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Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods
Famous for more than two millennia for the amazing deeds that he accomplished in his short life of thirty-two years, King Alexander III of Macedon is the most celebrated figure of classical antiquity. Alexander the Son of the Gods presents, in a year-by-year chronicle, an intimate and fascinating portrait of the man who, in less than two decades, created the greatest empire the world had ever seen and acquired a semi-mythic status that persists today.
Among the topics covered are Alexander's family life, including his stormy relationship with his father, King Philip, and the influence of his mother, Queen Olympias; his brilliant leadership, outwitting opponents and inspiring his devoted troops; and his daily life on the march and off duty, whether sharing the hardships of his men or indulging in the renowned bouts of feasting that may have contributed to his early death. Generously illustrated with ancient art from museums around the world, this is an engrossing, accessible biography of a legendary man.
Among the topics covered are Alexander's family life, including his stormy relationship with his father, King Philip, and the influence of his mother, Queen Olympias; his brilliant leadership, outwitting opponents and inspiring his devoted troops; and his daily life on the march and off duty, whether sharing the hardships of his men or indulging in the renowned bouts of feasting that may have contributed to his early death. Generously illustrated with ancient art from museums around the world, this is an engrossing, accessible biography of a legendary man.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 26, 2025
A very enjoyable, if brief, look at the life of Alexander. Excellent photographs of statues, mosaics, and buildings, and accompanied by useful maps. Includes multiple quotations from Arrian and Diodorus Siculus.
October 23, 2012
Alan Fildes and Joann Fletcher wrote this book, Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods, to tell the tale of the world's greatest conqueror. Their book is unique by the amount of space the dedicate to Alexander's time in Egypt, which they consider to be very important to his development and to his ideas on his own divinity. This book's structure and format have a very strong textbook feel to it. The chapters are subdivided into little sections and there are feature boxes that are within but excluded from the main text. The book contains a lot of incredible visuals, such as maps, images of ancient statues, medieval works of art, and present day photos of places where Alexander had been.
This work starts out as a traditional tale of Alexander, discussing the conditions of Macedonia, Greece as a whole, and the Persian Empire that long threatened Greece long before Alexander's arrival. The authors tell the story of how Alexander's dynasty got started and how his parents King Phillip and Queen Olympias came to be married. Alexander grows up between two parents who despise one another while being tutored by one of the greatest minds ever, Aristotle's.
Alexander becomes the King of Macedon when his father is assassinated. As King, goes to war against the Persian Empire. After defeating Darius III in battle at the battle of Issus and achieving victory at Tyre he heads south. The two authors focus a great deal on what happened to him when he was in the land of the Nile.
"With the whole of Asia Minor now his, Alexander was free to pursue the Persians east into their own heartlands. However, knowing that would take Darius at least a year to muster a new army after his defeat at Issus, Alexander chose instead to go south to Egypt. Although often regarded by later historians as little more than an eccentric diversion, Alexander's six-month Egyptian sojourn was essential to his future plans--he required a strong coastal base for both strategic and commercial purposes. However, the founding of the city of Alexandria was not the only legacy of the young king's time in Egypt. His stay there was marked a major psychological turning point in his life, for it was in Egypt that he became convinced of his own invincibility and divinity."(p.52)
Leaving Egypt the Pharaoh, he goes on to challenge King Darius for the rest of his empire. Defeating the King of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela , Alexander spends the rest of his life mopping up the pieces of his newly won kingdom, stretching his empire all the way to India.
After his death the authors give the best detailed account of break up his empire amongst his generals that I had ever read. The book also tells the tale of Alexander's tomb that for centuries was located in Alexandria. Now no one knows where it is! If it is ever found that discovery would make the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb pale by comparison. According to the authors it was how Alexander conquered and ruled that was his greatest legacy for he single handily ushered in the Hellenistic Age.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Alexander the Great the unstoppable conqueror who saw himself as a god.
This work starts out as a traditional tale of Alexander, discussing the conditions of Macedonia, Greece as a whole, and the Persian Empire that long threatened Greece long before Alexander's arrival. The authors tell the story of how Alexander's dynasty got started and how his parents King Phillip and Queen Olympias came to be married. Alexander grows up between two parents who despise one another while being tutored by one of the greatest minds ever, Aristotle's.
Alexander becomes the King of Macedon when his father is assassinated. As King, goes to war against the Persian Empire. After defeating Darius III in battle at the battle of Issus and achieving victory at Tyre he heads south. The two authors focus a great deal on what happened to him when he was in the land of the Nile.
"With the whole of Asia Minor now his, Alexander was free to pursue the Persians east into their own heartlands. However, knowing that would take Darius at least a year to muster a new army after his defeat at Issus, Alexander chose instead to go south to Egypt. Although often regarded by later historians as little more than an eccentric diversion, Alexander's six-month Egyptian sojourn was essential to his future plans--he required a strong coastal base for both strategic and commercial purposes. However, the founding of the city of Alexandria was not the only legacy of the young king's time in Egypt. His stay there was marked a major psychological turning point in his life, for it was in Egypt that he became convinced of his own invincibility and divinity."(p.52)
Leaving Egypt the Pharaoh, he goes on to challenge King Darius for the rest of his empire. Defeating the King of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela , Alexander spends the rest of his life mopping up the pieces of his newly won kingdom, stretching his empire all the way to India.
After his death the authors give the best detailed account of break up his empire amongst his generals that I had ever read. The book also tells the tale of Alexander's tomb that for centuries was located in Alexandria. Now no one knows where it is! If it is ever found that discovery would make the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb pale by comparison. According to the authors it was how Alexander conquered and ruled that was his greatest legacy for he single handily ushered in the Hellenistic Age.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Alexander the Great the unstoppable conqueror who saw himself as a god.
May 23, 2024
"Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods" is an informative, concise biography of Alexander the Great. The book is filled with excellent images as well, including art and maps. This book is more educational than entertaining, but I enjoyed it and learned some new facts. I recommend it for those interested in learning more about Alexander or ancient history.
March 27, 2020
nice and easy read with anecdotes. i love alex
November 26, 2020
A solidly illustrated chronological guide to Alexander's life.
August 18, 2022
A good viewing of Alexander's life and legacy. But he photos and maps really put it in a higher class.
October 16, 2013
Alan Fildes wrote this book "Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods" to tell the story of the greatest conqueror in the world. He took his fathers thrown after his father king philip was assassinated. he then brought all the cites of greece together to take over Persia. he became the king of Persia. He was crowned pharaoh after invading Egypt. He went to the Oracle at Abon who tries to tell him in Greek "oh dear son", what came out in Greek was "son of gods." alexander thought he was a god. Even after conquering his enemies in persia and burning many cities to the ground he dies of malaria. His death because he had no successor his generals tried to cut up the now vast empire. civil war broke out and the young once great empire fell to ruins. this book was a good read and isn't very hard to get into i was left wanting to read more and more as i went on. If you are interested in alexander the Great this is a good book for you.
March 11, 2010
An excellent primer, but nothing really substantial. It was beautifully illustrated with photographs of the actual sites mentioned or the artifacts from the time period. However, each year of Alexander's life was only covered by two to three pages. They also skimmed the more salacious aspects of Alexander's personal life, perhaps trying to get rid of the Hollywood image that has overshadowed more serious scholarship. It served as a good overview, maybe as a guide to further reading or a quick reference, but nothing beyond that.
August 28, 2007
Alexander the Great is my hero, and this is such a Great (ha!) book about him. It's nice because it's not like your typical biography. It has many pictures, and is more like a text or reference book.
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April 2, 2010i lke the legend
April 10, 2011
LOVED this book! Fascinating. Not a long, dull, overly-detailed treatise, but lots of pictures made it great
December 12, 2011
found this in the bookstore at the Getty villa, couldnt resist.
August 15, 2012
"Don't waste your time."
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews