Lourds’s interest was piqued. “What we do know is that after Alexander died, he was laid to rest in a gold sarcophagus that bore the shape of a monkey or an ape. That was placed inside another gold casket.”
“Then Ptolemy hijacked the funeral procession and took it to Memphis. Memphis, Egypt, of course, which contributed its name to the Decree of Memphis that collected the second round of the Ptolemaic Decrees.”
“Ptolemy kept Alexander’s body for a time. Supposedly to fulfill a seer’s vision that Alexander would be laid to rest in a place that ‘would be happy and unvanquishable forever.’”
“Yes. There was already talk circulating that possession of Alexander’s body would bring fortune and favor from the gods.”
“The Greeks, Macedonians, and Egyptians all looked to the gods for everything under the sun. That was the way their cultures were set up.”
“I know. And there Alexander lay, until he was moved to Alexandria. He didn’t fare so well after that. Ptolemy IX Lathyros, the last of the Ptolemys’ offspring, had many problems, not in the least of which was a fickle mother—”
“Cleopatra III. Reportedly a madwoman.”
“—who forced him to marry his sister—”
“Cleopatra IV.”
“—and then forced him to divorce her and marry still yet another sister, this one younger than the first.”
“Cleopatra Selene I.” Lourds often marveled at the family histories he uncovered in his studies. “The Kardashians pale by comparison. People these days don’t know how convoluted familial relationships and injustices can be.”
“True.” Boris shot him a glance. “I cannot believe you even know who the Kardashians are.”
Lourds shrugged. “I teach college. I have to keep up with popular culture so I can speak to students in their own language. I speak Lady Gaga as well.”
“As much as the world changes, the more I think it stays the same. Most people will forever be enthralled by gossip and theatrics.” Boris took another left and continued on. “Cleopatra IV was angry at being ousted from her marriage to her brother and being replaced by her younger sister. She went off to Cyprus and married Antiochus IX Cyzicenus, the ruler of the Greek Seleucid Kingdom, which was created from conquests made by Alexander the Great in the Near East and in Asia.”
“Where Turkmenistan, Pamir, and some of Pakistan is located today.”
“Yes. In the meantime, Cleopatra III ruled for a time with Ptolemy IX, then claimed he tried to murder her and had him deposed. She put her favorite son, Ptolemy X — Ptolemy IX’s younger brother — on the throne.”
“You know, I don’t understand how the Greeks didn’t invent psychology back when things like this would have been going on. Freud would have had a field day with mothers like her.”
“I agree. At any rate, she started a chain reaction of murders while playing her games with her sons. She grew tired of Ptolemy X and put Ptolemy IX back on the throne. Ptolemy X killed his mother and resumed the throne, only to be killed in battle. When Ptolemy IX resumed the throne yet again, the kingdom was strapped for cash. He replaced Alexander’s gold sarcophagus with a glass one and had the gold melted down and converted into drachma to pay off his debts.” Boris halted in front of a carpet that had been draped on one wall of a passageway that ended in a tumble of rock. “That angered the citizens of Alexandria, and they rose up and killed him. A case could be made that Alexander was not lying at rest in a land that was ‘happy and unvanquishable forever.’ In fact, it almost seems that a curse followed Alexander around.”
Lourds surveyed the carpet but didn’t move toward it. He didn’t want to rob his friend of his presentation. But he was anxious to see what was on the other side of it.
“The citizens of Alexandria took Alexander’s body back to their city for safekeeping. While the body lay there, the Roman emperors came calling. According to documentation, Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Caesar Augustus visited the tomb.”
“It’s a wonder that Augustus didn’t trigger a war when he accidentally knocked Alexander’s nose off.”
“That’s a story that was never verified. Caligula was also supposed to have taken Alexander’s breastplate. Then, in 200 AD, Emperor Septimius Severus, who sacked the Ctesiphon, the capital of the Parthian Empire, closed the tomb to the public.”
“Enough time had passed by then that the Alexandrians didn’t protest.”
“Also, the Roman Army was in full bloom. The emperor would have dealt harshly with any kind of uprising. Supposedly, his son — Caracalla, one of the most evil emperors ever to spring from the loins of the Caesars — visited the tomb because he was a great admirer.”
“That man would have never held a candle to Alexander the Great.”
“Agreed. Alexander would have killed Caracalla for the massacres and other atrocities he committed.”
“Not in the least of which was his granting of Roman citizenship to all freemen so he could tax them. They became Romans whether they wanted to or not.”
“And they paid their taxes or faced the consequences.” Boris nodded. “You also know of the Alexander Sarcophagus that was found in Sidon in 1887?”
“Of course. But it never belonged to Alexander. It was only named that because it had bas-relief images of Alexander fighting the Persians at the Battle of Issus.”
“Exactly. That sarcophagus is believed to be the final resting place of Mazaeus, a Persian noble and Babylonian governor.” Boris smiled and his weary eyes gleamed. “Through all of that, no one knows the final resting place of Alexander the Great. But you and I, Thomas, through our good fortune—”
“I would attribute whatever fortune we have to your dogged perseverance, and that’s how I’m going to present it to those news people waiting outside.”
Boris nodded. “As you wish. By whatever means, we now have a chance to find out where Alexander the Great has been laid to rest.” Pulling the carpet aside, he waved Lourds into the tomb.
18
Lights hung from the tomb’s low ceiling and splashed brightness around the rough stone walls. The ceiling made an arch over the small room, but even the highest point was close enough for Lourds to reach up and touch.
The stone sarcophagus occupied a carved niche in the wall. The niche was about eighteen inches taller than the sarcophagus, whose heavy stone lid sat slightly ajar.
Lourds spoke without taking his eyes from the bas-relief on the sarcophagus’s side. “You opened it?”
“I could not resist.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to either. Did anyone help you?”
“An intern. Evan. He’s probably off sleeping. Or playing one of his videogames. He has no true vision for what we do.”
Lourds crossed over to the sarcophagus and knelt. He dug a flashlight from his backpack and played the beam over the carved images, bringing them into sharper view. Boris had obviously spent some time cleaning them up. They were dust free.
The images were plain, rough, and beautiful at the same time. The central figure was a caped warrior on horseback, a shield on his left arm and a spear in his right hand. His cape streamed out behind him, floating over the warriors that rode at his heels. Another army lay in the distance on the right.
Most curious of all, though, was the image of a man sitting behind the army on the left. Small and unassuming, he was in a crouched position and held a stylus in one hand as he worked on a sheet of papyrus.
There was writing under the man. Lourds leaned forward so he could examine it. “This is Ancient Greek.” He knew the language intimately. It was an independent language that had come from the Indo-European family. Originating in the Balkans, it had the longest history of being in use, spanning thirty-five hundred years.