Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
If Alexander the Great was Caesar's and Napoleon's and Patton's hero, who they most wanted to be ... who was *Alexander's* hero? Well, if you spend much time on the internet, you might think it was Achilles, and Alexander (and Hephaistion) were the first Patrochilles fans.
That's wrong.
Here we take a deep dive into the ancient sources themselves, written and visual, to discern who Alexander emulated most, in his own lifetime.
Minor correction; late in the video (21:25), I refer to the silver wine pourer with the head of Herkales-Alexander as a rhyton. I misspoke; it's an oinokhoe. A rhyton is an aerator.
(Siidnote: Not sure why the video quality is so poor initially. It improves at the one-minute mark.)
If Alexander the Great was Caesar's and Napoleon's and Patton's hero, who they most wanted to be ... who was *Alexander's* hero? Well, if you spend much time on the internet, you might think it was Achilles, and Alexander (and Hephaistion) were the first Patrochilles fans.
That's wrong.
Here we take a deep dive into the ancient sources themselves, written and visual, to discern who Alexander emulated most, in his own lifetime.
Minor correction; late in the video (21:25), I refer to the silver wine pourer with the head of Herkales-Alexander as a rhyton. I misspoke; it's an oinokhoe. A rhyton is an aerator.
(Siidnote: Not sure why the video quality is so poor initially. It improves at the one-minute mark.)
