What Happened to Alexander the Great’s Body?
Collected Image (history.com).
Alexander the Great, who had built a vast empire by age 29, was deeply affected by the sudden death of his close companion Hephaestion in Ecbatana. In his grief, he ordered Hephaestion’s body to be embalmed—an unusual choice that later influenced the treatment of his own body.
Soon after, Alexander fell ill with fever and severe abdominal pain and died in 323 B.C. at age 32. The exact cause of his death remains debated, with theories including disease and poisoning. Adding to the mystery, his body reportedly showed no signs of decay even six days after death in Babylon’s intense heat, further deepening the intrigue surrounding his final days.
At the time, this was seen as evidence of his divine nature. However, modern researchers propose a different explanation: he may not have been fully dead but instead paralyzed by a condition like Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which could have made him appear lifeless while he was still alive.
The Golden Funeral Carriage and Its Seizure
A magnificent funerary carriage took two years to build for transporting his remains. His body was embalmed and placed in a golden sarcophagus.
Initial Plan: He was meant to be buried in Macedonia alongside his ancestors.
Interception: During the journey, his general Ptolemy I seized the body in Syria and redirected it to Egypt. By doing so, Ptolemy used Alexander’s remains as a powerful symbol to legitimize his own rule.
Burial in Egypt
At first, the body was kept in Memphis, but it was later moved to Alexandria, the city Alexander himself had founded. For centuries, his tomb—called the Sema or Soma—became a major site of pilgrimage. Notable Roman figures visited it, including:
Julius Caesar, who honored the fallen conqueror
Augustus, who reportedly damaged the mummy’s nose while placing a crown on it
Caligula, who is said to have taken Alexander’s breastplate for himself
The Disappearance
By the 4th century A.D., Alexandria faced turmoil from riots, earthquakes, and rising sea levels. As Christianity spread and pagan practices declined, the tomb was likely sealed or destroyed to prevent further worship of Alexander as a deity. By around 400 A.D., its exact location had been lost.
Modern Theories
For centuries, archaeologists have searched for Alexander’s remains. Some leading theories include:
Mosque of Nabi Daniel: Local tradition claims the body may lie hidden in a crypt beneath this site in Alexandria.
St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice: A controversial idea suggests that when Venetian traders took what they believed were the remains of St. Mark in 828 A.D., they may have mistakenly taken Alexander instead.
Siwa Oasis: Some believe his burial wish—to rest at the temple of Zeus-Ammon—was secretly fulfilled in the desert.
Despite more than 140 official excavation efforts, the final resting place of Alexander the Great is still unknown. (Source: history.com)
