People, who make history, are not only remembered for their feats and what they accomplished, but also at times for their quirks. Sometimes, even centuries after that person has been dead, jokes or ‘alleged’ facts keep evolving.
While most of them may be false or unjustly attributed or simply just outrageous, nevertheless they provide much entertainment for people like us. In this section you will find not only jokes on Alexander the Great but also some interesting and funny facts about him and the people around him or related to him.
It is said that that the father of Alexander, Philip II, was a heavy drinker, this being a cause for at least one funny incident. Once while he was drunk, he had to give a judgment on the case of a woman brought to trial.
Being drunk he gave an unfair judgement, following which the woman cried for an appeal. Much irritated and intrigued Philip II asked to whom was she addressing her appeal as he himself was the highest person she could appeal to. She replied, “From Philip drunk to Philip sober”. The king, amused, and taken aback, gave her case further consideration.
For someone who was to conquer the whole of the known world in his time, Alexander was very jealous of his father, who was also a fierce warrior and won many battles.
Some accounts say that when his father had won so many wars, Alexander exclaimed, ‘My father will get ahead of me in everything, and leave nothing great for me to do’.
It is said that before Alexander crossed into Asia he went to the Oracle of Delphi, Pythia, as she was called. Unfortunately he went on a day when the Pythia was not allowed to make or give any prophecies.
But Alexander’s stubborn and impulsive nature would not have any of that, he wanted a prophecy, and he wanted it right there and then. To get the prophecy, he tried to drag the Pythia out of the temple, following which she realised there was no stopping this man and thus she gave an answer, “You are invincible o young”.
To think of it now, Alexander must’ve been some stubborn ‘brat’, so to put it, never wanting to wait for an answer, or anything for that matter.
Alexander was named in a suiting yet ironic manner. His name was derived from Alexandros, meaning, ‘protector of men’, ‘to ward off, to prevent’, ‘defending men’.
It is ironic as this was a man who in his many battles causes a tremendous amount of upheaval in so many kingdoms, was responsible for innumerable number deaths and loots. Further, he made many people, especially women children, slaves in his country and otherwise.