# Alexander — Histories character guide

> Alexander in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Alexander the son of Amyntas, Alexander the Macedonian

**First appearance:** 0009-book-viii-urania

## Snapshot

Macedonian king who rides to Athens as Persia's envoy, urging the city to submit while Sparta stalls behind its half-built wall.

## Who they are

Alexander moves between empires as a hereditary friend of Athens and a servant of Xerxes, carrying terms that could hand Hellas to the Persians. His embassy exposes the ugly arithmetic of Greek alliance: Sparta delays, Athens seethes, and every day of silence makes betrayal look reasonable. His mission is the hinge on which the question of Greek unity turns, and Herodotus lets us feel how close the whole defense came to collapsing at the negotiating table.

## In the story

### [Book IX: Calliope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-ix-calliope)

Previously sent by Mardonios to Athens with proposals; his mission is referenced as having been repeated by Morychides.

## Links

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