The Telegraph ran a feature about archaeological findings in Iraq that seem to indicate that after Alexander of Macedon’s military conquest of the area, he rededicated an ancient Sumerian temple to Zeus and his “two sons,” the Sumerian deity Ningirsu, whom he equated with the Greek hero Hercules, and himself; Alexander already had himself a son of Zeus by priests in Egypt. This is all in keeping with his teacher Aristotle’s view that the Gods and Goddesses were universal figures, known by different names in different nations, but essentially the same. This doctrine led to the rise of the syncretic religious cults that dominated the Hellenistic world. These practiced secret initiatic rites like those of Isis and Mithras that later initiatic orders claim to be inspired by.
