PBS Deftly Traces Epic Life of Alexander the Great

The momentous 1,200-year period between 600 BC and AD 600 saw the emergence of history’s most influential figures--Confucius, Buddha, Jesus Christ and the prophet Muhammad among them. The reach and impact of their thinking eventually far exceeded the temporal power of the secular kings, queens and emperors of their time.

With one notable exception: Alexander the Great.

The most successful military general in history, a model for both Napoleon and Hitler, Alexander was also a charismatic figure whose historical presence, for more than 2,000 years, has been comparable to that of the most influential spiritual figures.

A four-hour PBS series, “In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great,” takes an illuminating and detailed look at Alexander via historian Michael Wood’s colorful, information-packed examination of the Greek king’s short but profoundly meaningful adult life.

The program’s sections are broken into four distinct periods: “Son of God,” covering his initial progress into Egypt; “Lord of Asia,” depicting the final defeat of the Persian Empire; “Across the Hindu Kush,” covering the battles across Central Asia; and “To the Ends of the Earth,” in which Alexander enters India and, finally, is obliged to turn back toward Europe.

Born in the rocky province of Macedonia in 356 BC, Alexander managed to explore and conquer a large portion of the known world before dying of fever at the age of 32. His nine-year, 20,000-mile journey of conquest was one of the ancient world’s most remarkable achievements--in terms of sheer physical endurance, as well as its still-present effect upon countries ranging from Egypt, Iran and Iraq to Pakistan and India.

Yet, despite extraordinarily detailed records of life and times, Alexander has always been enigmatic. Over the centuries, cultures have viewed him from their own particular perspective: as a monster in the legends of the Persian territory he conquered; as a kind of benign, colonizing adventurer to the 19th century English.

Wood’s approach to finding Alexander--via an eminently logical but extremely difficult method--follows the journey in detail, across the same deserts and mountains, dealing with the same weather, finding the actual locations at which some of the seemingly legendary but eminently realistic events took place: the conquering of the Persian Empire, the death of Darius, the battles in Samarkand, the army dissension in India that grew stronger as he continued eastward.

Wood is a superb teacher and storyteller. And as he follows Alexander’s path, a kind of synchronous parallelism emerges. Wood’s enthusiasm, his sheer fascination with the unfolding story of Alexander--often revealed in ‘round-the-fire conversations with local historians and storytellers--begins to glow with the kind of energy and drive that must have motivated Alexander himself. The result is fascinating television, irresistible confirmation of the fact that history, well-told, can be alive and compelling.

* “In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great” airs 9-11 tonight and Tuesday on KCET-TV Channel 28.