# Alexander the Great — Meditations character guide

> Alexander the Great in Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Alexander, Alexander the Macedonian

**First appearance:** 0003-book-iv

## Who they are

Macedonian king and conqueror, used as an example of mortality.

## Relationships

### [Marcus Aurelius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/characters/marcus_aurelius)

_psychological_

Alexander served as a historical exemplar for Marcus, who reflected on his ambition and mortality as a contrast to Stoic virtue.

### [Plutarch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/characters/plutarch)

_psychological_

Plutarch wrote a biography of Alexander, shaping later perceptions of his character and conquests.

## In the story

### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/chapters/book-iii)

Cited as a conqueror who also died, illustrating the inevitability of death.

### [Book IV: The Inner Citadel and the Cosmic Web](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/chapters/book-iv)

Mentioned in the context of posthumous fame and the forgetting of even the most famous men.

### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/chapters/book-viii)

Mentioned as a contrast to philosophers like Diogenes and Socrates, highlighting the emptiness of worldly conquest.

### [Book X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/chapters/book-x)

Cited as an example of a past figure whose dramas are now gone, like smoke.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/characters/alexander_the_great
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/meditations_se/characters