Editing Alexander the Great (section)

===In ancient and modern culture===
{{Main|Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great|Alexander the Great in Islamic tradition|Alexander the Great in the Quran}}
[[File:Byzantine Greek Alexander Manuscript Cataphract (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|Alexander in a 14th-century Byzantine manuscript]]

Alexander the Great's accomplishments and legacy have been depicted in many cultures. Alexander has featured in both high and popular culture, beginning from his own era to the present day. The ''Alexander Romance'', in particular, has had a significant impact on portrayals of Alexander in later cultures, from Persian to medieval European, to modern Greek.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=117}}

Alexander features prominently in modern Greek folklore, more than any other ancient figure.<ref name="Fermor">{{harvnb|Fermor|2006|page=215}}</ref> The colloquial form of his name in modern Greek ("O Megalexandros") is a household name, and he is the only ancient hero to appear in the [[Karagiozis]] shadow play.<ref name="Fermor" /> One well-known fable among Greek seamen involves a solitary [[mermaid]] who would grasp a ship's prow during a storm and ask the captain, "Is King Alexander alive?" The answer should be  "He is alive and well and rules the world!" causing the mermaid to vanish and the sea to calm. Any other answer would cause the mermaid to turn into a raging [[Gorgon]] who would drag the ship to the bottom of the sea, all hands aboard.<ref name="Fermor" />
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage mss-0771 CROP.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Folio from the ''[[Shahnameh]]'' showing Alexander praying at the [[Kaaba]], mid-16th century]]

In pre-Islamic [[Middle Persian]] ([[Zoroastrian]]) literature, Alexander is referred to by the epithet ''gujastak'', meaning "accursed", and is accused of destroying temples and burning the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{harvnb|Curtis|Tallis|Andre-Salvini|2005|p=154}}</ref> In [[Islam]]ic Persia, under the influence of the ''[[Alexander Romance]]'' (in {{langx|fa|اسکندرنامه}} ''[[Iskandarnameh]]''), a more positive portrayal of Alexander emerges.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=120}} [[Firdausi]]'s ''[[Shahnameh]]'' ("The Book of Kings") [[Alexander the Great in the Shahnameh|includes Alexander]] in a line of legitimate Persian [[shah]]s, a mythical figure who explored the far reaches of the world in search of the [[Fountain of Youth]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fischer|2004|p=66}}</ref> In the ''Shahnameh'', Alexander's first journey is to [[Mecca]] to pray at the [[Kaaba]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kennedy|first=Hugh|title=Hajj : journey to the heart of Islam|publisher=The British Museum|year=2012|isbn=978-0-674-06218-4|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Venetia|location=Cambridge, Mass.|pages=131|chapter=Journey to Mecca: A History|oclc=709670348}}</ref> Alexander was depicted as performing a [[Hajj]] (pilgrimage to Mecca) many times in subsequent Islamic art and literature.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Webb|first=Peter|title=The Hajj : collected essays|publisher=The British Museum|year=2013|isbn=978-0-86159-193-0|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Venetia|location=London|pages=14 footnote 72|chapter=The Hajj before Muhammad: Journeys to Mecca in Muslim Narratives of Pre-Islamic History|oclc=857109543|editor2-last=Saif|editor2-first=Liana}}</ref> Later Persian writers associate him with philosophy, portraying him at a symposium with figures such as [[Socrates]], [[Plato]] and Aristotle, in search of immortality.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=120}}

[[File:Submerge2.JPG|thumb|right|Detail of a 16th-century [[Islamic art|Islamic painting]] depicting Alexander being lowered in a glass [[submersible]]]]
The figure of [[Dhu al-Qarnayn]] ([[Arabic]]: ذو القرنين; {{Lit|The Two-Horned One}}) is believed by the majority of modern researchers of the [[Qur'an]] as well as Islamic commentators to be a reference to Alexander.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Griffith |first1=Sidney |title=Narratives of 'the Companions of the Cave,' Moses and His Servant, and Dhū 'l-Qarnayn in Sūrat al-Kahf: Late Antique Lore within the Purview of the Qurʾān |journal=Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association |date=15 March 2022 |volume=6 |issue=1 |doi=10.5913/jiqsa.6.2021.a005 |s2cid=251486595 }}</ref> The figure is also believed by scholars to be based on later legends of Alexander.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=120}} In this tradition, he was a heroic figure who [[Gates of Alexander|built a wall]] to defend against the nations of [[Gog and Magog]].{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=122}} He also travelled the known world in search of the Water of Life and Immortality, eventually becoming a prophet.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=122}}

The [[Syriac language|Syriac]] version of the ''Alexander Romance'' portrays him as an ideal Christian world conqueror who prayed to "the one true God".{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=120}} In Egypt, Alexander was portrayed as the son of [[Nectanebo II]], the last [[pharaoh]] before the Persian conquest.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=122}} His defeat of Darius was depicted as Egypt's salvation, "proving" Egypt was still ruled by an Egyptian.{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2010|p=120}}

According to [[Josephus]], Alexander was shown the [[Book of Daniel]] when he entered Jerusalem, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. This is cited as a reason for sparing Jerusalem.<ref>Josephus, [[Jewish Antiquities]], XI, 337 [http://lexundria.com/j_aj/11.304-12.0/wst viii, 5]</ref>
[[File:Alexander the Great conquering the air.jpg|thumb|left|Alexander conquering the air. [[Jean Wauquelin]], ''Les faits et conquêtes d'Alexandre le Grand'', 1448–1449]]

In [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]], the name "[[Iskandar (name)|Sikandar]]", derived from the Persian name for Alexander, denotes a rising young talent, and the [[Delhi Sultanate]] ruler [[Alauddin Khalji]] stylized himself as "Sikandar-i-Sani" (the Second Alexander the Great).<ref>{{harvnb|Connerney|2009|p=68}}</ref> In [[medieval India]], Turkic and Afghan sovereigns from the Iranian-cultured region of Central Asia brought positive cultural connotations of Alexander to the Indian subcontinent, resulting in the efflorescence of ''Sikandernameh'' ([[Alexander Romances]]) written by Indo-Persian poets such as [[Amir Khusrau]] and the prominence of Alexander the Great as a popular subject in Mughal-era Persian miniatures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Donde |first=Dipanwita |date=2014 |title=The Mughal Sikander: Influence of the Romance of Alexander on Mughal Manuscript Painting |url=https://www.academia.edu/6097802 |journal=International Conference of Greek Studies: An Asian Perspective |via=Academia |access-date=19 April 2019 |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812151906/https://www.academia.edu/6097802 |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[medieval Europe]], Alexander the Great was revered as a member of the [[Nine Worthies]]; a group of heroes whose lives were believed to encapsulate all the ideal qualities of [[chivalry]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Noll |first1=Thomas |article=The Visual Image of Alexander the Great |title=Alexander the Great in the Middle Ages: Transcultural Perspectives |editor-last=Stock |editor-first=Markus |translator-last=Boettcher |translator-first=Susan |date=2016 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-4426-4466-3 |page=258 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2nqMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA258 |access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> During the first [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|Italian campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars]], in a question from [[Bourrienne]], asking whether he gave his preference to Alexander or Caesar, [[Napoleon]] said that he places Alexander The Great in the first rank, the main reason being his campaign on Asia.<ref>Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, pp 158</ref>

In the ''[[Greek Anthology]]'', there are poems referring to Alexander.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/534#9.699|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201022239/https://topostext.org/work/534#9.699|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/748#122|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201022206/https://topostext.org/work/748#122|url-status=live}}</ref>