Alexanders Body Found?!?

[Somannafest]

Does the tomb of St Mark in Venice really contain the bones of Alexander the Great?
Check out the news on the link:
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/st ... ory=530969

[xxx]

I would say we could regard that book as fiction along the lines of the DiVinci code. I am amazed at how many people take these books/theories seriously.

[Somannafest]

When Alexander died, the winged lion was used to represent babylon and venice only began using this symbol after the arrival of the mysterious mummified body

[agesilaos]

Whilst I would not dismiss this theory without reading the book it speaks highly for the standard of research at the Independant that this is the only book by Chugg I can find listed and I have never heard of him as an Alexander scholar, let alone a prominent one. Of course R Lane-Fox has to get a look in since this is all part of the hype for the film but to pass Doherty off as a Biographer is ridiculous, he writes badly researched detective novels and I do mean badly researched, he is ignorant of the fact that the Vergina bones are most certainly NOT those of Philip II even though this has been the position for ten or more years. His opinion as a layman is reasonable but making him an expert!

[marcus]

Doherty is bringing out a book about Alexander's death, of course (following a similar one he did on Tutankhamun). I will be interested to see what he says - although you are quite right, and not only are his books badly researched but they are also very badly written.On the other hand, I am intrigued by Chugg's proposition - not that I believe it, but if he has an article in "History Today" then it suggests that it's being taken at least partially seriously by the academic world - History Today is a top-notch mag and would not stoop to doing "DaVinci Code/Holy Blood, Holy Grail" type stuff. Ordinarily, that it.I shall buy the magazine tomorrow and see what it says...All the bestMarcus

[kate]

This is a new one to me! It doesn't sound very likely, but it is an interesting idea. I don't suppose DNA testing will be allowed, but I bet we will hear a lot more of this theory in the press as the release date of Stone's film draws nearer.Cheers,
Kate

[susan]

I think this falls into the "Could it be?" school of historical investigation - you know, in one chapter the author says "could it be that the pyramid-builders came from Mars?" and in the next, he says "As we have shown, the pyramid builders came from Mars". It's one postulate after another. Maybe we should generate our own ?Susan

[marcus]

I picked up a copy of "History Today" at the weekend and read Chugg's article. It's not at all as "DaVinci Code" as the Independent article suggests. While the hypothesis does seem a bit far-fetched, and revolved around some circumstantial chronology, he only maintains that it is worth further consideration, and that only DNA testing on the corpse in Venice would help take the idea further. It's not as crackpot as I feared.As for Chugg himself- no, we might not have heard of him, but he has written in some reputable academic journals in the last couple of years, so he should be taken seriously as a historian (unless the standard of academia has declined further than we thought).All the bestMarcus

[somannafest]

Alexander's Final Resting Place

Andrew Chugg pinpoints the EmperorGÇÖs long-lost tomb.The 120-foot Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was ostensibly a representation of the sun god Helios. It is now believed to have been modelled on the features of Alexander the Great, whose conquests had irrevocably altered the course of history mere decades before its creation. The image of the Colossus towering over the harbour of Rhodes provides an apt metaphor for the way AlexanderGÇÖs achievements loom over the history of the ancient world. Partly for reasons of his historical importance and partly for the romance of his glamorous career, the hunt for AlexanderGÇÖs mysteriously vanished tomb has come to be regarded as the archaeologistGÇÖs analogue for the Arthurian quest for the Sangrail. At its crudest there are elements of the excitement and drama of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I myself got some sense of this from the violent reverberations of a dilapidated taxi during a 90mph ride along the desert road from Cairo to Alexandria in my search for his tomb. On arrival among the recently rain-drenched streets of the great port city, it transpired that the wiper blades of our vehicle existed for ornamental purposes only. As the traffic dodging around us disappeared behind a veil of fine spray, I too began to feel a certain affinity with the perilous life of Indiana Jones.

Since the middle of the nineteenth century a succession of more or less dubious characters have been associated with the hunt for AlexanderGÇÖs tomb, and in the process have lent a faint air of disrepute to the enterprise. In around 1850 a part-time tourist guide called Ambrose Schilizzi introduced a persistent red-herring into the mystery by claiming actually to have seen AlexanderGÇÖs corpse at the end of a passage beneath the Nabi Daniel mosque in central Alexandria. Heinrich Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy and Mycenae, was taken in by this tale and sought permission to excavate beneath the mosque, but was thwarted by the local religious authorities. However, Evaristo Breccia, the Director of the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria, conducted thorough investigations beneath the mosque between 1925-31 and found nothing of interest.

Another famous hoax was perpetrated in 1893 by a M. Joannides, who claimed to have found the tombs of both Alexander and Cleopatra in the Chatby necropolis in the north-east district of the ancient city. More recently, in the 1960s,

[beausefaless]

I've been led to believe the ancient city of Alexandria has been long buried, under the new Alexandria? I recall the accidental uncovering of Roman catacombs which existed long after Alexander or even the Ptolemy's but was reburied due to urban renew. The 120-foot Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was *ostensibly* a representation of the sun god Helios.This is the first time I heard it is now believed to have been modeled on the features of Alexander the Great?Am I learning something new every day?

[amyntoros]

There seems to be a vague connection - Lysippos was authorized to sculpt Alexander and is known to have portrayed him as a god - Lysippos produced a statue of Helios for the Rhodians - later on, his pupil, Chares of Lindos, was the creator of Colossos of Rhodes - later busts portraying Alexander as Helios have been found, some with the sunburst and some with attachment holes to support such a sunburst. Isn't there also a huge Alexander/Rhodes connection in the Alexander Romance? I suppose it is possible that the features on the statue were those of Alexander, though there's hardly enough evidence to support this as fact. Still, the quote only says "it is now believed."Imagine if it were true... A huge statue of Alexander standing astride the harbor! :-)Linda Ann

[beausefaless]

Intrusting thought Linda, It's truly amazing these ancient wonders surrounded Alexander's life. Wouldn't it be grand if we could inform our government that the statue of liberty had some reflection on ATG.
Take care,
Andrew

[amyntoros]

Hello Andrew:Well, interestingly, the French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi who built the The Statue of Liberty said he was inspired by the Colossos of Rhodes, though obviously he could only have seen artistic impressions of it. So, if the Rhodes statue was, indeed, a portrayal of Alexander as Helios, then there *is* a link between Alexander and the Statue of Liberty.Of course, somewhere along the line, clothes were added and there was a sex-change! :-)Linda Ann

[somannafest]

Those tales suggesting his penchant for crossdressing after battle would lead one to think he would have greatly appreciated the idea; trully a "statue of liberty"

[jona]

Two years ago, Chugg has published three pieces on this subject. I read "The tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria" in the *American Journal of Ancient History* n.s. 1.2 (2002) 75ff. He argued that the location of the mausoleum was in the part of Alexandria known as Alpha, not far west from the Rosetta gate. I found it a convincing article.In a footnote, he refers to two related articles in *Greece and Rome* 49 (2002) and *Minerva* 13.5 (2002), which I have not read.Jona