# Alexander the Great at the Tomb of Achilles [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [PANNINI, Giovanni Paolo]() - Date: 1701-1750 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 73 x 65 cm ## Commentary Alexander the Great \(356-323 BC\) is said to have ordered the tomb of Achilles \(Greek hero in the Trojan War\) to be opened so that he could pay homage to his legendary predecessor. Achilles's tomb was in what is today Turkey; to suggest an ancient setting outside the Roman world, Pannini introduced an Egyptian pyramid in the background. The painting and its companion, "Alexander the Great Cutting the Gordian Knot" represent Pannini's fantasy of the grandeur of the ancient world. ## Related artworks - [Alexander the Great Cutting the Gordian Knot]() - [Apostle Paul Preaching on the Ruins]() - [Architectural Capriccio]() - [Architectural Capriccio]() - [Belisarius at the Gate of Constantinople]() - [Capriccio of Classical Ruins]() - [Capriccio of Classical Ruins]() - [Charles III at St Peter's]() - [Classical Ruins with Figures]() - [Departure of the Duc de Choiseul from the Piazza di San Pietro]() - [Expulsion of the Moneychangers from the Temple]() - [Gallery of Views of Ancient Rome]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()