The late Byzantine scholar Eleni Glykatzi-Arveler, one of Greece's most internationally recognised historians, will be remembered as a vivid and charismatic presence. Once, at the 2016 Delphi Economic Forum, she had declared: "At 90 I walk, at 100 I will arrive and only then will I think about whether I should grow old."
Although globally renowned for her work on Byzantium, Glykatzi-Arveler consistently argued that ancient Greek heritage was preserved during this time. In her 2018 book "Alexander the Great of the Byzantines", she explored how medieval Greek-speaking Romans understood and mythologised Alexander. "For the Byzantines, Alexander as an archetypal hero, undefeated by any enemy, as the model of the absolute hero in the Homeric way, could only have a mythical life and superhuman achievements," she wrote. She also underlined that, despite their Roman heritage, "the Byzantines... recognise Alexander as the ultimate Greek hero."
In the book's epilogue, titled "Where is Alexander buried?", Glykatzi-Arveler argued that Tomb II at Vergina in northern Greece, traditionally attributed to Philip II, may in fact belong to Alexander himself. Drawing on ancient sources, new data and a re-evaluation of earlier findings, she suggested it is plausible that the Macedonian king was ultimately laid to rest in Aigai, his ancestral homeland, rather than remaining in Egypt, where he was initially buried.
She acknowledged that such claims would provoke archaeologists who have long defended the Philip II identification. She was not an archaeologist, and she knew it. But she also pointed out that even Manolis Andronikos, the excavator of Vergina, harboured doubts in his notes. The confirmed discovery of Alexander's tomb would rank among the greatest archaeological finds in history. More than 2,500 years after his death, Alexander continues to stir scholarly rivalry, political debate and national reflection, proof that history remains a living and revisable discipline.
By Giorgos Mitrakis - adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba
