After running his Alexander the Great tour in Turkey for several years now (In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great), Peter Sommer is organizing an entirely new one in Greece this year: From Boy to King, led this time by the knowledgeable Michael Metcalfe.
It will be a unique opportunity to explore Alexander’s homeland, starting in Pella where he was born, and visiting Aigai where the old Macedonian Palace once stood with the theater where his father, King Philip II, was murdered in 336 BC and young Alexander was crowned King of Macedonia.
As always, Peter Sommer makes sure to stop at the places that played the most important role in Alexander’s life. There are for instance Mieza where Aristotle taught young Alexander and his companions; Stagira the city of Aristotle’s birth; the battlefield of Chaeronea where young Alexander annihilated the Sacred Theban Band in a cavalry charge in Philip’s left wing; Thebes that was besieged by the Macedonians and razed to the ground by Alexander; Olynthos where King Philip lost an eye, and the city of Crenides which Philip renamed Philippi after taking possession of the gold and silver mines; Dion where Alexander feasted and made offerings to the gods before setting out to Asia.
The tour wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the sanctuary of Delphi that was consulted by Alexander; Olympia where a grand tholos was erected by King Philip with life-size statues of himself and his family (including Alexander); Athens, which Alexander most certainly has visited; and Corinth where Philip was appointed hegemon (leader) of the incomparable League of all Greek States, a title which Alexander took over after his death.
The tour wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the sanctuary of Delphi that was consulted by Alexander; Olympia where a grand tholos was erected by King Philip with life-size statues of himself and his family (including Alexander); Athens, which Alexander most certainly has visited; and Corinth where Philip was appointed hegemon (leader) of the incomparable League of all Greek States, a title which Alexander took over after his death.
It is approximately a three-week round trip that I would warmly recommend to those who are interested in Alexander the Great or who would like to get some insight into this fascinating and ever-captivating historical figure. For full details, please click on Peter Sommer’s link In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. From Boy to King.
For 2013, this trip has been updated to The Birth of a Legend.
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