Alexander the Great

[deviadah]

This is a spin-off from this topic...

As pharaoh, he [Alexander the Great] gained access to all the treasures of Egypt, including the whereabouts of Hermes’ (Akhenaten's?) tomb. Convinced it was his destiny to reveal the ancient secrets, Alexander immediately headed across the Libyan desert to an ancient temple at Siwa near where the tomb was located. According to Albertus Magnus and others, that is where Alexander found the Emerald Tablet.

Alexander took the tablet and scrolls he found in the tomb to Heliopolis, where he placed the scrolls in the sacred archives and put the Emerald Tablet on public display. Construction of the city of Alexandria to house and study the Hermetic texts was begun immediately, and he assembled a panel of priests and scholars to prepare Greek translations. According to esoteric historian Manly P. Hall, the mysterious Emerald Tablet caused quite a stir. One traveler, who had seen it on display at Heliopolis, wrote: "It is a precious stone, like an emerald, whereon these characters are represented in bas-relief, not engraved. It is esteemed above 2,000 years old. The matter of this emerald had once been in a fluid state like melted glass, and had been cast in a mold, and to this flux the artist had given the hardness of the natural and genuine emerald, by his art."

When Alexander left Egypt, it has been suggested that he took the original tablet with him and hid it for safekeeping before going on to conquer Babylonia and India. Meanwhile, copies of the tablet became primary documents at Alexandria, and according to some reports, scholars issued revised Greek translations in 290 BC, 270 BC, and 50 BC. Several papyrii in the British Museum mention a canon of Egyptian teachings that included the writings of Hermes that was still in existence at the time of Clement of Alexandria (around 170 CE). Fortunately, before Alexandria's libraries were destroyed in successive burnings by the Romans, Christians, and Muslims, copies of the Emerald Tablet had made their way into Arabia and from there eventually reached Spain and Europe.

After Alexander died from a fever on his return from India, his body was interred in a tomb somewhere in the Egyptian desert, although to this day, no one knows where. Yet someone did discover the hiding place of the Emerald Tablet. It is said that a brilliant Syrian youth named Balinas found it hidden in a large cavern just outside his hometown of Tyana in Cappadocia. It was Balinas who absorbed the tablet’s teachings and once again brought them to light in the Western world. The youth became known as Apollonius of Tyana (after Apollo, Greek god of enlightenment and brother of Hermes). Respected for his great wisdom and magical powers, Apollonius traveled throughout the world and eventually settled in Alexandria. - source

Yes, the conqueror Alexander the Great is also great because of his alchemical skills.

An interesting quote from Wikipedia (even though it might not be the most professional source):

"It was Aristotle, though, who gave Alexander his most famous and important tutoring. The philosopher from Stageira was the foremost thinker of the period. A student of Plato, who in turn had been a student of Socrates, he now extended the illustrious chain by taking on Alexander as a student of his own.

Aristotle trained the youth in rhetoric and literature, and stimulated his interest in science, medicine and especially philosophy, which formed the greater part of his lessons. These took place outdoors in relaxed informality, probably after the manner of Socrates, but with more ordered and scholarly content. Aristotle's influence played a considerable role in forging Alexander's renowned bibliophilia. His gift to his student, a copy of the Iliad, came to be one of the young king's most-prized possessions and was always kept, along with a dagger, under his pillow. The text, annotated by Aristotle, came to be known as the "casket copy", so called because it was so large as to be kept in a casket. Quite how practical (and, indeed, possible) it was for Alexander to sleep with it beneath his pillow is a contentious matter."

In this context it is not hard to see how Alexander of Macedon was able to create such an empire. While the library was erected after Alexander's death, Alexander surely left behind an imprint of what it should be. Another quote from Wikipedia:

"According to the earliest source of information, the pseudepigraphic Letter of Aristeas, the Library was initially organized by Demetrius of Phaleron, a student of Aristotle under the reign of Ptolemy Soter."

The library of Alexandria is a fine testament of the power of the Philosophers. Diocletian had to burn the Library in order to conquer Egypt for as long as the Library stood, Egypt was able to create all the wealth it wanted and was thus as good as invincible. I realize that there are many different accounts of the destruction of the Library. Not that I have extensively researched this subject and I could indeed be wrong, but I trust the source.

Considering Alexander the Great's alchemical connection there is no reason not to dedicate a topic in his name...

[deviadah]

Ptolemy coin with Alexander wearing an elephant scalp, symbol of his conquests in India.

Anyone notice the The Staff of Asclepius?