A tomb that may have been built for a close friend of Alexander the Great may be aligned with the winter solstice.

Alexander, the brilliant young Macedonian king remembered as “the Great,” has frequently been compared to the mythic Greek hero Achilles. Both were beloved by their soldiers and almost invincible.

Here’s what historians do and don’t know. Sisygambis, mother of Darius III, mistakes Hephaestion (center) for Alexander the Great (right) in a 18th century Italian painting by Francesco de Mura.

Alexander the Great has transcended history as one of the greatest conquerors and strategists, who managed to form an empire that covered a good part of Europe and Asia under his command.

Since his death in 323 BCE, the world has been obsessed with Alexander the Great, who set out from his kingdom of Macedon (in modern-day Greece) at the age of 20 to conquer the mighty Persian Empire.

At long last, Turkish researchers have pinpointed the precise site of the Battle of Granicus, where Alexander the Great achieved his first monumental victory on the road to becoming history’s ...