Figure 65 Digital restoration of interior of the Kasta Tomb, Amphipolis; late fourth century BC.

Source: Greektoys – Sofia Pavlaki.

Alexander the Great and the Conquest of Asia

Alexander was 20 years old when he became king of Macedon, succeeding his father Philip, whose
ruthlessness he seems to have inherited. Alexander’s youth and the turmoil that followed in the wake of
Philip’s assassination encouraged Macedon’s neighbors to the north and west to believe that the kingdom
was vulnerable. Alexander acted with characteristic promptitude and decisiveness, securing the
Macedonian borders and arousing the admiration and loyalty of his troops. Macedonian kings were
expected to lead their army into battle: Philip had lost his right eye to an enemy missile while besieging a
Greek city in 354 BC and on a later occasion had his leg pierced by a lance that killed the horse he was
riding; Alexander was every bit as daring and fearless as his father. While Alexander was campaigning in
the north, rumors of his death reached the cities of central Greece and, under the leadership of Thebes and
with encouragement from Demosthenes, they set about “liberating” themselves from Macedonian control.
But again Alexander was up to the task. Before the Greek cities could organize and put an effective army
in the field, Alexander led his troops into Greece and captured Thebes. Those residents who were not
massacred were sold into slavery and the city was reduced to rubble. As if to show his respect for Greek
culture, however, Alexander allowed the home of the fifth-century Theban poet Pindar to remain standing.

The rest of the Greek cities were intimidated, as Alexander had no doubt intended, and they readily
acknowledged him as their leader. His intention now was to accomplish the invasion of Persia that Philip
had planned. Preparations were made and, in the spring of 334, Alexander and his Macedonian army set
out to cross the Hellespont into Asia. Alexander was 21 years old, but he only had 11 more years to live
and he would never return to Macedon. In those 11 years, however, he brought under his personal control