A walk along the Thessaloniki waterfront - Monument to Alexander the Great

Every time a cloudy, gloomy, foggy or rainy morning dawns, I remember my walks on clear and sunny days or on warm nights.

And the nights are warmest when I'm by the sea on my summer vacation.
And so as I walk along the sidewalks wet from rain and fog, I remember my walk on the Thessaloniki waterfront, where I came across a monument to Alexander the Great in the immediate vicinity of the White Tower, the most famous symbol of Thessaloniki.

It was dusk when I reached the monument and I captured the interesting colors with my photo as the sun was setting on the horizon.

Later when it got dark, I could only hope for artificial lighting, but the night pictures turned out OK.

The monument is a bronze equestrian statue of Alexander on his faithful horse Bucephalus. It is the work of the Greek sculptor Evangelos Moustakas. It was completed in 1973 and discovered in 1974. It has been on the seashore ever since.

Behind the 6-meter-high statue (with a 11-meter marble base), there is a large bronze relief representing scenes from Alexander's famous military campaigns.
It depicts scenes from the famous Battle of Issus, which was the key victory of Alexander the Great over the Persian Empire under the leadership of Darius III. The battle marked a turning point in Alexander's conquest of Asia.

I was very interested in the details of the relief plate, so I looked up a little more historical details and found an interesting explanation at this link.

In November 333 BC, on the territory of present-day Turkey, near the border with Sitia, two nobles, Darius III and Alexander of Macedonia, fought.

It was one of the most important and interesting battles in history, and what is most interesting, and what is the subject of the relief, is an almost direct conflict between the two biggest rivals of the time.
Although vastly outnumbered, the Persian army accepted the invitation to engage in a very narrow space, thus limiting its maneuvers.
At one point, Alexander leads his cavalry and moves to the very center where Darius II is.
Seeing that Alexander is unstoppably advancing towards him, using thin spears, Darius retreats in a panic, leaving behind many soldiers who soon surrender, but also his mother, wife and children who fall into the hands of the Macedonian army.

If you have time, read the article. I enjoyed it.

In addition to the monument and the relief plate, the display of shields and spears is also interesting.

Spears (Sarisa) are weapons that Alexander's father Philip included in his infantry (phalanx), and Alexander used the advantage of spears with a length of 6m as an advantage in battles in the conquest of the Persian Empire.

In addition to the spears, there are also replicas of Macedonian shields, on which there are engraved details that represent the symbols of the infantrymen who carried them.

One of the shieldsis decorated with the head of a Gorgon, a mythological symbol often associated with protection and repelling evil.

The original shields were usually made of bronze and were, along with long spears, an important part of the equipment of the Macedonian army, and for this reason they were given a place of honor next to the monument to the greatest military leader of the ancient world.

I, along with a bit of historical fact research, enjoyed walking past this magnificent monument, as well as sitting on the warm marble plinth, while listening to the sound of the waves breaking on the ramparts on the waterfront.
Well, it's #wednesdaywalk, not like the one from the first picture I took an few hour ago when I left for work 🙂
I wish you a nice Wednesday and I hope that I will enjoy your #wednesdaywalk as well.