MEGAS ALEXANDROS (Alexander The Great ): His Death Remains a Medical Mystery

More than 2000 years ago, Alexander the Third of Macedonia conquered the then known world and ruled an empire that extended from the Balkan Peninsula to the Indus River. Alexander changed the course of human history when he sparked the spread of Greek culture throughout the ancient world. Also as the world’s first statesman, he forsaw the advantages of multicultural societies and was clever enough to transmit these ideas to the generations that followed. Alexander was educated by one of the most prominent of Greek philosophers: Aristotle, who shaped Alexander`s superior intellect inculcating in him a desire to know new countries and cultures. From this interest came the energy that years later drove him to explore the limits of the known world. Alexander called this impulse his pothos (thirst for knowledge). Even more, Aristotle implanted in Alexander his interest in philosophy and in the art of healing. Alexander was attracted not only to the theory of medicine but, also tended his friends when they were sick, prescribing for them diets and various courses of treatment. Even though Alexander was taught that his was the best culture that he helped to spread throughout the known world, he was able to appreciate the achievements of other cultures.