What if Alexander the Great Converts to Judaism?

[Ravenclaw]

What if, after conquering Judea, Alexander (and possibly his inner circle) decides to convert to Judaism? (Imagine this story is true and expanded on) Assuming his conquests continue as OTL, would this create a Jewish/Hellenistic/Persian/Egyptian culture? Would Judaism (at least the form practiced at the Temple in Jerusalem) be drastically changed? Would the Persians, Greeks, and Egyptians syncretize it with their native religions?
After Alexander's death, would a (even nominally) Jewish Seleucid dynasty avert the Maccabean revolt? Or would it happen anyway, since much of the Maccabees' fury was directed towards Hellenized Jews rather than towards the actual Greeks themselves?
If there's no Hasmonean or Herodian dynasty, do the Romans get involved?
Does Judaism (or Judeo-Zoroastrianism) spread through Persia to India?

 

[wadebirdwhistle]

There is no way on this green planet that Alexander the Great would have converted to Judaism... perhaps some other Hellenistic monarch, and that is honestly a stretch, but NOT Alexander. No way, no how. I don’t want to come off as a dick, but... yeah, no. This would not happen, not unless the man lived a completely kind of life, which would probably remove him from any opportunity to come into contact with Judaism.

 

[Md139115]

What my esteemed colleague is missing is the explanation as to WHY Alexander would be the last Hellenic monarch ever to convert to Judaism.

The reason is that much of the mythos of Alexander centers around the legend that Zeus cuckholded Phillip of Macedon and is the real father of Alexander. There is also the additional matter that the great Temple of Artemis at Ephesus supposedly burned down on the very day of his birth because the goddess was too busy watching over him! By (not necessarily claiming, but not refusing) allowing such divine parentage to be attached to him, Alexander was able to boost the morale of his men, the opinions of those easterners he met, and the terror of his foes.

Considering that his staggering achievements are really due to psychological reasons more than anything else, he’s not going to give up one of his chief advantages by recognizing that there is only one god and the legend of his conception and birth is a load of Bucephalas’s leavings.

 

[balthasargettysburg]

Alexander could marry a Jewish woman and have a Jewish heir, a child or grand child, who rises to the top and makes Judaism the leading official religion of a very large and diverse empire (perhaps creating a government bureaucracy whose central office kept it's records in Hebrew).

 

[darthfanta]

What my esteemed colleague is missing is the explanation as to WHY Alexander would be the last Hellenic monarch ever to convert to Judaism.

The reason is that much of the mythos of Alexander centers around the legend that Zeus cuckholded Phillip of Macedon and is the real father of Alexander. There is also the additional matter that the great Temple of Artemis at Ephesus supposedly burned down on the very day of his birth because the goddess was too busy watching over him! By (not necessarily claiming, but not refusing) allowing such divine parentage to be attached to him, Alexander was able to boost the morale of his men, the opinions of those easterners he met, and the terror of his foes.

Considering that his staggering achievements are really due to psychological reasons more than anything else, he’s not going to give up one of his chief advantages by recognizing that there is only one god and the legend of his conception and birth is a load of Bucephalas’s leavings.

He is the Messiah and son of God.

 

[Icee]

He is the Messiah and son of God.

Unless he is also worshiped as said god i dont think his ego would handle being just a son ,if you want a ruler to convert to Judaism i would pick Caligula he was insane enough to believe that Jews are worshiping him as one true god

 

[RogueTraderEnthusiast]

To be fair, isn't Alexander declared the son of Zeus, Amon, Philip (also him as a God), so I can't see accepting another divine father as a problem. I don't think he'd count as a true practicing Jew. But the loyalty of another group couldn't hurt. Not as useful as Greek, but perhaps as a bureaucratic class, hired to do the boring work, trained in Greek.