e did it just the way Achilles had crossed it to enter Troy in Homer's The Illiad. This goes back to Alexander's image of himself as godlike and invincible. Also by using Homer's The Illiad, he was presenting himself as a hero to all Greek people. His army encountered King Darius's army at the crossing of the river Granicus, near the Aegean coast. Alexander was very aggressive with his forces and defeated the Persians in a fierce hand to hand combat. He then proceeded to march south through Ionia and freed the Greek cities from Persian rule. By doing this, Alexander confirmed his status as the great liberator of civilized men. He then turned northward to Gordion, home of the famous Gordian Knot. The legend of the knot was that he who unravels it, is destined to rule the world. Alexander simply slashed the knot with his sword and unraveled it. This reinforces Alexander's belief that he is destined to conquer the Persians and beyond. It was his fate to be leader of the world. In November of 333 B.C., he and Darius meet again at the mountain pass of Issus. Although the Persian army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, the narrow field of battle played into the hands of Alexander. He defeated the Persians, but Darius escaped. After the battle, Alexander entered Damascus and captured Darius's war chest and his family. In the next year that followed, he marched down to the Phoenician coast and received the surrenders of all major cities except for Tyre. A seven-month siege followed, and the city of Tyre eventually surrenders. After securing the Aegean coast he continued south to Egypt. He arrived in Egypt in 331 B.C. and was welcomed by the people. He ordered a city to be designed and founded in his name at the mouth of the Nile. He was inspired to choose its site due to his interpretation of a scene from Homer's Odyssey. Alexandria would become one of the major cultural centers in the Mediterranean world in the following centuries. During hi...
