Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great was a reigning leader beginning at 336 B.C. known for conquering most of the land known today with his military tactics. Alexander the Great holds up to his title and deserves to be great. Alexander became the king of Macedonia at the age of 20 after his dad, Philip II was stabbed to death at his daughter’s wedding. He grew the strongest empire in only 12 years. Not only did Alexander the Great just conquer land, but he spread culture throughout the European, Asian, and African continents. He spread Macedonian, Indian, Greek, and Persian influences which are known as the hellenistic culture today and have impacted many religions now to such a diverse selection. Alexander even married a Persian women after conquering Persia. People nowadays just assume that what they hear is true, but indeed Alexander was great. Alexander was a distinctive leader with powerful military tactics, and influenced a blend of cultures which are now treasured by lots of people.
Alexander the Great is mostly known for conquering land with his unique military tactics, but he could not do this if he did not have the mental driver. When Alexander was young, he tamed a horse tamed Bucephalus that nobody could tame, and was considered to be from a god. Men older than him had tried to tame the horse just before him, so when Alexander was put up to the challenge, they laughed but Alexander had the eye for details. He noticed that the horse was afraid of his own shadow, so in order for Bucephalus to remain calm, he turned him towards the sun. With this kind of thinking, Alexander went on to do many great things. Also, Alexander himself believed that he had come from the god Zeus. So in order to prove he was worthy, Alexander pushed himself to strive for greatness, in every situation, to prove himself worthy. A statement Plutarch makes on learning about Alexander the Great is, "’It must be borne in mind that my design is not to write histories, but lives” (Facts on File1). The phrase of “borne in mind” refers to the mental drive Alexander had. Plutarch states that Alexander uses his drive to write lives, so Alexander was indeed great, because he had the strong, sturdy base to build himself up to such a great leader.
Alexander the Great was one person, no matter on the field or off the field, but he would stay strong and thrive to be great at anything. On the battlefield, Alexander the Great would always lead his battles and fought vigorously against any opponent. It was important, to the empires, that Alexander would not go easy on any empire because of their lacking military or because he thought they were weak. This proves to the empires that he was not He attacked every empire just as strongly, no matter the size, and came out successfully every time, never losing a battle. By doing this, the empires had trust in Alexander, even though he might have conquered them. Every battle, Alexander challenged his soldiers, but he always gave them a choice of going into battle. In a speech before a battle he stated, “If you have any complaint to make about the results of your efforts hitherto, or about myself as your commander, there is no more to say. But let me remind you: through your courage and endurance you have gained possession of Ionia, the Hellespont, both Phrygias, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Phoenicia, and Egypt” (Facts on File2). In this part of the speech, Alexander gives his men an option to back down but reminds them that they would be considered a coward for turning around in a battle. Alexander the Great had his strategic skills that made his army so powerful.
In the public opinion, many people hold on to the reasons on why he was not great and do not see the reason for Alexander’s conquering. Those reasons include that he was over drank too much alcohol, he was a destroyer, and that he did not even try to fix what he broke. First of all, there was not a point at the time, but for Alexander to prove he was great and powerful. All his conquering of different empires joined and collaborated cultures, which has influenced many cultures today. There was never a great ruler that made such a huge impact on society today as Alexander. What many people hold against him is the fact that he tore down buildings and left them, but his army did not intentionally ruin those buildings, it was in the act of war. Alexander was planning on rebuilding the other empires into one huge empire, but he passed at the age of thirty two before fulfilling his plan. At one point in the beginning of Alexander’s reign, people did not take him seriously, so in order to make his point clear that he was serious, he made a jolting move. In the Holt McDougal Textbook3, it states that, “When the people of Thebes rebelled, he destroyed the city. About 6,000 Thebans were killed. The survivors were sold into slavery. Frightened by his cruelty, the other Greek city-states quickly gave up any idea of rebellion.” Alexander had to come out strong, but he did take it a little too far. People still argue if Alexander was even great today in modern history, but in my opinion, I believe he was great.
Concluding this, Alexander the Great’s title was not a hyperbole. Alexander worked hard to build up his empire and dedicated his life to follow in the succession of his father. Alexander was an extravagant leader that has affected culture to today. The hellenistic culture made a big impact on the empires in the European, Asian, and African hemisphere and we can thank Alexander for bringing together people from different heritages. Alexander the Great may have had some flaws, but he was not perfect, and neither is anyone today. When people started to follow Alexander with the great, many people questioned it, but with all that he has accomplished, he is worthy of the name and is definitely great.
Works Cited
"Alexander's Gulf Outpost Uncovered." BBC News, BBC, 7 Aug. 2007, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6930285.stm. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
"Alexander the Great. Spread of Greek Culture." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-CLIO, 2016, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1185179?cid=140&sid=1877944. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
"Alexander the Great. Closing." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-CLIO, 2016, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1185179?cid=140&sid=1877946. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
Donald L. Wasson. “Bucephalus,” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified October 06,
2011. http://www.ancient.eu /Bucephalus/.
"Introduction." Great Empires of the Past Online. Infobase Publishing. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
<http://online.factsonfile.com/RecURL.aspx?did=63267>.
Plutarch. "The Life of Alexander." Plutach, The Parallel Lives, penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Alexander*/3.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.
Quotes:
1 “”Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Life of Alexander excerpt”.” Ancient and
Medieval History Online. Facts on File. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
2 ""To This Empire There Will Be No Boundaries"." Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts
On File. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.
3 "The Spread of Hellenistic Culture." Holt McDougal, my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=9780547521084.
interesting- really thinks it's interesting how you wrote the second to last paragraph because it was explained very well with well worded facts.
ReplyDeleteDifference- In my research i had that he grew the strongest empire in 13 years instead of 12.
Mentioned- I wish that you would have mentioned how on the first battle he fought he took over his father's plan and then continued on his own.
1. I like the phrase “borne in mind” that connects to Alexander’s determination. It is a really good quote to describe his mentality.
ReplyDelete2. Along with spreading Greek, Indian, and Persian cultures, he also spread Egyptian culture. Macedonian culture is similar to Greek culture.
3. I wish you mentioned about how Alexander’s army was undefeated, that they never lost a battle. It could have shown the reader more on how strong his army actually was.
1. The way that you mentioned how Alexander tamed Bucephalus is very interesting. This is one of the coolest things that Alexander did at a young age, and many people tend to disregard it!
ReplyDelete2. Our research showed the same information.
3. I wish that you had gone into more detail about why Alexander’s army was so successful (military tactics, armor, weapons, etc.).
I thought this post was interesting because you used very specific certain events as an example of his greatness. For instance, you talked about the story of him taming the horse at a very young age.
ReplyDeleteMost of my research matched up with yours, but I found information that said he attempted to rebuild what he tore down, but never got the chance because he died. In your blog you said he was not responsible and did not clean up what he tore down.
I wish you would have mentioned and made it more clear why the generations throughout history have agreed with you or not.