Alexander the Great- Philip Porter

Philip Porter

Alexander the Great

Alexander was great because of his amazing ability to conquer some of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world and fuse their cultures into his own empire at such a young age, all the while maintaining a secure home state against the surrounding enemy powers. Over his 12 years of exploring and conquering, he gathered culture from every place that he went, this would eventually develop the hellenistic age. The hellenistic age was important for history because these assortment of cultures and religions, would create newer religions that would be the most followed religions in the world. Even today, Alexander is considered one of the greatest leaders and generals of all time through his remarkable military strategies, superior intellect, and spread of culture throughout the ancient world. Although his reign ended short because of his early death at age 33, he left a mark on history that will certainly never be overcome.

The modern day view of Alexander is much more improved than Alexander’s days of ruling. Some of today’s leaders and historical figures think of Alexander as one of the best military leaders of all time, including Napoleon, Plutarch and Julius Caesar who all used his philosophies and strategies to improve their own systems. Plutarch even wrote in his document about Alexander’s life, Parallel Lives,  that Alexander was the purpose of the destruction of the temple of Diana, because she was away making sure that Alexander was born correctly,“Alexander was born the sixth of Hecatombaeon, which month the Macedonians call Lous, the same day that the temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt; which Hegesias of Magnesia makes the occasion of a conceit, frigid enough to have stopped the conflagration. The temple, he says, took fire and was burnt while its mistress was absent, assisting at the birth of Alexander,”(Plutarch, Lives). Modern day people know Alexander for his courageous acts and spread of culture, and he is especially celebrated for his great leadership in his conquest across three continents, especially his acts in Egypt and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. He also seen to modern day people, as one of the best leaders and generals to come from ancient Greece or Macedonia. It may seem that he was always thought to be this great leader that was praised and honored for his courageous acts, but this was not the case in his lifetime.

Alexander’s reputation in his time was much different than present day view. Although there were many people that loved him and praised him for his leadership, there were many people despised him for his lack in patience and terrible drinking habits, which is known by many that he was an obsessive alcoholic behavior that would often result in outbursts of rage towards his soldiers and advisors. “He probably suffered from an overwhelming ambition and an uncontrollable temper that often arose from drinking excessive amounts of wine,”(History.com, Alexander the Great). He was also ridiculed by soldiers and citizens that he was too focused on expanding his empire, rather than focusing on improving his own home country. His government and structure of his country was not bad,  but he almost never came back to help or advance his government and technology. Actually he was liked more by other civilizations and lands that he had traveled through, mostly because he normally would not completely destroy the places he came across nor enslave the people. After he died and his empire collapsed, he was much more appreciated for his accomplishments by other Greek leaders and other important historical figures and leaders. Although Alexander had flaws like any great leader in history, he still proved to be a great leader.

Many people may think that Alexander was just an abusive drunk that was given the path to success by his father's amazing army, but I do not have the same opinion. Whether or not his father did leave him a great army, Alexander must have some self-powered success in order to pull of some of his greatest feats. His astounding defeats against some of the greatest powers in the ancient world, such as: Persia, Greece and many other civilizations settles the argument that he was not a great leader. His crushing defeat against Persia would most likely be his greatest accomplishment, especially considering how outnumbered Macedonia was, but still able to win against the massive Persian force. Not only was he able to conquer Persia but he continued to travel across Asia, Africa and the middle east, being able to breeze through every hostile force that stood in his way, only returning home because of complaints from his soldiers. All of these powers, were once the most powerful civilizations in their region, and he never lost a single battle to any of them. He was not only an intellectual and innovative general, he was a great leader that motivated his soldiers, and kept himself in the same conditions as his comrades, in other words, he was never given any special treatment at war. “The dramatic triumph established Alexander as a bold commander and inspired fanatical devotion in his troops.”(ABC Clio, Alexander the Great). These acts of bravery and perseverance, are what define Alexander the Great.

Although there are so many legitimate and reasonable arguments favoring and disregarding whether or not Alexander truly deserved the name “Great”. Regardless of all these arguments and contradictions, my opinion is and will always be, that Alexander was great. Alexander made some costly mistakes in his lifetime like any leader, but he always overcame these setbacks and pulled through. His will to never give up, is what drove him and his soldiers to victory over his 10 year span of expanding. Mixed opinions about Alexander have been floating around for the past 2,000 years, but with all of these great attributes and triumphs, Alexander the Great must never be overlooked as one of the greatest leaders of all time.

Works Cited

The Alexander Mosiac. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great. Accessed 28

Sept. 2016.

Bialo, Ellen. "Career of Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-

CLIO, 2016, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1185181. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016

Emmons, Jim Tschen. "Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-

CLIO, 2016, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/575648. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016

History.com Staff. "Alexander the Great." History.com, A+E Networks, 2009. History.com,

www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/alexander-the-great. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016

Lessman, Thomas. "Alexander's Empire." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016. Map.

Mark, Joshua. "Alexander the Great." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History

Encyclopedia, www.ancient.eu/Alexander_the_Great/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.

Palmer, Brian. Alexander the Great Victory at Hydaspes River. Aviation Art,

www.armyprints.com/alexander_the_great_prints.htm. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.

Plutarch. "The Parallel Lives." Penelope Chicago Edu, 1919, penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/

Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Alexander*/3.html. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.

Sacks, David. “Alexander the Great.” Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, Third Edition, Facts on File, 2015, AncientandMedievalHistoryOnline, http://online.infobase.com/hrc/search/details/224479?q=alexander the great