27. The Guy Behind Alexander the Great’s Corpse Adventure Led an Adventurous Life Himself
The guy who stole Alexander the Great’s corpse, Ptolemy I Soter, Greek for “Ptolemy the Savior” (367 – 282 BC), led an adventurous life in his own right. Ptolemy was a Macedonian general and a close companion of Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death, Ptolemy was one of the three Diadochi, or successors, who carved up Alexander’s empire. He took Egypt as his share. Ptolemy founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled Egypt for three centuries until Cleopatra’s suicide and Rome’s annexation of Egypt in 30 BC.
Ptolemy was born out of wedlock to a concubine presented by a nobleman to King Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father. Ptolemy’s father is unknown, and some ancient sources claim that his mother was already pregnant when she was gifted to Phillip II. Others assert that it was Phillip who impregnated her – which would make Ptolemy Alexander’s half-brother. Whatever his parentage, Ptolemy was born in Phillip’s household, and was educated as a royal page in the Macedonian court. That gave him a huge leg up in life.