BODY OF ALEXANDER

[JIMHATZ28]

The biggest mystery in antiquity! Where is Alexander's tomb?

[marcus]

A big mystery indeed. My guess is that the tomb (or rather, what's left of it) is somewhere at the bottom of the sea. As for the body... who knows (except that I don't reckon it's in the tomb).All the bestMarcus

[Stavros]

Alexandria, Egypt maybe??? the centre of the ancient hellenic world.

[marcus]

Ah, well, that's the question, isn't it, Stavros?If I recall correctly, the last time Alexander's body is cited as having been in Alexandria was when Caracalla visited it (although I might have the emperor wrong). That's only 3rd century AD. After the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, even if it was still there then, there's no saying where it might have ended up.So, perhaps you are right and it is in Alexandria... (well, in the sea, anywhere), but it might not be.All the bestMarcus

[alejandro]

I guess Mary Renault conjectures that Ptolemy stole the bier transporting Alexander's body to avoid Cassander's "revenge" on it and to also avoid the civil wars "forcing" one of the parties to melt the bier and use the gold to pay for mercenaries, etc.
However, the "funeral games" between Ptolemy and Antigonos and later between Ptolemids and Seleucids could have forced one of the Egyptian pharaohs to use the gold to finance the war expenditures, couldn't them? Just wondering.
RegardsAlejandro

[yiannis]

I agree with Marcus that (probably) we'll never now what happened to his body. Maybe some madman keeps it in his cellar!
If I recall, the Roman emperor was Julius Caesar. Story goes that he touched ATG's nose witch was fragmented by his touch. When the priests asked him if he would like to see any other PharaohGÇÖs tombs, he replied, "I came to see a king not corpses!"
Well, that's another story that's linked to ATG and we'll never know how much of it is true and how much is fiction!Regards,
Yiannis

[marcus]

Hi Yiannis,>>Perhaps some madman keeps it in his cellar>Perhaps some madman keeps it in his cellar>Perhaps some madman keeps it in his cellarPerhaps some madman keeps it in his cellarPerhaps some madman keeps it in his cellar

[John]

Not Julius Caesar, but Augustus Caesar broke off part of the nose. You can find that info somewhere in Dio Cassius.Personally, I'm not so interested in Alexander's corpse. What about his soul? Does it live? Does it re-incarnate in a living man? Or is he stuck inside a dragonfly? - Perhaps in Hades' cellar?John

[marcus]

We stand corrected, John. I had a nagging voice in my mind saying "Augustus, not Julius" but I still went and plumped for the wrong one. Doh!I still think Caracalla or someone like that is also recorded as having visited the tomb.All the bestMarcus

[John]

Sounds right. I think Roman emperors visited Alexander's corpse into the 4th century. - But no one so memorably as Augustus!John

[Jim]

Best discussion I have seen re possible whereabouts of Alexander's tomb/body:
http://www.greece.org/alexandria/tomb2/index.htm