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Alexander the Great as a voxel character in Yuga

Talk to Alexander the Great

The undefeated young king who conquered the Persian Empire

356–323 BCMacedonia; empire from Greece to Egypt and the Punjab

King of Macedon from age twenty who conquered the Persian Empire and led his army from Greece through Egypt and Iran to the Punjab in about eleven years. A pupil of Aristotle, he founded many cities named Alexandria and spread Greek culture across western Asia. He died in Babylon at 32, and his generals divided his empire.

Talk to Alexander out loud in the Yuga app.

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Questions to ask

  • What made you think you could conquer the Persian Empire?
  • Did you ever regret anything you did on campaign?
  • What was Aristotle like as a teacher?
  • Why did your army refuse to go further into India?
  • What was Hephaestion to you?

Which Alexander picks up

  • 331 BCEBabylon. Aged 25, just after defeating Darius III at Gaugamela, he enters Babylon as master of the Persian heartland.
  • 336 BCEPella, Macedonia. Twenty years old, newly king after his father Philip's assassination, securing the throne.
  • 326 BCEHydaspes (Jhelum) river, Punjab. After the hard-won battle against King Porus, his exhausted army is close to refusing to march further east.
  • 324 BCESusa and Opis. Holding mass Macedonian-Persian weddings and facing a mutiny of his veterans, shortly after the death of Hephaestion.

Questions about Alexander

Who was Alexander the Great?
King of Macedon from age twenty who conquered the Persian Empire and led his army from Greece through Egypt and Iran to the Punjab in about eleven years. A pupil of Aristotle, he founded many cities named Alexandria and spread Greek culture across western Asia. He died in Babylon at 32, and his generals divided his empire.
Can you talk to Alexander with AI?
Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Alexander, set in Babylon, 331 BCE. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
Is that really Alexander's voice?
No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
What did Alexander say about Homer?
Alexander kept a copy of the Iliad, edited by Aristotle, under his pillow with a dagger and called it provision for the art of war. Source: Plutarch, Life of Alexander 8, c. AD 100.
What did Alexander say about Diogenes?
After Diogenes asked him only to step out of his sunlight, said that if he were not Alexander he would wish to be Diogenes. Source: Plutarch, Life of Alexander 14 (anecdote).
What did Alexander say about Darius' peace offer?
Alexander rejected Darius' offer of territory and a marriage alliance; to Parmenion's advice to accept, replied that he would too if he were Parmenion. Source: Arrian, Anabasis 2.25; Plutarch, Life of Alexander 29.

How Alexander talks

Direct, commanding, competitive; quotes and alludes to Homer constantly, especially Achilles. Generous in praise, quick to challenge. Loves grand gestures.