Week #4b Daily #11

Question:  How did Alexander create his own myth?


Answer: Alexander the great created his own myth by accomplishing things that some people may call extraordinary.  He untied the Gordian Knot, received a prophecy from the Didyma, and sieged the city of Halicarnassus.  There are many different stories told how he did these things but in the end, he still some how created his own myth.  Alexander was puzzled by the Gordian Knot.  He slowly circled it and looked for possible ways to unite it.  There are two sides of the story about how Alexander united the knot.  One version of the story says he cut the Gordian Knot open with a slash of his sword.  A different part of the story says he started to untie the knot by taking the stick that held part of the cart together.  Alexander started creating a myth for himself when he first visited the oracle Didyma.  It told Alexander that he was the son of a god so that meant he was immortal.  Alexander went into battles fearless thinking that no one or nothing could stop him, but death found a way to kill him anyway, through sickness.  One other accomplishment Alexander made was the siege of Halicarnassus.  This battle was fought between Alexander, who didn't have a navy, and the Persian navy.  Alexander won the small battle and made his way into the city of Halicarnassus.  These three events helped Alexander build up his own "myth."  It may seem that some things that Alexander did were "myth-like" but until we  find the true facts behind the fiction, it's all we can believe.