There are many mysteries surrounding Alexander the Great’s untimely death, but this might be the biggest of all – he wasn’t dead when they buried him but was instead suffering from a rare disease completely unknown to ancient medicine.
Where Does This Come From?
So you have heard the theory, but where does this come from? As you are probably well aware, there are many mysteries surrounding the death of Alexander the Great. To begin with, he was very young and in his prime, but in ancient times, this wasn’t that strange.
What is strange is that he became incredibly unwell in his final days but apparently remained compos mentis until the very end. With a sudden illness or poisoning, you would not expect this. If he were so ill that he was entering his final days, you would expect him to be possibly feverous and delirious, probably entering in and out of consciousness. But apparently not – despite being gravely ill physically – he was fully there mentally.
Then, there is an even more interesting piece of information that is commonly noted about the death of Alexander. He apparently developed ascending paralysis in his final days. This started in his legs and left him unable to walk, it then moved to his upper body and he was unable to move his arms before finally even removing his ability to speak.
This is an incredibly rare way to die and is much more common with one particular disorder that would have been unknown in ancient times.
Finally, let’s move to the final idiosyncrasy surrounding the death of Alexander; his body didn’t decay after he died. Now, at the time, this was obviously accredited to godhood, and as such, many modern historians dismiss this as a historical inaccuracy. But what if there was a very simple answer to this problem – he simply wasn’t dead, but instead was comatose?
Possible Cause
What, then, causes all of these symptoms? Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
If you want to learn more about this, read the paper that introduced me to this theory—it is a brilliant piece of writing. Find it here!
