So this is really strange …
While I was drifting around in the National Gallery of Art’s exhibition, Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections, I stumbled across this image of Alexander the Great ascending into the heavens. Here’s a description, taken directly from the exhibit:
Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC) truly became a legend in his own time. Having conquered much of the known world, he was said to have explored realms beneath the sea and in the sky. According to the Romance of Alexander, he ascended to the heavens in a basket attached to two starving griffins, mythical winged beasts. To make them leap ever higher into the sky, Alexander held two sticks with meat at the ends just above their heads. This plaque was found in the Byzantine fortifications of Chalikis on the island of Euboea, but it’s original use is unknown.