The Day Alexander the Great Visited the Tomb of Achilles

Alexander the Great is best remembered for his dramatic conquests. However, another famous event in his life is his visit to the city of Troy. While there, Alexander the Great visited the tomb of Achilles, a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors.

Alexander the Great’s visit to Troy

Alexander the Great’s visit to the tomb of Achilles took place in the year 334 BCE. This was when Alexander began his attack against the Persian Empire. He crossed the Hellespont and arrived in Anatolia. However, before engaging in battle against the Persians, he decided to visit the city of Troy first.

Just like today, the writings of Homer were very famous in ancient times. Due to the Iliad and various non-Homeric sources, many people knew about the Trojan War. For this reason, it makes sense that Alexander wanted to visit such a famous location.

Not only did Alexander the Great visit Troy itself, but he also visited several other locations in the Troad. His tour around this area was described by several ancient writers, including Diodorus and Plutarch.

Visiting the tomb of Achilles

Diodorus tells us what Alexander did while visiting the Troad. According to this ancient Greek historian, writing in the first century BCE:

“He visited the tombs of the heroes Achilles, Ajax, and the rest.”

As is clear, Alexander the Great visited the tombs of several heroes and not just Achilles. However, it is notable that Diodorus mentions Achilles’ tomb first. Perhaps this means that it was the most important of the tombs that Alexander visited, or perhaps it was the one that he visited first.

The tomb of Achilles is generally identified as being at the site of an ancient city known as Achilleion, several miles away from Troy.

What did Alexander the Great do at the tomb of Achilles?

Regardless of exactly why Diodorus mentioned the tomb of Achilles first, it is clear that this was the one which was most important to Alexander the Great. This is clear from the records about what he did while he was there. Diodorus provides us with only a little information, stating:

“[Alexander] honored them with offerings and other appropriate marks of respect.”

In this statement, Diodorus refers to the various tombs that Alexander visited in the Troad. He does not single out Achilles’ tomb. Rather, he mentions that all of them received offerings of honor and other marks of respect. However, when we look to the writings of Plutarch, we find a lot more information. Plutarch tells us:

“Furthermore, the gravestone of Achilles he anointed with oil, ran a race by it with his companions, naked, as is the custom, and then crowned it with garlands, pronouncing the hero happy in having, while he lived, a faithful friend, and after death, a great herald of his fame.”

According to this statement from Plutarch, Alexander the Great spent quite some time at the tomb of Achilles. Plutarch does not mention Alexander doing this at any of the other tombs that he visited, suggesting that Alexander was particularly focused on Achilles’ tomb.

Why did Alexander want to visit the tomb of Achilles?

From the aforementioned information, it is obvious that Alexander had a particular interest in the tomb of Achilles. But why was he so interested? Numerous ancient historians testified to the fact that Alexander greatly admired Achilles.

In fact, this was an admiration which was allegedly encouraged from childhood. One of his tutors is said to have called him ‘Achilles’ as a nickname. This early admiration must have been partly based on the fact that Alexander himself was allegedly a descendant of Achilles.

Based on this, it is easy to understand why Alexander would have looked to Achilles, the mighty warrior of the Iliad, as an example to aspire to. Hence, we can understand why he was so keen to go to Achilles’ tomb and show honor to that Greek hero.