Alexander the Great Enters the Temple in Jerusalem

While pursuing Persia, Alexander the Great made a detour to the South, conquering Tyre (modern-day Lebanon) and Egypt. On his way to Egypt, he was set on destroying the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, but this was not to be. In the famous account corroborated by both the Talmud and Josephus, Alexander dismounts his horse and then bows down when seeing the High Priest, Shimon HaTzaddik.

Explaining his behaviour, he says he did not bow before the High Priest but before G-d who honoured Shimon with the Priesthood. He proceeds by saying that every night before battle, Shimon HaTzaddik in his priestly apparel would appear before him in his dreams advising him on tactics and ensuring his victory without fail.

Josephus, Antiquities 11.8.4-5

“And when he went up into the Temple, he offered sacrifice to G-d, according to the High Priest’s direction: and magnificently treated both the High Priest, and the priests. And when the book of Daniel was shewed him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended.”

Israel and Jerusalem peacefully transition under Grecian rule. In this picture you are looking at a Carnelian Gemstone Portrait of Alexander the Great Found in Tel Dor, Israel.