was established. In the satrapy of Areia, Alexandria Areia was established. Alexandria Eschate, the farthest Alexandria, was established on the Jaxartes River. Its location is still to be located, although its general vicinity is known. The Macedonians thought the war was over and that they had reached the end of the world. The Jaxartes River, which flows into the Aral Sea, was believed to mark the farthest limit of the inhabited world. But in the summer of 329 BCE, the Sogdians and their nomadic allies rose in rebellion and delivered Alexander one of his toughest campaigns of all time: the pacification of Central Asia. It would take some 2 and a half years for Alexander to bring these regions under control.” Today in region of Nurata in Uzbekistan, relatively near to Samarkand, you can visit the ruins of a fort he built (at the Chashma Complex). Further south is the fortress of Kurganzol, which you read about here.
Samarqand, Uzbekistan: Harl continues, “the leading city in Sogdiana was Maracanda (modern-day Samarkand). This fabled region of Central Asia has long been associated with the caravan trade. In 329 BCE, the city was captured by Craterus in some really brutal hand to hand combat.” When Alexander went to the city, he reportedly said, “everything I have heard about Marakanda is true, except that it’s more beautiful than I ever imagined.” The site of Afrasiyab is the oldest part of Samarkand. According to the Shahnameh, it was built by a king named Afrasiab. You can read more about the site and its myths here.
Sogdian Rock: the rebellion was led by a war lord named Spitamenes, who was killed by his own men in 328 BCE, but there were still holdouts. In the east, Alexander moved against the Rock of Ariamazes, whose precise location is unknown (this blog, which is really incredible, discusses this episode and possible locations). Alexander demanded their surrender, but Arimazes stated he would only surrender if Alexander’s men sprouted wings. Alexander selected 300 men and at night, they scaled the mountain. 270 men reached the top, while 30 plummeted to their deaths. The Sogdians were stunned and surrendered. Atop the Sogdian Rock, Alexander captured noble Sogdian families, which included a woman named Roxane. Apparently she was the most beautiful woman in the entire east and he instantly fell in love (although their union also clearly had political value). They were married in 327 BCE.
Ai-Khanoum, Afghanistan: Harl continues, “Amyntas, a Macedonian, was appointed satrap of Bactria. He was left with Greek and Macedonian colonists, probably the older men in the expedition who had taken local women as their wives. They were settled in the old Persian military colonies. A French team uncovered one of those cities, Ai Khanoum. It is a perfect Greek town in the middle of Central Asia. In pacifying and securing this region, Alexander had put a very powerful Hellenic stamp on the area, which persisted until the late 2nd century CE.
Taxila, Pakistan: in May of 327 BCE, Alexander was ready to cross the Hindu Kush. Harl tells us, “the middle Indus area… and the lower Indus (the Sind), had been under the control of the Persian empire. We are told that they furnished an enormous tribute of gold during the time of Darius I. Toward the middle of the 5th century BCE, the region had fallen out of Persian hands. So, when Alexander came, there was no satrapal organization. He couldn’t conquer the region and appoint Macedonians to a well-run administration. He encountered various tribal peoples living in loose republics. These required tough wars of pacification.” In 326 BCE, Alexander conquered the city of Taxila. It was from here that he launched his next assault.
Hydaspes (Jhelum) River, Pakistan: in June of 326 BCE Alexander wins the Battle of the Hydaspes against an Indian king named Porus along the Jhelum River in modern-day Pakistan. Harl states, “the precise location for the battlefield is unknown because the rivers have changed course.”
Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan: Harl tells us that to celebrate the battle, Alexander built two cities, “one called Nicaea and Bucephala. His horse Bucephalus died in India and the city was named in commemoration of Alexander’s favorite horse.” According to this article, “Alexander buried his horse near the modern-day town of Jalalpur Sharif… and historians say he also built a monument for his horse Bucephalus, but its exact location is unknown.” In the 1990s, this monument was constructed in Mandi Bahauddin.
Beas River, India: after the Battle of the Hydaspes, it became clear that Porus was just one of the many regional monarchs. Alexander pushed his army further east but on an upper tributary of the Beas River, the army launched a sit-down strike in July of 326 BCE. After sitting for his tent in three days, Alexander relented and ordered the return.
Regio Patalis, the Gedrosian Desert, Pasargadae: first, Alexander and his men moved down the Indus and had to fight tough wars of pacification. Then, Alexander had his army move westwards using three routes. Craterus, the second in command, took about half of the army and most of the court back through Phrada, where Philotas had been executed. Alexander with leave from Pattala and go through the Gedrosian Desert. They were to be supported by a fleet under the command of Nearchus. The plan did not work out quite as they had hoped, but after a hard march, they reached Pasargadae in January of 324 BCE, where he visited the tomb of Cyrus the Great. Harl tells us, “In January of 324 BCE, Alexander had been away from Susa, Babylon, Ecbatana, Persepolis for almost 6 years. Alexander had not been back to Macedon in nearly 10. Very quickly, Alexander judged those satraps, garrison commanders, and secretaries who hadn’t followed his orders.”
Opis, Iraq: in the summer of 324, Alexander was planning for an expedition into Arabia. In the process of dismissing some veterans, a mutiny broke out. Harl tells us, “thirteen ringleaders were singled out, seized, and executed. Alexander withdraws into his palace and doesn’t receive visitors…tThe Macedonian army comes before Alexander’s residence, throw down their arms, and implore their king to forgive them. He does and a major festival and banquet is held. That festival climaxes the end of the mutiny and the challenge to Alexander’s authority. The veterans depart under the command of Craterus.” The exact location of Opis is unknown, although it was somewhere near modern-day Baghdad. In 1841, John Ross published A Journey from Baghdad to the Ruins of Opis in which he describes ruins, stating, “this I have no doubt was the very centre of the ancient Opis. The Arabs appear to have no particular name for the ruins, the place being called by them Kanatir (bridges). A modern caravanserai near the river is called Khan Tholeia. I galloped to it, and found it deserted.”
Failaka Island, Kuwait: this island, which has an incredibly interesting history that I have posted quite a bit about, is said to have been named Ikaros during the time of Alexander the Great. When did the Greco-Macedonians sail to it? According to this chapter by Charlotte Roueche and Susan M. Sherwin-White, “Nearchus’ expedition should be ruled out, because the westernmost point which he reached at the head of the Gulf, coasting up from Carmania, was Babylonian Diridotis, where the coast, after turning west, met the mouth of the Euphrates. Alexander dispatched three small expeditions in the winter of 324/3, as a preliminary to a major expedition under preparation. The first expedition consisted of a single triakonter commanded by Archias of Pella, who sailed as far as Telos and told Alexander both about Telos and Ikaros. Androsthenes of Thasos and Hieron of Soli were later sent, each with a single triakonter, to push the exploration further down the Arabian coast. Alexander’s aim, as described in Arrian, who is following the contemporary Aristobulus, was to colonise the Arabian coast and offshore islands, which Alexander thought could be as prosperous as Phoenicia.” Ancient reports state that there was already an oracle of Artemis on the island (likely another goddess that the Greco-Macedonians likely associated with their own Artemis), so Failaka is often associated with her. During the Seleucid Empire, a temple dedicated to Apollo–the tutelary god of the Seleucids and brother to Artemis–was built. Here are some photos I took of its ruins.
Babylon, Iraq: in the autumn of 324, Alexander’s dear friend Hephaestion died from an illness at Ecbatana. Harl states that this plunged into him a deep depression. He continues, “this combined with his weakened condition from the wounds in India, the difficult march through the desert, the plan to launch an expedition against Arabia all contributed to undermining his health in early 323 BCE. There was an oracle that said that Alexander should not enter Babylon through the traditional western gate. He went through the marshes so that he could enter the eastern gate. It is surmised that by taking this route, he picked up some kind of fever. Alexander died either on June 10 or 11 of 323 BCE.” You can visit the ruins of Babylon today near Baghdad.
This marks the end of Alexander’s life, but not his legacy. Jeremy McInerney tells us, “stories about Alexander were brought together in a work known as the Alexander Romance. It is incorrectly attributed to Callisthenes [360–327 BCE], but probably dates to about the 3rd century CE. It was translated from Greek into Latin and spread throughout the Roman Empire. In Byzantium, it was never forgotten in the Greek tradition. It spread even further. In various versions of the Alexander Romance, he will be a Russian, a Serbian prince, a Goth, a Saxon. Any ethnic group from about 300 BCE through to the Renaissance is likely to have claimed Alexander for themselves at some point. The Iskander Nama [the fourth part of the Khamsa by Nizami] has Alexander as a Muslim. He is referred to as the ‘two-horned one.’ On Alexander’s coins, his portrait is shown in profile with a horn, representing Zeus Ammon. Those coins remained in circulation for hundreds of years.” One noteworthy place mentioned in many versions of the romance, including the Syriac Alexander Legend, are the Gates of Alexander, often associated with the Fortifications of Derbent located in modern-day Russia.
McInerney continues, “in the Medieval West, he is a good Christian in the Alexander Romance. He becomes associated with two particular episodes. The first is him ascending into heaven. Alexander is so powerful and wonderous that he is able to accomplish what no other man has. He grabs a couple of griffins, starves them for a few days, chains them to a basket, and holds a stick that contains the liver of a dead beast above the basket. They fly up and thus does he ascend into the heavens. He is greeted by an angel, who points out to him that it would be arrogant and wrong to enter. He returns to earth.” The image below comes from a French manuscript [British Library, Royal MS 20 B XX] from the early 15th century.
McInerney continues, “he also explores the deep sea. Alexander created a glass sphere in which he put various animals including a rooster so that he would know when it was daytime, a cat whose breathing would purify the air, and a dog so that if he ran into trouble he could kill the dog and the sea would spew them out (because it won’t maintain dead bodies within it).” According to this website, “in the Problemata, a text contentiously credited to Aristotle, the philosopher tells how his student Alexander the Great descends to the depths of the sea in ‘a very fine barrel made entirely of white glass.'”
McInerney continues, “Alexander represents what can’t be accomplished by human beings. He also found the plant of immortal life. He entrusted it to his sister Thessalonike of Macedon, and she lost it. In her remorse, she threw herself overboard and dropped to the bottom of the sea, where she was transformed into a mermaid (gorgóna in Greek).” According to the Wikipedia about Thessalonike, the legend varies depending on the source. The city Thessaloniki is named for her.
The quest for immortality appears in different versions of the Alexander Romance. In Richard Stoneman’s 1991 translation of the Greek Alexander Romance, line 39 of Book II begins: “We came to a place where the sun does not shine. This is, in fact, the famous Land of the Blessed. After we had marched for three days we came to a place filled with fog. Being unable to go further… we pitched our tents there. We came to a place where there was a clear spring, whose water flashed like lightning. The air in this place was very fragrant and less dark than before. I called the cook Andreas by name and said, ‘prepare some food for us.‘ He took a dried fish and waded into the clear water of the spring to wash it. As soon as it was dipped in the water, it came to life and leapt out of the cook’s hands. He drank some of the water himself, and scooped some up in a silver vessel and kept it. After we had eaten we went on. Then we saw a light that did not come from sun, moon, or stars. I saw two birds in the air: they had human faces and spoke in Greek. ‘Why, Alexander, do you approach a land which is God’s alone? Turn back, wretch, turn back… I trembled, and obeyed dutifully the order that had been given to me.’