Alexander the Great: the making of a myth

In the Armenian translation of the Alexander Romance, a popular history of Alexander the Great first written in Greek many centuries after his death, there is a lavish double-page illustration of the Macedonian king confronting his greatest opponent. King Darius III of Persia faces Alexander as if he were a reflection. Both are wearing crowns, have halos above their heads, and are flanked by their respective armies as the body parts of dead soldiers are trampled by their horses. ‘Olympias Gives Birth to Alexander the Great’, detail from The Deeds of Alexander the Great (1490-1495). This medieval miniature of the birth of Alexander introduces an account of his life by the Portuguese