Which military general is said to have wept because there were no worlds left to conquer?

The famous tale of a conqueror weeping because he had run out of new lands to conquer is attributed to the legendary Macedonian king, Alexander the Great (Review). In just over a decade of relentless campaigning in the 4th century BCE, Alexander forged one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece all the way to northwestern India. His strategic genius and insatiable ambition were so profound that the idea of him lamenting a finished map became a powerful symbol of his character.

While this dramatic image persists in popular culture, its historical origins are more nuanced. The ancient biographer Plutarch tells a slightly different story. He wrote that Alexander, upon hearing a philosopher discuss the existence of an infinite number of worlds, began to weep. When his friends (Review) asked what was wrong, he replied, "Is it not a matter for tears that, when there are so many worlds, we have not yet conquered one?" In this version, his despair came not from having conquered everything, but from realizing his monumental achievements were insignificant on a cosmic scale.

In reality, Alexander's eastward expansion was halted not by a lack of new worlds, but by his own exhausted army, which mutinied on the border of India, forcing him to turn back. Nevertheless, the legend endures because it perfectly captures the boundless ambition and larger-than-life reputation of a man who reshaped the map of the ancient world before his death at just 32 years old.