Article on 'Alexander the Great' by former Minister Nicolas Martis, April 1997
A 'National' precursor of
Christ
Alexander the Great has left his mark on
world history as a national precursor of Christ. In this regard,
not only was he instrumental in the spreading of Greek
civilisation to the East and the establishment of Greek as the
only language of the peoples of the region, but also he was a
vehicle for the diffusion of Christian ideals, the messages of
love, peace and coexistence which he so eloquently proclaimed to
the huge gathering of 9000 Greeks and Asian officers at OPI where
he condemned race discrimination.
This characterisation of Alexander the
Great as a forerunner of Christ is further demonstrated by :
(i) Prophet Isaiah in Chapter 17 ,
paragraph 20 says "When the Egyptians call the Master, he
will send them a man to save them. He will rule over them and
protect them from all dangers" According to Professor P.
Trembellas (Memorandum to Prophet Isaiah p. 232) this "man"
is Alexander the Great, who freed the Egyptians from the Persians
and who was considered by the former as a Messiah. It is known
that Alexander was declared a Pharaoh by the Egyptian clergy and
there is a statue of him dressed as a Pharaoh in the Cairo Museum.
These facts surely demonstrate Isaiah's prophecy.
(ii) The same Prophet Isaiah in Chapter 17,
paragraph 23 praises "the years when there is a happy and
free communication between the Assyrians and Egyptians" -
something which facilitated greatly the propagation of Judaism.
Those "years " according to Professor Trembellas (p.234)
are the years of Alexander.
(iii) In paragraph 18 of Chapter 6 , the
prophet Isaiah says "I come to gather all the nations"
Professors Trembellas writes "... he clearly stated that not
only was he concerned in saving the Judean nation but had in mind
all the nations".
Plutarch says about Alexander that he
declared at the OPI meeting "I want peace and friendship and
an equal society for all peoples everywhere ..." and in
paragraph 19 ".... I will persist and send those who agree
with me to all nations and into Hellas".
That prophecy was fulfilled by St. Paul.
(i) Prophet Daniel (Chapter 2, paragraph 39)
saw the coming of the Kingdom of Alexander the Great onto the
throne of King Solomon. He says King Navouhodonosor had a dream
which disturbed his spirit to such an extent that he didn't want
to remember or talk about it. Daniel prayed to God to reveal the
dream to him.
Explains Daniel:
The prophecy was borne out.
The prophet Daniel (Chapter 8 , 1-22)
prophesied that the King of the Hellenes would win over the King
of the Persians and that the first King would be followed by four
others of the same nation. Every interpreter of Prophet Daniel
refers to Alexander the Great as the King of the Hellenes and his
four Macedonian successors. However, beyond these interpretations
lies also the reference in the Old Testament where the Chapter on
Maccabeans (4-1) begins "Alexander from Macedonia, son of
Philip, beat Darius..."
Iosipos (Judean Archaeology IA 329) says
that after the conquest of Tyra and the siege of Gaza, Alexander
the Great went to Jerusalem where outside the town he was greeted
by the Judean High Priest along with his clergy and a big crowd.
Alexander the Great bowed before the High
Priest while the latter put his arms around Alexander. Then
Parmenion approached Alexander and told him that everybody was
displeased at his haste to greet the High Priest. Alexander
replied: "I did not greet the High Priest but the God he
represents."
Following the directions of the High
Priest, Alexander offered a sacrifice in the Judean Temple and
allowed the population of Jerusalem and its surrounding regions
to continue to use their traditional laws and religion. (An
example of piety and message of religious tolerance and freedom.)
Alexander asked the High Priest to place a
picture or a statue of himself in the Temple. The High Priest
replied that "God has ordered that no picture or statue are
ever placed in the temple". However, he told Alexander that
he would do something for him that will live forever. He ordered
that every male child fathered that year by priests of the Levi
tribe will be named Alexander. Thus the name entered the Talmud
and even today many Jews are named Alexander.
The entry of the name Alexander to the
Jewish Genesis, surely elevates the King of the Hellenes to the
level of God's instrument. This fact alone allowed Hellenism to
touch Judaism and prepare the ground for Christianity.
Rabbi Moses Ben Maimou (1135 - 1206) says
that the Helleno-Macedonian Dynasty was the main instrument for
the fusion of Hellenism and Judaism.
The Talmud (the post -Bible documents of
the Rabbis) also makes reference to the dialogue between
Alexander the Great and the High priest Somon the Just in the
Temple.
He also talked extensively about the
Hellenic Macedonians . In Chapter 4 paragraph 6 he says 'Children
of Judah and Jerusalem, you sold out to the Helenes". He
said, that during the period of the Macedonians, successors of
Alexander the Great, Jews gave Hellenic names to all the nobles
and were won over by Hellenic traditions and ethics.
An additional fact which demonstrates the
great connection between the Hellenic Macedonians and the Jews is
the following incident which also relates to the birth of Christ.
The Three Wise Men arriving in Jerusalem on
their way to Bethlehem exchanged the coins of their country with
the local Hellenic coins and used them on their journey. These
coins had the head of Hercules on the one side (he was considered
the beginning of the line of the Macedonian Kings) while on the
flipside they had an eagle from the period of the Hellenic
Macedonians of Selevkides in Syria. They were the official
coinage in that part of Judea from 126 BC to 66 AD and were the
only acceptable means of exchange in the temples.
The above information is referred to by Mr
Jacob Masarer, numismatist of the Israeli Museum of Jerusalem,
talking to Mr Korl Katz, Archaeologist and Historian of the New
York Metropolitan Museum in the documentary entitled 'The journey
of the Kings' shown by ERT 1 on 24-12-88.
According to the Greek Historian
Paparrigopoulos, the word synagogue comes from the Greek (syn =
together and agoge = education) and dates back to Alexander's
decree giving freedom to the local Judean Clubs. The large annual
National Get-together of these clubs was also called Sinitrins
from the Greek word 'Synedrio = Conference'.
As mentioned earlier Plutarch characterised
Alexander the Great as a philosopher and said of him "Alexander
who acted as he taught and spoke...".
Alexander's vision and achievements in
politics, economics and cultural development constitute, even
today, a shining example for popular leaders as well as
international organisations.
According to Plutarch, he surged out of
Macedonia not to acquire wealth or satisfy wants but to unite
people with the bonds of peace, coexistence and communication.
This desire was expressed clearly by Alexander when he met
Diogenes in Corinth.
His ideas included respect for the
traditions of subjugated peoples, their participation in
government, the gradual disappearance of the distinction between
the conquerors and the conquered and a decentralised system of
government - all of which guided Romans and Byzantines alike in
their methods of ruling people.
The social structures introduced by
Alexander were far more important than the battles he fought:
Social welfare, public education and justice for the weak.
Alexander changed the image of world
history. He contributed with his ideas to the notion of humanity
and with courage put his ideas into practice.
With the spread of Greek and its
establishment as the official language for his Asiatic and
African State, the Hellenic language became the main
communication tool for the diverse populations of the East.
Alexander the Great and his successors became not only local but
also international carriers of Hellenic language and culture so
that the world could ready itself to receive and understand words
spoken on the mountain from the Nazarene.
As underlined by Strabo, Alexander kept himself fully informed, by the scientists who followed him, of every new ethnological, geographical, zoological or botanical novelty encountered on their campaigns. He internationalised commerce as he believed exchange brought people together and communication brought about harmony. He also unified the monetary system - the Attican drachma became an international currency.
Diodoros, referring to Alexander the Great,
says "He forced his enemies to prosper" ; if one takes
into consideration Alexander's historical period in which the
word philanthropy was unknown, we can understand why he could be
seen as a precursor to Christ. Especially if we think of events
which have taken place since and the hardships, inhumanity and
selfishness which reign even today.
Alexander did not follow the advice given
to him by Aristotle, his tutor, who told him to behave as a King
to the Hellenes but to treat non-Hellenes as inferior beings.
Alexander considered all men and women as equals and tried to
make the vanquished equal to the Hellenes.
We are reminded here of the "There are
no Judeans or Greeks" by St. Paul which was declared and
practiced first by Alexander who was a fierce opponent of race
discrimination. Let us not forget that he married Roxane,
daughter of the vanquished Persian Emperor Oxyarthos, while on
the same day 100 of his officers were married to Persian women as
well as the fact that he trusted many Persians with positions of
authority.
Before St, Paul's declaration that women
are equal to men (see his letter to Galatians, C28), Alexander
demonstrated chivalry of the noblest kind towards women. Arrianos
is particularly positive about Alexander's behaviour in this
respect.
Plutarch relates that Alexander who "considered
that to conquer oneself is nobler than to conquering one's
enemies" had not touched a woman until he married. When he
first saw Roxane, daughter of his enemy Oxyarthos, she was
dancing among the captured women. He fell in love with her but
did not defile her - instead he married her immediately.
The respect shown to the mother of Emperor
Darius, when she was captured is also legendary. She loved him,
as a result, as if he were her own son, not following Mazalos
when he tried to free her, and according to Panayiotis
Kanellopoulos, when she heard of Alexander's death she fasted for
five days and then committed suicide.
St. Basil, in a lecture he gave to young
men, also portrayed Alexander as a prime example of self-restraint.
Alexander forced about 10 000 of his soldiers to marry the
Asiatic women they lived with, giving money and dowries to those
who could not afford it.
Alexander was a compassionate man and as
Arrianos says of him on freeing the Hellenic cities of Asia Minor
from the Persians "he transformed the oligarchies into
democracies and forced everybody to obey the laws"
For example, he paid all the debts
accumulated by his Macedonian soldiers while he respected fully
public property and money.
Arrianos says of him that he was "extremely
sparing of money for his own pleasures while being very generous
in lending a helping hand to others". Kanellopoulos writes,
he used to "punish severely those embezzling public money or
behaving badly towards the citizens."
a) Buddhism
Indian gods and Buddha, who were initially
never reproduced in image form, began to appear painted in full
body after the meeting of the Indian civilisation with the
Hellenic world, thanks to Alexander. Early statues of Buddha
resemble those of Apollo with Hellenic tunic and shirt.
A statue of Buddha found outside Kabul (as
mentioned in my book on the falsification of Macedonian history)
has a head of Alexander next to Buddha's head.
From the Hellenic coins found in Pakistan
we draw the conclusion that about 30 Hellenic Kings reigned in
the country during the Hellenistic period.
b) The Romans
The Romans deified Alexander. In the museum
of Florina there is a plaque dating back to 3rd century AD with
the inscription: "Julius Aurelius, son of Lysimahos
dedicated to God Alexandros". In fact, it was the Romans who
first wrote the word 'Great' after Alexander's name. The Roman
councillors and Caesars felt proud in considering themselves
successors of Alexander the Great.
c) Islam
Mohammed in the Koran includes Alexander,
giving him the name Zoul Karnein, among the prophets who did good
and gave sound advice to the world.
With Alexander's death, his generals,
proved to be valiant successors, continuing his achievements and
realising his vision for humanity, with specific centres of
activity. On the one hand the Ptolemees in Alexandria while on
the other the Selevkides and Antigonides in Antalya, Pergamo and
Efes.
Ptolemy I, who studied togeher with
Alexander in the school of Aristotle, established, after advice
given to him by Demetrios Falireas, the well known Alexandria
Museum and Library. The library flourished and by the reign of
Ptolemy VII it had reached the incredible figure of 700,000 books
in its shelves.
Rome's largest library, on the other hand,
had been established and belonged to Perseas, King of Macedonia.
This library was wrecked by the Roman Emilio Paul (Plat. Em. Paul
28).
The Alexandrine literati, with the
assistance of the Ptolemean Dynasty, worked and processed the
manuscripts, cleaning them up and saving them from obscurity.
They put them into some priorotarian order, translated many of
them and, most importantly, reproduced them sending copies to
Rome, Athens and Constantinople.
After the destruction of the Alexandria
Library, the Alexandrine works were used, especially during the
Renaissance, so that the wisdom of the Ancient Hellenes belongs
today to the entire humanity.
Apart from its library, Alexandria was, for
1,000 years (332 B.C.- 640 A.D.) the world's largest medical
centre, controlling progress in the medical science.
There were also great achievements
registered in Mathematics ( Geometry and Arithmetic), Mechanics
and Geography, all of which contributed greatly to the tremendous
progress of Astronomy.
In 283 B.C. Ptolemy the Philadelph set up
the world's first observatory while it was in Alexandria that
Aristarch from Samos discovered the Sun-centred system.
Copernicus used fully Aristarch's theory in his work.
The Moslem religion was also deeply
influenced by the Hellenism it encountered in Syria and Egypt.
It was as a result of Alexander's and his
successors' vision and achievements that in 285 B.C. the Old
Testament was translated into Greek, and became the official
version in the East as well as the West, while the New Testament
was written in Greek from the outset. Knowledge, in this way,
began its journey from Macedonia, spread to the East while the
Christian faith spread to Europe also through Macedonia.
St. Paul, under the influence of Alexander
and his successors, was educated in Greek and received his
knowledge from Macedonia (Philip from Kavala) and after the
influence of Christ spread the word to Europe (Acts, Chapter XVI
9,10).
Holzner, in his book entitled 'Paul' writes:
"Once upon a time came from Macedonia a young hero (Alexander)
who in his 22 years brought the presents of the West, the
Hellenic language and philosophy to the East. Now the West
demanded the most beautiful present from the East, the teaching
of the Nazarean".
The historical influence played by
Hellenism (represented by the Macedonians) in the formation of
Christianity is well documented in Chapter 12 Paragraphs 20-23 in
St. John's Gospel when Philip and Andreas told Christ that some
Greeks wanted to see him and he replied: "The time has come
for the glory of the Son of Man".
Christ's reference to his and
Christianity's glory at the moment of the Greeks' appearance
tells a big story of the historical influence exercised by
Hellenism in the spreading of Christianity. In particular,
Alexandria, a creation by Alexander and the Macedonian Ptolemies,
played a most significant role in the propagation of
Christianity's bright light.
The first theological School of Catechism
was set up in Alexandria in 160 A.D. and played a most important
role until 405 A.D., during the heyday of the neo-Platonic
philosophy. During that period, Christianity needed the Hellenic
philosophy and language in order to accomplish its great mission.
The first Christian evangelists grew up in Alexandria and were
formed by the Hellenic language and culture.
The marriage of Christianity and Hellenic
philosophy was consumated in Alexandria under the guidance of
Clemes and Origenis. The three Early Fathers of the Church
combined theological education and Greek culture.
"The civilisation of the Hellenistic
period (a creation of Alexander the Great and his successors who
followed him)", writes Abraham Rankowitz, the Russian
Academician of the Soviet Union, "...along with the Roman
and the Byzantine Empires and the peoples of Asia Minor, played a
most important role in today's civilisation".
The conversion of the Slavs to Christianity
by the Greek monks Methodius and Cyrillus, an event which marked
deeply European history, must be placed in a continuum to the
importance of Byzantium, and as an extension, of the civilisation
of the Hellenistic period.
On April 22 1990, Pope John Paul, speaking
in Czechoslovakia, declared "the fact that we, Slavs, became
Christian, we owe to the the Greek monks Methodius and Cyrillus,
who were born in Salonika of Macedonia, and established the
Hellenic and Byzantine tradition in Europe".
The substructure of the civilisation of the
Hellenistic period, and especially the greatness, the presents
and the interest of the Byzantine Emperors, established and
developed the unique monastic city in Mt. Athos, this thousand
year old jewel box of Hellenism and Orthodoxy.
The twenty Monasteries, the nearly 1,700
buildings, the 100,000 square metre painted surfaces, the 15,000
mobile pictures, the 15,000 manuscripts, some with pictures - all
of them constitute a highly valuable historical and archaelogical
material which has so far has not been scientifically evaluated.
Alexander was an instrument of God.
Arrianos, at the end of his book on
Alexander, writes "It seems to me that no other mortal could
have achieved so much without the power of God...".