I mentioned earlier the cave in which I saw a plaque on the wall which had an inscription of some kind written in Greek. I have never learned the identity of this cave, but the part that I saw was the front of it, that was probably made to be a reception area. I did not go further back into it. I just saw that there was a lot of light gleaming outside from it and that light symbolized the light of knowledge to me. On a side note, later I saw a similar scene in the movie Lord of the Rings. It reminded me a lot of that when one is inside a cave, the outdoor area appears to be very brightly lit.
The Greeks and Macedonians were neighboring countries, and Greece had had a great influence on the life of the Macedonians who considered themselves to be Greek as well. While the Greeks were cultured, civilized, and by their standards, refined, the Macedonians were crude, rude, and burley and riff raff. They were mostly from farming and mining stock, and did not have that city refinement and polish that the Athenians had. They were a drunken bunch of bums in many ways in comparison to the elite of Athens.
But they had become a well trained and disciplined military power under the rule of Philip, Alexander's father, who had been trained himself in nearby Thebes when a youngster, and he carried those lessons back home to where he developed and raised an army through which Alexander was tutored and trained to become the fine general that he was at age 18.
So when one comes to learn who Alexander really is, one comes to wonder how on earth am I learning all this about myself now, at this stage in my life?
I am always amazed at this, as it is truly astounding to me. Yet, I believe in myself as much now as Alexander did in himself in that time period. There is some humor in it, as one has to understand the law of opposites, or reversi, in life changes. One example that I will state now is the matter of scars. Alexander is truly covered with scars, and as he says none in the back, no backstabbing. I have only one scar from childhood and have always been impressed by the fact that I have had few physical health problems, and therefore, no visible scars to show. Louis XIV had always loved the game of reversi, and sometimes I am able to see the reverse coin of Alexander with me on the other side...war and peace.
While I am writing this, it appears that I am glossing over both George and Louis by not telling their story in the same way that I am telling Alexanders, but that is because of the way the knowledge of them impacts me. I will sum it all up at the conclusion of this, explaining why.
I don't intend for this to become a regurgitation of their history, but in Alexander's case, I am summarizing a lot of it due to the fact that I don't believe that Alexander is known that well in the world as are both George and Louis XIV.
Yet, in circles to where Alexander is known, he takes precedence over each of the other and dwarfs them both.
Life is funny in the way that people perceive past histories. And I slip back and forth into third person and first person all according to where I am coming from. When I am telling of my own experiences, lived first hand through memory, I become the I character; otherwise, I talk about Alexander from the third person.
Alexander as a young man at 18 is really in many ways 35. He is an old man despite his youth. He has since childhood trained in the military with his father, and as a young teenager, had gone with a friend to perform one of the first acts of bravery to be a soldier, and that is the act of killing a man. He became a hard bitten killer early so that death of others meant little to him except success for his goals as a soldier. He is not to be misunderstood about his ruthlessness. He is utterly devoid of fear when it comes to killing someone, so when he sought advice from the delphic oracle, it is surely no surprise that when the oracle would not grant him his wish, he forcibly grabbed her, and made her speak to him...Her one word was "invincible" and with that, Alexander let go of her, thrust her away, and walked away satisfied. He had all he needed to hear.
Did I go back in time to remember that?
No, I have not ever had any memory of that occasion, but the other oracle that he was to address was in the Egyptian Desert, an oasis called Siwa, whereupon he had the gods and goddesses assist him in his struggle to reach the truth of whether he is a god or not through the counsel and advice of the oracle of Siwa. I did relive that experience, one of the most intersting and unusual memories that I have of Alexander in Egypt. That and the creation of the city of Alexander are the only two memories that I recall of Egypt at all. He did spend a lot of time there, was recognized and received as a Pharaoh, and in all probability, Egypt is where his body was taken after his death.
I believe that he should have been cremated according to custom but in fact his body became a bit of a power struggle amongst his followers so that there are many varieties of stories about what really happened to his body.
According to legend, Alexander and his followers crossed the desert to find the Siwa Oasis, but got lost in the desert to luck it out when a rainstorm came to give them water to quench their thirst, and either a pair of birds, or a pair of snakes led them to the promised oasis. One is supposed to realize that these birds or snakes are the gods in disguise leading Alexander to his destination. Nothing happens by accident with Alexander, and unfortunately, today's modern storytellers omit the occasions of the gods assistance much too often.
Alexander was apparently long awaited and was received immediately and much discussion is given as to whether the words were garbled when he was greeted, but it sounded to him as though the priests had said, son of zeus, and thus, he has always believed ever since that he is the true son of zeusammon, the Egyptian and Greek god.
He is often pictured wearing a pair of rams horns on his head after that time which indicated that he is the god.
Supposedly, he never told anyone, not even his best friend, Hephaestion, what the priests had told him, but did tell his mother that he would tell her when they would be together next. Unfortunately, he never saw his mother again to tell her anything about it.
I know what happened when I relived the experience. Alexander did little talking at all, but mostly listened. In fact, I stood as I recall listening to the monotone voice of a priest intone his remarks. It is said that there is a boat like structure there that moves according to questions. That is not what happened when I was there. I do liken the advice of the priests to that which was given to Moses which I later read in the old testament of the Bible. Both Alexander and Moses are influenced by Egypt, as Moses is sometimes also thought of as a Pharaoh, and some of the instruction given is similar once I found it.
While it is never said what happened within, stories were told that Alexander has asked if his father's murderers had been punished, and the answer seems to indicate that his true father is Zeus, and that therefore there is no need to punish. But he meant Philip and apparently, the priest's gave him the satisfaction that yes, the persons responsible for the death had been punished. That is a nebulous answer of course, and there is no truth that he ever said that since most historians say that he would never tell what had transpired inside to anyone.
My personal memory is that Alexander stood and listening as a priest intoned remarks ina monotone and monotonous manner that I can never forget. The tone was overwhelming to me, and most of it is rite and ritual and theatrics, but it makes an impression. Alexander was advised to follow certain religious rites religiously and zelously and when accomplished, he would always be successful in his battles. He would win and would rule Asia provided that he do as instructed, which is to make certain that the sacrifice is cut in a manner pleasing to the gods.
(Moses likewise has also received the instruction...It is an Egyptian rule.)
It is iteresting to note that Alexander always makes sacrifices to the gods, is a very true devotee to the gods, and makes altars and temples always in Thanksgiving and prays both before and after each of his battles, seeking always the good will of the gods to assist him and save him in battle.
This was a very important journey for Alexander to make because it confirmed what his mother had always told him, and that is that he is destined to rule the world then as his own since he is born to ascend into the glories of the gods and goddesses with whom he will become one.
This is Egyptian and Greek belief, and the record does prove that Alexander did achieve success with the attitude of respect and devotion to his faith in himself, his mother, and the priests who counseled him.
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