A famous Greek archaeologist who is known for her search for Alexander the Great’s tomb has said she had no input in the Netflix docudrama Alexander: Making of a God despite its featuring her archaeological work in Alexandria.
“Based on my perception of what Alexander was like, I thought their dramatic depiction of him was about half right,” wrote Calliope Limneos-Papakosta in her Newsweek piece. “But I didn’t have any power to influence the production. Of course, I made suggestions to the team. But people in showbiz know their work better than me. I know my own work. And the show was a big success.”
Expanding on her love for Alexander the Great, the Greek archaeologist tells her readers that she was destined to be in the occupation, and with her “combined loves”—of Greece and the Macedonian conqueror—she headed to Alexandria twenty-eight years ago.
“I began my research and faced many difficulties. But I managed to stay in Alexandria, and continue in my work, and the results are very impressive. I consider myself a lucky archaeologist,” writes Limneos-Papakosta.
She tells her audience that when she is excavating, she’s always full of hope that something important will be found, such as a discovery that could change the whole understanding of the project the team is working on. “I have lived many of these moments. I know now through my experiences with excavations that anything can appear and anything can happen.”
Limneos-Papakosta and her team discovered an ancient statue of Alexander the Great in 2009 in a small trench of fifteen square meters with a depth of eight meters, full of soil, debris and water, which she says was a “miracle,” and “one of my [favorite] discoveries.”
Calliope limneos-papakosta has been unearthing the treasures Of ptolemaic egypt for more than 10 years. Among them, an incredible statue Of the legendary conqueror of the ancient world, Alexander the great. pic.twitter.com/h9vAYXK28n
— ḥr nbw 𓅉 | Unique NFTs & Ancient Egypt Threads (@Hr_nbw) April 26, 2022
The archaeologist goes on to describe the other discoveries that have made an impression on her, including the foundation blocks of the vast ancient Alexandrian monumental building, the city’s original royal road, and the Ptolemaic period carved tunnel. “All of these were great moments for me,” she writes.
In the last weeks of the previous excavation season, Limneos-Papakosta and her team came across the beginning of a Hellenistic wall parallel to the monumental building. “We have to excavate the whole area to the building’s south to see if this is a surrounding fortification wall.”
The Greek archaeologist went on to say that this was a “very important discovery” that sheds light on the potential significance of the building, adding that her and her team are focusing on this and, if possible, excavating all parallel walls to learn more.
“The priority now is to identify this building. We are in the royal quarter. We know from ancient sources which buildings were recorded. So this building that we have found is one of them. And all of them are very important and famous. But I cannot so far say which one it is,” Limneos-Papakosta writes.
The archaeologist states how since the National Geographic documentary about her work in 2019—The Lost Tomb of Alexander (not on Netflix)—everybody thinks that she is solely searching for the tomb, but she clarifies that she is also finding very important Hellenistic antiquities during digs in Alexandria.
She believes there is a greater possibility than anyone else of her finding the tomb and writes that “it’s all like a puzzle. Every year, every excavation season, we find something that puts a piece in the puzzle.”
No input in Alexander Netflix docudrama
After commenting on the Netflix drama, saying she had no input in it despite it featuring her work, the Greek archaeologist goes on to explain why Alexander the Great was not a “normal person.”
She writes: “He was a superhuman. What he did in 12 years and eight months—and what he planned to do if he lived longer—was not possible for just anyone. That’s why he is considered the greatest of the greats.”
“We cannot understand or judge him on our level, she said. “We are normal people. Not only that, but we also cannot judge or criticize him by our modern ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’ standards. We are so far from the ancient world. It was a completely different era.”
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