Virtual Museum of Alexander the Great on the internet

The virtual museum of Alexander the Great: from the ages to the world’, is the name of the website that will be activated by the Greek Superintendence of Antiquities. The announcement was made during the course of an international scientific conference entitled ‘Discovering Alexander the Great’s World’, held from 15-19 November in the ancient locality of Mieza, close to Naoussa in northern Greece.

According to experts, the conference is of particular interest on a global level in that it’s the first time a complete picture has been given on the life and works of Alexander the Great, based on a comprehensive research which focuses specifically on findings during archaeological excavations in the regions that formed part of the empire of the Macedonian king.

Internationally-renowned scientists from Greece and various other European and Asian countries, as well as Turkey and the Middle East, have highlighted the findings of their research and discussed the new historical and archaeological data found in the cities of Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Iran and other localities, all of which were conquered by Alexander the Great.

Historians and academics focused on the multiple aspects of Alexander the Great’s personality and the enormous influence he had not only on history, but on art and legend as well. They also described the valuable archaeological evidence discovered in the palace of Aiges, built by king Philip II in 4 BC.

The secretary general for the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Culture, Lina Mendoni, defined the virtual museum initiative as ”an obligation to history” adding that although there are tens of thousands of Internet sites devoted to Alexander the Great, it is not certain how reliable, objective and scientific they are.

”The Internet’s global community have many convergence points but the world created by Alexander the Great is in a way linked to him both on a conceptual and ideological level,” Mendoni said.

Superintendent and Archaeologist Angeliki Kottaridi writes, ”The network of new cities built by Alexander the Great and his successors – of which more ancient cities formed an organic part as well, thus mixing local characteristics with Hellenic elements and giving the cities a new look – constitutes a cultural and geographic horizon of the Hellenistic era and its early globalization. For the first time, a method of communication has been created that diffuses this cultural heritage. It is a new manner of understanding both the modern and the traditional, a new communal experience of human contact, a way of understanding both space and time, which is a characteristic of our modern world”.

Author: A. Papapostolou | Source: Greek Reporter [November 23, 2012]