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It was not uncommon for rulers in the ancient Near East to claim to be divine, or descended from the gods. When Alexander conquered Egypt, he took on the role
by DiogenesKynikos 2y ago
It was not uncommon for rulers in the ancient Near East to claim to be divine, or descended from the gods.
When Alexander conquered Egypt, he took on the role of Pharaoh, and claimed to be the son of Ra. He also began calling himself the son of Zeus.
Abraham Lincoln isn't considered a deity, but American political culture is very different from 4th-Century BC Hellenistic political culture.
- mmooss 2y agoBut here is a modern historian calling Alexander's clothes 'sacred'. Why?
- DiogenesKynikos 2y agoBecause in the historical context, they were considered sacred.
- mmooss 2y agoThanks. It's not that I'm ignorant of that. I'm trying to explore which historical contexts - and possibly modern ones - consider Alexander to be 'sacred' and why.
- 1659447091 2y agoHaven't most royal figures been considered "sacred" as their claim of, and acceptance by others, of being hand picked by a god or two; of divine right? Since people would never actually see a real god in the physical world, this sacredness is projected onto those being "divinely appointed". Thus "sacred" to some. As in people who held this view wont just stroll up to them and chat about the Dodgers (or weather etc) or give them a hug (unless that person is Michelle Obama) and not be marched out of town, jailed or worse, and is why they enjoyed so much personal space. Unless, I am misunderstanding what you mean by "sacred".
- mmooss 2y agoMany royal figures in many cultures have claimed some divinity, divine blessing, etc. What I'm wondering is, who saw Alexander as divine? Contemporaries? Later ancient people in Greece or Rome? Authors or religions since then? Anyone today, in some way or to some extent? > people would never actually see a real god in the physical world fwiw I think people in many cultures believed they saw gods in human guise, including the Greeks.
- TrapLord_Rhodo 2y agoWe still would call some of the items in the vatican "sacred". Why is that different?
- mmooss 2y agoMany people today believe some items in the Vatican are connected to actual divine beings. Few today believe Alexander the Great was divine.
- usrusr 2y agoAre you suggesting that only people who believe in objects being sacred (whatever that means) should be allowed to use the term? To those who don't, why would the current liveness status of those who do/did matter in their usage of the term?
- mmooss 2y agoOnly the people who believe something is sacred are likely to apply the term, though others may use it out of respect for the believers. Dead people don't say much.
- EasyMark 2y agoIn the context of history I’d say it was sacred to the Greeks. There’s not really anything wrong with the wording; they aren’t saying it’s a religious artifact to modern society or holds any magic.