Alexander the “Great”
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" (Shakespeare). Falling into all, not just one of these categories, was the greatest military leader of all time: Alexander the Great. Alexander was born into a family of wealth and power destining him to become "great." However, instead of just relying on his own family’s reputation, he sought his own. Alexander "achieved greatness" by conquering an empire and remaining undefeated, making him one of the greatest rulers the ancient world had ever had.Alexander, being born into a family of aristocracy and opulence, learned from a young age what was expected of him. He was bred to be a sovereign, and taught how to fight, control, and conquer. At the age of eight, he was given a horse to tame that none other was able to. Alexander, of course, successfully accomplished this, giving his father such confidence in his future, he said, “You’ll have to find another kingdom; Macedonia isn't going to be big enough for you” (Bowman). Alexander’s father also tried to encourage this future by putting him under the tutelage of Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers (Sacks). Aristotle taught him a vast amount, and much of how Alexander handled “diplomatic skills and difficult political problems” (Marks) was due to his influence.
After Alexander’s childhood, while he was readily prepared for greatness, he was “thrust into it.” Having no choice, Alexander immediately became ruler in 336 BCE once his father was assasinated. Ruling until 10 June 323 BCE, he cemented himself as one of the greatest military commanders (Mark). During this time, he conquered almost all of the know world of his day. However, his most impressive feat was never
once losing a battle, throughout all twelve years.
once losing a battle, throughout all twelve years.
Throughout the ages, legends of Alexander the Great have been passed down and are compelling enough to be told over and over. These stories have originated from all around and have only one thing in common. All of these stories share a depiction of Alexander as an extremely powerful figure. Some show him as god or magical character such as a legend that believes, “He stopped there early in his eastward campaign. The sacred spring there had dried up after the Persians looted and desecrated the temple in 494 B.C.E. But when Alexander arrived to honor to Apollo the spring suddenly began to flow again” (Dell). While others demonize him like Arabs and Zoroastrians that thought he was a tyrant or a Iskander, type of boogeyman (Dell).While, none of this is factual most legends come from a foundation of truth, showing Alexander was truly one of the most strong leaders to exist.
The public opinion of Alexander has varied somewhat, but most believe he deserves his title of “The Great.” Extremely famous historical leaders, such as, Plutarch, Napoleon, and Julius Caesar look up to him as an ideal figure (Emmons). Plutarch idolized Alexander most likely because he valued Alexander’s control, and this is apparent when Plutarch wrote, “But Alexander, as it would seem, considering the mastery of himself a more kingly thing than the conquest of his enemies…” (Plutarch). However, Napoleon and Caesar looked up to him for a different reason: Alexander’s military expertise (Emmons). This is because they were both heavily involved military leaders and Alexander’s military tactics were genius (Deea).
Over two-thousand years ago Alexander The Great cemented himself as one of the best rulers through ancient and modern times (Waldman). He remains as compelling to learn about with his contradictory personality and indisputable fighting ingenuity. Legends of this exist all over and while he doesn't deserve the godly proportions many create, he does deserve one thing. Alexander the Great deserves his title of “The Great,” and the glory that goes along.
Works Cited
Bowman, John S. “Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World.” Exploration in the World of the
Ancients, Chelsea House, 2004, Ancient and Medieval History Online,
http://online.infobase.com/hrc/search/details/396825?q=alexander the great.
Deea. "A Political Comparison of Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 28
Sept. 2016.
Dell, Pamela, and Debra l Skelton. “Legacy of Alexander the Great.” Empire of Alexander the Great,
Revised Edition, Chelsea House, 2009, Ancient and Medieval History Online, http://
online.infobase.com/hrc/search/details/397267?q=alexander the great.
Emmons, Jim Tschen. "Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-
CLIO, 2016, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/575648. Accessed 19 Sept. 2016.
Mark, Joshua J. "Alexander the Great." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History
Encyclopedia, 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
Plutarch. "P225 The Life of Alexander (Part 1 Of 7)." Plutarch • Life of Alexander (Part 1 Of 7).
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
Reynolds, Clark G. "Alexander the Great." Great Lives from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-
476 c.e.. Ed. Christina A. Salowey. Hackensack: Salem, 2004. n. pag. Salem Online. Web. 22
Sep. 2016. <http://online.salempress.com>.
Sacks, David. “Alexander the Great.” Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Third Edition, Facts
On File, 2015, Ancient and Medieval History Online, http://online.infobase.com/hrc/search/
details/224479?q=alexander the great.
Waldman, Carl, and Alan Wexler. “Alexander the Great, Route Of.” Encyclopedia of Exploration,
Vol. 1, Facts On File, 2004, Ancient and Medieval History Online,
http://online.infobase.com/hrc/search/details/213022?q=alexander the great.
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ReplyDelete1. I found it interesting how Nichole connected her research into stories that were easy to understand.
ReplyDelete2. My research found the same answer, except I focused more on his childhood and his compassion.
3. I wish she had mentioned more on how even though Alexander was ruthless he still had his humanity, and cared for others’ lives as well as his own.
I thought it was interesting how she opened up with a quote. I like that decision.
ReplyDeleteMy research was similar to what is shown in this blog.
I thought that if anything else was mentioned it would have been extra information that didn’t need to be there.
1. I thought it was interesting how you talked about his background, childhood and his family history.
ReplyDelete2. I found the same info as you during research.
3. One thing that I would have changed is not putting so many quotes and phrases rather than just talking about Alexander yourself more.
1. It was really interesting how you talked about how he was born into greatness but still wanted to achieve greatness on his own. I had never really thought of him from that perspective and that was a new cool idea to me.
ReplyDelete2. The only thing that my researched contradicted was how Alexander dealt with political issues, because you said Aristotle helped him learn diplomatic skills and political problems. My research showed that Alexander didn’t really try to fix any political problems, instead just conquer more land. I’m not saying Aristotle didn’t teach him techniques, they just must have not been that effective.
3. You really had a lot of good information and I wouldn’t add anything. Overall it was really good!!! :-)