Alexander the Great was a King of Macedonia who lived from 356 to 323 BCE. He was one of the greatest military leaders in history, known for his conquests and expansion of the ancient Greek empire, which eventually stretched from Greece to Egypt and India. He was a talented commander and strategist, as well as a patron of the arts and culture, and his empire was marked by a fusion of Greek and non-Greek cultures.
On his last days Alexander asked his generals to fulfill his three last wishes:
The first legend suggests that “I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.”
Another legend states that “I want the path leading to my grave to be strewn with gold, silver, and precious stones that are in my treasury while my body is being carried to be buried, so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth.”
A third legend claims that “I want my both hands to keep dangling out of my coffin because I want people to know that we came empty-handed in this world and we will go empty-handed.”
The king’s final words were, “When you bury my body, don’t build any momentum” With these powerful words, Alexander closed his eyes and let death conquer him.
