Julius Caesar As A Persian God Research Paper

Son: Are we to debate his claim of divinity now, Father? Alexander adopted Persian customs, and they do not see prostrating themselves as an act of worship to a god. To the Persians he is a mere king. It is our Macedonian traditions that view him as a god when he does this. Therefore, I do not believe Alexander is looking to be worshipped as one. To claim himself as son of Zeus is for propaganda. With his claims comes loyalty from those he has conquered.

Father: I do not believe he is using his claims of divinity for just propaganda. I think Alexander truly sees himself as a god, regardless of weather he deserves that title or not. Since childhood Alexander has been influenced to believe he will one day be seen as divine. Leading by example

Look around you son, the evidence is everywhere. Emulating and overtaking his supposed ancestors Heracles and Dionysus has always been a goal of his. In 326, it was the Rock of Aornus that Alexander was intent on capturing, something Heracles had never of been able to do. Surely outdoing the demi-god was a way to boost his own status amongst his men. Indeed it may well have been Aristotle who installed in him the belief that he will one day be a god, as he once wrote the man who is king in the fullest sense is ‘as a god among men’. As his tutor, pushing these views upon a young, impressionable Alexander would have been inconceivable. I have one more example before you speak, son, and that is the trip to Siwah. Although there is a large degree of uncertainty of exactly what happened when he consulted Ammon’s oracle, I focus on the reasons for the visit and the effect it had on Alexander’s own self-perception. I believe Alexander visited the temple not only to outdo his predecessors but to create an elaborate account of his divine origins21. It seems that after this visit he began to associate himself with the Egyptian god Ammon, even goes as far as claiming to be a son of his. To discard the late Phillip as his father and claim such a divine connection is something we Macedonians do not take lightly. To not see the importance of this son, and the extent Alexander was willing to go to believe

In the Greek states there were many who were bent on winning Alexander’s favour, and may well have issued the visit of the theoroi, unbeknownst to him23. In any case, father, I believe the belief Alexander had in his own divinity was the shroud he needed in order to effectively rule his newly conquered empire. Without it, he may not of been as respected, nor had as many loyal Persians. Instead, however, of fusing the races, it has driven Macedonians and Persians further apart in regards to their views of Alexander. If our argument on divinity has gone far enough might I say, I shall now propose a topic in which fusion was a main goal of Alexander’s. To have fusion in the army was one of Alexander’s best strategies to strengthen and increase