Alexander the Great and the Water of Life
The ancient folklore tradition around Alexander the Great
The vast conquests of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great quickly inspired the formation and diffusion of legendary material about his deity, journeys, and tales. These appeared shortly after his death, and some may have already begun forming during his lifetime.
This storytelling tradition was marked by the Greek work «Βίος Αλεξάνδρου του Μακεδόνος και Πράξεις Αυτού» ("The Life of Alexander the Macedonian and His Deeds"), where the mythical adventures of the formidable military commander are listed.
In that work, Alexander doesn't merely conquer Asia, but also campaigns westward, reaches the land of the blessed, encounters Amazons, monsters, rivers where sand flows instead of water, lands without sunlight, gymnosophist philosophers, giants, dog-headed men, people with six legs and three eyes, one-footed little men with sheep-like tails, Indians, Turks, Armenians, Brahmins, and countless other tribes, he flies through the skies and dives into the depths of the sea in a submarine!
This novel was probably written in the 3rd century AD and was later tampered with under the name of Callisthenes (around 1054–1055). Four Greek versions (a, b, c, and e) have survived, followed by countless other translations and adaptations — initially in antiquity into Persian, Armenian, Syriac, and Latin. During the Middle Ages and beyond, it was translated into countless languages. If you are mainly exposed to Western European literature, you might know it as "Historia Alexandri Magni" by Pseudo-Callisthenes.
Alexander the Great for Greeks in the Roman, Late Roman (Byzantine), and Ottoman periods
In the Byzantine world, stories about Alexander that stemmed from the Romance of Pseudo-Callisthenes were particularly popular. Romance means "Novel", and in the original Greek word is "Μυθιστόρημα" (Mythistorema). It literally translates to "Storytelling of Myths".
These stories were adapted to suit the circumstances of the time. For example, Alexander was portrayed as a model Christian emperor or even an apostle of Christianity. Elements from Biblical and medieval traditions were incorporated into the narratives, alongside ancient Greek and other traditions.
In general, based on the various references by Byzantine authors, such as those found in the so-called Mirrors for Princes and encomiastic speeches, it can be concluded that Alexander served as a role model for many Byzantine emperors as a virtuous king. At the same time, he was promoted as a Greek hero and a cultural point of reference for Byzantine identity, especially through the tradition of the Alexander Mythistorema.
"Διήγησις του Αλεξάνδρου του Μακεδόνος" ("Mythistorema of Alexander the Macedonian") was one of the most popular secular readings among the Byzantine Greeks. It also existed in verse form, most notably in the Byzantine multi-verse poem (epic) Βίος Αλεξάνδρου ("Life of Alexander"), which contains 6,133 verses and is dated either to the early 13th century or to the year 1388.
A notable example is the depiction of Alexander in Byzantine iconography of the Ανάληψης του Αλέξανδρου ("Ascension of Alexander"), some monumental versions of which were even used in the interior or exterior decoration of Byzantine churches.
(Alexander here represents the “Kingdom of the Greeks”, one of the four kingdoms that predate the end of times according to interpretations of the prophet Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar II’s dream.)
The tradition of the Alexander Mythistorema continued into the period of Ottoman rule, with numerous editions of the prose version known as "Phyllada of Megalexandros" as well as the verse adaptation known as "Rimada" (from ρίμα = verse). The Phyllada of Megalexandros circulated after 1680 in the Greek vernacular, a prose adaptation of earlier works based on the Hellenistic 3rd-century novel of Pseudo-Callisthenes.
A minor saint of the Greek Orthodox Christian church, the ascetic Sisoes, has been depicted in hagiographies above the open tomb of Alexander the Great for hundreds of years.
In the Ottoman period, beyond the scholars, even simple, semi-literate Greeks, the reading public of the many editions of the Phyllada, viewed him as a symbol of resistance or even redemption against the Ottoman Empire, especially in the second half of the 18th century, during the Greek Age of Enlightenment.
The "Immortal Water" story
The story of the "Water of Immortality" does not appear in the original Greek version of Pseudo-Callisthenes but emerges in later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. In all versions, Alexander fails to attain immortality, emphasizing that mortality is the destiny of humankind.
The Persian national poet Ferdowsi, in his epic Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), presents Alexander as the legitimate king of Persia, a mythical figure who reached the ends of the earth in search of the “Fountain of Youth.” Later Persian authors connected him with philosophy, portraying him as seeking immortality in a symposium with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Islamic-era Persian accounts of the Alexander legend, known as the Iskandarnameh, combined the Pseudo-Callisthenes and Syriac material about Alexander, some of which is found in the Qur'an, with Sasanian Persian ideas about Alexander the Great. This is an ironic outcome considering Zoroastrian Persia's hostility to the national enemy who finished the Achaemenid Empire, but was also directly responsible for centuries of Persian domination by Hellenistic "foreign rulers".
However, Alexander is sometimes not depicted as a warrior and conqueror, but as a seeker of truth who eventually finds the Ab-i Hayat (Water of Life). Persian sources on the Alexander legend devised a mythical genealogy for him whereby his mother was a concubine of Darius II, making him the half-brother of the last Achaemenid king, Darius III. By the 12th century, such important writers as Nezami Ganjavi were making him the subject of their epic poems.
Some scholars believe, based on corresponding references in the Alexander Mythestorima, that "Dhul-Qarnayn" (Δίκερως), mentioned in the Qur’an, is in fact Alexander the Great. According to this tradition, Alexander is a heroic figure who built a wall to protect the world from the peoples of Gog and Magog. He then traveled across the world in search of the “Water of Life and Immortality”, and ultimately became a prophet.
This legend of Alexander and the Water of Life, most likely found its way (one could say "circled back") to the Greeks with the Ottoman occupation. The Greeks, in turn, merged this tale with stories from their own tradition.
The Immortal Water and the Mermaid sister of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great’s sister, Thessalonike of Macedon, was a remarkable figure. Outliving her half-brother, she would go on to become the queen of Macedon through marriage to one of Alexander’s generals, Cassander. The second biggest city in Greece is named after her, given its name by Cassander to honor his wife. For the real history of Queen Thessalonike, check this article.
According to the legends, Alexander the Great’s pursuit of the Fountain of Immortality led him to acquire a flask containing "the immortal water" (το αθάνατο νερό). To acquire it, he passed between two moving mountains and fought the Dragon who protected it.
Variations of the tale suggest that Alexander either used the water to wash his sister’s hair, granting her immortality, or inadvertently used it to nourish a wild onion plant, failing to inform Thessalonike of its contents. Another version says that Alexander kept the water secret from Thessaloniki, and she drank it without knowing what it was. Due to Thessalonike leaving no water for him, Alexander cursed her to turn into a Mermaid. Others say that Thessalonike sought to end her own life out of shame by falling into the sea, and then her transformation occurred.
In any case, the Macedonian queen became an immortal mermaid who questions voyaging sailors. Every encounter with sailors bore a consistent query: "Ζει ο βασιλιάς Αλέξανδρος;" ("Is King Alexander alive?”). Only the correct response of "Ζει και βασιλεύει, και τον κόσμο κυριεύει!" (“He lives and reigns and conquers the world”) would appease her, allowing the ship and its crew to sail away safely. Any other reply would awaken her wrath, determined to send the vessel and its sailors to the depths below.
The same motif exists in some Slavic areas who were formerly occupied by the Byzantines and the Ottomans. For example, in the Bulgarian folk songs, there is the legend of Tsar Aleksandar who seeks the Immortal Water. Alexander finds the immortal water behind after walking three days in darkness, behind two mountains that open and close. He leaves the bottle with immortal water to his sister, who breaks it by accident. Alexander chases his sister to the sea, where she escapes and turns into a dolphin.
Thank you for reading this far! The folios presented here are Greek, with Persian and Arabic in the margins, and the rest of the images are from modern Greek art. There are also three hagiographies.
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