Max Pitsinos, Alexander the Great Blog

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was great in many ways. He did extraordinary things in his life that make him worthy to be called great. He was strong, courageous and a smart military leader. He took cultures from countries that he conquered and made them into the "Hellenistic Culture" out of the existing cultures to pick from. He does deserve to be called great, because of his accomplishments, and his military dominance.  Historically, people say that he indeed was great. They say he was an example of military dominance to later empires, and he was respected for his accomplishments hundreds of years after his death.  Alexander deserves to be called great because of his accomplishments, his military power, and the spread of culture, and historically, most people agree that he was a great man.

Statue of Alexander the Great
By Gunnar Bach Pedersen

Alexander the great accomplished many things in his life. Most of the things he did were military related, such as conquering so many countries, and city states. He conquered parts of Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and many other countries. When Alexander was young, he tamed the wild horse Bucephalus. No one else could tame the horse, so he tried. He used a simple and smart trick. He had noticed that Bucephalus was scared of his shadow so he turned him towards the sun so he could not see his shadow, thus taming the horse. Alexander would go on to ride Bucephalus into many battles, until his beloved horse died of battle wounds after combat. "How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens"(Alexander the Great). Alexander the Great also introduced the Hellenistic culture to the world. On his conquests, he would take some of the culture from the countries that he conquered, and incorporated them into his own. He took culture from Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and India. This is where the Hellenistic Culture came from.

Alexander the Great riding into the battle of Guagamela

The conquests of Alexander the Great and his military dominance led him to have one of the most powerful empires of that time. He used several principles when it came to battle. He had a strong infantry and a very strong cavalry which when combined, wreaks havoc on the opposing army. Alexander would send in his foot soldiers in a phalanx formation to break up the enemy's front lines. Then, he would send his cavalry behind the foot soldiers to finish the job. The foot soldiers in the phalanxes had long spears to keep back the enemy lines while they advanced. These spears were called sarissas, and they were usually 18 feet long. "I am not afraid of an army of lions led by sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion"(Alexander the Great). Alexander's strategy in battle and his cunning  made one of the most dominant military, cavalry and infantry, or foot soldiers, of that time. Also, Alexander the great was undefeated in battle. He never lost a battle or surrendered to the enemy. That is how powerful his army was.

Historically, the public opinion is that Alexander was great. Some people say that Alexander didn't really combine many different cultures into the blended, Hellenistic Culture. Some people say that Alexander the Great does not deserve to be called Great because he didn't live long enough to lose any battles or wars. Some people think that Alexander would have lost a battle if he had lived longer, but he died when he was only 33 years old. Some people also say that Alexander was irresponsible, out of control, and drunk most of the time. Other people feel strongly that Alexander the Great was indeed great. He was a great leader and role model to his people. "There is nothing impossible to him who will try"(Alexander the Great). The public opinion does agree with mine.

Alexander the Great was great in many ways. He was a great leader, and amazing military leader. He was also smart, brave, and put his army first. When his soldiers was worn out, he listened to them and stopped the march, and turned around to go home to Macedonia. He did way more good things then bad things, and he deserves to be called, great.

Works Cited

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ABC-CLIO, 2016,ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1185179?cid=41&sid=1185179. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.

Yahaya, Nurfadzilah. “Alexander the Great.” Encyclopedia of the Ancient World: Prehistory to 600 CE, Facts

On File, 2016, Ancient and Medieval History Online, http://online.infobase.com/hrc/search/details/237646?q=alexander the great .

"The real Alexander: the true story behind history's first great conqueror." Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication

29 Oct. 2004: SS1+. General OneFile. Web. 28 Sept. 2016. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=avl_randsch&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA123853432&asid=d4a1b8233626aea4ae4ab1a00a3ea5d .

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. 28 Sep. 2016. <http://online.salempress.com>.