When Alexander the Great Visited the Ancient City of Troy

 From The Greek Reporter:

In 334 BCE, Alexander the Great engaged in a war campaign against the mighty Persian Empire. To do so, he first invaded Anatolia, the closest region of the Persian Empire to Greece. Alexander crossed the Hellespont, thus stepping from Europe into Asia. Upon doing so, he arrived in Troad, the region surrounding the city of Troy. Despite the fact that he was on a monumental military campaign, Alexander the Great decided to take the time to visit Troy.

Just as is the case today, the Iliad was very famous among the ancient Greeks. Therefore, it makes sense that Alexander would have wanted to visit the final resting places of the most famous characters in that story. According to Diodorus Siculus:

“He visited the tombs of the heroes Achilles, Ajax, and the rest and honored them with offerings and other appropriate marks of respect.”

The traditional tomb of Achilles is not in Troy itself, but in Achilleion, another settlement in the Troad, while the traditional tomb of Ajax was in yet another settlement, Rhoiteion. Hence, Alexander the Great’s visit involved more than just visiting the city of Troy itself. (Read more.)