Alexander the great conquered a great amount of land during his time. Some of the land he conquered included rivers such as the Nile and Indus. These rivers were great for trade allowing his people to prosper. It is true that he did great things for his own people however, the way he did it was unjustified. But, many would argue that he was great because of the good that he did for his people. These are the people who are willing to overlook the unnecessary lives took by Alexander.
Plutarch was a greek philosopher who is the author of The Parallel Lives. Plutarch mentions, in his writing, a story about a woman violated by a Thracian. “Alexander bade her depart in freedom with her children”(The Parallel Lives). Plutarch shares this story showing Alexander’s treatment of women. However, Alexander did not stop for anyone. “The Macedonians stormed the city, killing everyone in sight, women and children included”(History of Macedonia). A leader who feels the need to kill women and children to win a battle should not be considered great.
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| Bucephalus |
Alexander had a very bold personality. He was daring and did not back down from fear. Alexander went with his father to try a horse named Bucephalus. This stallion did not allow any of Philip’s men to ride him. Alexander stepped up and was able to calm the stallion, who became Alexander’s horse. But, sometimes Alexander kept going when he should have backed down. He pushed his soldiers until they were forced to convince him to turn back. A truly “great” leader knows when it is time to rest.
Since Alexander was the son of King Philip II, he had people already respecting him and thinking that he could do great things. When Alexander was only 14, a man named Isocrates wrote a letter to him, “I hear from all that you are a lover of your kind, a lover of Athens, and a lover of wisdom; not pursuing an idle and foolish, but a prudent and intelligent course:”(A Letter to the Young Alexander). From the time he was born, he was set up to be great. Even during and after his time he still had many people such as Plutarch believing he deserved the name, Alexander the Great.
One could argue that his violence was because he had a goal and he wanted to reach it soon so, he had to make harsh decisions. Others argue that he could have used all of the knowledge that he was given to find a better solution. It is clear by his name that he had many important people on his side. But, that does not mean that he was great. If a person looks at the big picture, yes, he was overly impulsive. Or was Alexander simply a child who was given power at an age when he was too young to know handle it?
Works Cited
"Alexander the Great." ABC-Clio,
ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/575648?terms=alexander%20the%20great&webSiteCode=SLN_HANC&returnToPage=%2fSearch%2fDisplay%2f575648%3fterms%3dalexander+the+great&sType=quick&token=4E96D8A2A29F2C873EE567B431F0D159&casError=False.
"ALexander the Great." History of Macedonia,
www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html.
Alexander the Great. History of Macedonia,
www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html.
"Alexandria." Facts on File, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/237563?q=Alexandria.
"Bucephalus." www.ancient.eu/Bucephalus/.
"Isocrates: Letter to Young Alexander the Great." ABC-CLIO eBook Collection,
ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1813279.
The Parallel Lives. Vol. 7,
penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Alexander*/3.html.
Savill, Agnes. "Character of Alexander." Alexander the Great and His Time.
1. The thought that Alexander was a child and was given power too young and couldn’t handle it, I never thought of it like that.
ReplyDelete2. Not in this post, my research showed mostly the same things.
3. I think it would be better if instead of about him being okay it should be about one or the other great or not great, the paragraph doesn’t really answer the question if you think that Alexander was great.
Ivey, I really liked reading your blog post. It was like watching a tug of war match, you would give good evidence and then counter it with something bad. I enjoyed the way your blog post tells a story about Alexander, especially the section with him and his horse. My research wasn’t directed the same way yours was but there were commonalities (no disagreements there). I think that your post could’ve used more big picture explaining where you stand.
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