Alexander the Great
Turned a dream and a barley-meal sketch into Alexandria — the ancient world's greatest city of learning.
The episode
In 331 BC, on the Egyptian coast, Alexander — Plutarch records — dreamed of Homer reciting verses about the island of Pharos. He went to look, found a strip of land between a great lagoon and the sea ending in a large harbour, and declared Homer "a very wise architect." He ordered a city drawn on the spot. With no chalk at hand, his men traced the street plan in barley-meal on the dark soil — until birds descended in clouds and devoured every particle. Alexander was shaken by the omen; his seers reframed it: this city would nourish men of every nation. He told the builders to proceed, and marched on. Alexandria became the ancient world's great hub of learning and trade.
The move — copy this today
Your turn
Whose life would you trade for — and why?
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