Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer

by Nicholas J. Saunders

Book Overview

Alexander the Great is a towering figure in world history, but despite our long-held fascination with him, his burial site is unknown. Alexander's Tomb is the epic tale of the ongoing quest to unlock... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 046507202X
• ISBN13: 9780465072026
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: Perseus Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Fascinating Story of Alexander's Tomb

The first couple of chapters of this book briefly present the highlights of Alexander's life, accomplishments and ultimately his death. The remainder is about Alexander's corpse, mummy and tombs (he had more than one) and what has and may have happened to them throughout the ages. The story is quite fascinating and full of uncertainty, speculation, false leads and wishful thinking; this is mainly due to the lack of ancient documents that clearly describe what happened to Alexander's body and his "final" resting place during the course of time. The writing style is quite engaging, clear and authoritative. However, for some, the many ancient names and places that are mentioned in the earlier parts of the book can be a bit confusing. Fortunately, the author has included glossaries at the end that the reader may refer to as needed. This intriguing book will likely be of most interest to history and archaeology buffs.

Engrossing Archeological Mystery

Saunders does a good job in laying out the facts in the mystery of what became of one of the Holy Grails of Archeology, the search for the Tomb of Alexander the Great. He gives us a breif history of the life and death of Alexander and how his General Ptolomy used possession of his body to legitimize his claim to the throne of the Pharoes of Egypt. He give us a glimpse of how the building of the Tomb by Ptolomy and his descendants built the Conqueror's namesake city Alexandria into one of the marvels of the ancient world. People traveled from all points of the Hellenic then Roman World to view the Tomb. The location of the tomb was lost during the dark ages. Saunders postulates several possible scenarios for what became of the grave. He also records several incidents over the years involving people obcessed with its discovery. Overall an enjoyable book for people interested in History or Archeology

How Alexander's Unknown Tomb Still Lives

Entertaining book, no doubt. How the remains of Alexander, his mummy and the place where it lied trough centuries until it disappeared of common knowledge and historic testimonies, are and were very alive trough old and current politics, but also how the obsession to find his body still pervades the mind of scholars and laymen, all of that is certainly a tale worthy of a book and this one fulfill the task very well. Saunder deliver the merchandise. We see a parade of scholars, amateurs, crazy or deranged people of all description, fake histories, rumors and archaeological discoveries trying to say the last word, but we also see the politics of his age, all kind of kings messing around this famous corpse, making use of it to legitimate patched kingdoms with an artful mixing of myth and legend. A worthy reading and at last the thought that the aura of Alexander's tomb will vanish -as happened with the Titanic- the very same day it is discovered. Tombs of famous people only lives in imagination if far from museum life.

Stones and Bones in Alexandria

A puzzling thing is that books about ancient Greece usually end with the death of Alexander in 323 BC. Yet it was after that time -- not before -- that Hellenism became a world civilization. For some reason, however, historians have chosen to rap rhapasodic about the small city of ancient Athens -- and ignore the huge empire of Alexander and his successors. Author Saunders writes about what happened after Alexander's death. That's ground that hasn't been plowed often and is very much worth the effort of learning about it. The story of the diadochi -- the successors of Alexander -- is as dark and bloody as any in history. The book focuses on what happened to Alexander's body and its significance as a symbol of power and legitimacy for the successors of the great conqueror. It's interesting stuff and the author, with limited material to work with, conjures up a cult of Alexander and his body in Alexandria, as exemplified by his tomb and the visitors who came to pay homage. However, reading this book I came to a conclusion opposite from the author. Within a few decades after Alexander's death, nobody really gave a damn about his remains. His fabled tomb wasn't on the list of Alexandria's major tourist attractions, is rarely mentioned in ancient sources, and disappeared without a trace. Saunders brings the story up to date with tales of medieval and modern efforts to find Alexander's tomb and remains. This book is worth reading for the well-described and lucid picture it gives of the city of Alexandria and its society in the several centuries after Alexander's death. Smallchief

Obsession with the Soma

The Soma.What is it? It is the name given to Alexander's tomb or Mausoleum. Were is it, it is a mystery as the mystery of the man itself. This book narrates the history of the Ptolomaic dynasty what they accomplished and what ruined Alexandria Egypt under their, reign.It further goes to describe the Roman Period, the Ottoman Period the Christian period,and the look for Alexander's Soma.The recent digs in the Oasis of Siwa, to the discovery of the Ptolomaic Alexandria right under the Actual Alexandria only 40 feet under. HOw through the centuries the Soma appeared and dissappeared from history. Is it still in Alexandria, is it in Memphis,or Siwa? Or is it all together gone? What about the sarcopagus at the Nebi Daniel Mosque,did it containe Alexander's body or not? This book has been published in 2006, and is incredible the research that the author has done.The latest excavations in the Latin cemiteries in the hope of discovering Alexander.What an astonishing accomplishment this would be, in my opinion better than the King Tut's tomb. Alexander accomplished much more than Tut.I hope that he will soon be found,intact with his glass sarcophagus and his mummified body. It is a very easy book to read. 5 plus stars.