Exhibitions
- Peter the Great
- Upcoming
  - Gauguin, Bonnard, Denis
- Archive
  - Vincent. The Van Gogh Museum in the Hermitage Amsterdam
    - Introduction
    - Van Gogh Moves
  - Impressionism: Sensation & Inspiration
  - Rubens, Van Dyck & Jordaens
  - Splendour and Glory
  - The immortal Alexander the Great
  - Matisse to Malevich
    - Introduction
    - Highlights of the exhibition
    - Background by Henk van Os
    - Sergey Shchukin and Others
    - Artist biographies
    - Russian literature around 1900
    - Terminology
    - Links
    - Archive
      - Dance
  - At the Russian Court
  - Caspar David Friedrich
  - Images of St Petersburg
  - Art Nouveau
  - Persia
  - Collectors in St Petersburg
  - Silver wonders from the east
  - Pilgrim treasures
  - Venezia!
  - Nicholas & Alexandra
  - Greek gold
Admission tickets
Activities
Hermitage St Petersburg
St Petersburg & Russia
Hermitage Amsterdam and Amstelhof
Hermitage for Children
Discounts and arrangements
Frequently Asked Questions

The immortal Alexander the Great

The myth, the reality, his journey, his legacy

18 September 2010 - 18 March 2011

No ruler in antiquity appeals to the imagination as much as Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC, king from 336 BC). From his youth he inspired the people around him. During his campaigns in the East, Alexander went in search of the origins of Dionysus, who, according to the ancient Greeks, came from the exotic East, possibly India. Alexander followed in Dionysus’s footsteps and reached many countries: Egypt, Syria, Bactria, Persia, India and Mongolia. Everywhere he founded new capitals and named them all Alexandria. He left behind a legacy of Greek culture in the form of Hellenism.

His fame lived on, long after antiquity. He was an example to many European, Russian and Islamic rulers. Paintings, tapestries and decorative art depicted Alexander’s life and history. The exhibition covers all these aspects, with objects from classical antiquity to the modern age, of Western and non-Western origins.