Most people believe that Alexander the Great was truly the greatest military leader there ever was. Even his name, "Alexander the Great," shows just how highly people think about him. The thing is, Alexander really isn't as great as everyone thinks. He may have been one of the greatest military leaders of all time, and he may have conquered more cities and built a greater empire than anyone before him, but is conquering other people really considered "greatness"? It is also believed that Alexander helped spread the Greek culture to the city-states he held under his power. However, there is evidence that Greek ways had spread as far as Israel far before Alexander was born.
Alexander the great grew up surrounded by battle. His father, King Phillip had assembled great Macedonian armies, and had started to expand his reign into Greece. As Alexander matured, he was trained mainly by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, when he was 13. With Aristotle as his tutor, Alexander learned about literature, philosophy, science, medicines, and more. At the age of 16, Alexander's father, Philip II of Macedonia, appointed him regent of Macedonia while he was away. When Alexander was 20 years old, his father was assassinated, and Alexander took control of all his armies. He set out to end what his father had begun - creating an empire.
However, there is some controversy about how Philip of Macedonia was killed. Some believe that foul play on Alexander's part was involved, and others believe that it was his wife, Olympias, (Alexander's mother), and more think it had nothing to do with either of them. Apparently, Olympias and Alexander had a special relationship. Olympias was very ambitious for her son, and told him that he was a descendant of the great hero, Achilles. She encouraged him in everything he did, and some believe that part of his ambition was caused from wanting to impress her. Alexander may have killed his father because he was afraid that by the time it came around to him, Philip would not have left his son enough cities to conquer. Also, Alexander or his mother could have murdered Philip because of his disloyalty to Olympias. If Alexander the Great did indeed take part in the assassination of his father, Philip of Macedon, he is not as great as his name implies.
After his father died, Alexander seized control of their armies, and squashed the few revolts that had sprung up when they had learned of their king's death. Then, he left Greece in 334 BC to conquer and control more land. In 332 BC, Alexander defeated Tyre, which was one of Persia's last navy bases. After that, the Persian government gave him their land and money without fighting, because they knew that they could not defeat him. In order to prevent more revolts, Alexander wore Persian clothes, married a Persian woman, and brought Persian soldiers into his Greek/Macedonian army. He hoped that by doing this, he would be more familiar to the Persian people, and they would feel comfortable with him ruling them.
But even Persia was not enough for Alexander the Great. His thirst for power could not be quenched by a mere Persian empire. He needed more. Alexander the Great marched on to to defeat India. He led his army on a particularly difficult stretch called Khyber Pass, where he made them destroy all the treasure they had brought from Persia, because it was hindering their progress. He forced his armies on until 326 BC when they reached they reached the end of their limits at the Indus River. They simply refused to move on. It is said that Alexander moped for three days, and then purposely led his armies home through the Agate Desert to give them a hard time. In 323 BC, Alexander the Great contracted a fever and died. He had ruled for 13 years, and had built the largest empire in the western world.
After Alexander the Great died, Greek culture still flourished in the cities he had defeated. Most people think that it was because of Alexander that all the Greek ways spread and diffused into Persia and Asia Minor, but new studies show that this may not have been true. Scientists at Berkeley have discovered that Greek culture could have spread as far as Israel in 400 BC, long before Alexander came along. These people knew how to make pottery and build boats the same way the Greeks did, although neither literary nor political Greek culture was evident. But if Alexander was not the one bringing all the culture to the cities he conquered, and instead, it had been there already, he is not as great as everyone seems to believe.
Some people also believe Alexander the Great was a megalomaniac, with delusional views of power. There is evidence of this in the fact that he named at least 15 of the cities he founded or renamed after himself. He wanted power and control, and he would keep fighting until he got it. Some of his friends tried to kill him because they thought he was too full of himself. There is a quote by him that goes, "Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters." This means that he believes that earth can only be ruled by one man - himself. Before he came along, the world did fine without his leadership. Just because he is a military genius does not mean that he must be the ruler of the world, because earth "can only brook one master". This idea of power he has, that he must be the master of earth, is rather twisted. Earth can have more than one "master," and it can even be better off with more than one of these "masters".
Sure, Alexander the Great did great things. He built an empire, and he conquered many city-states and countries. But behind all that, was he really that "great"? No one really knows for sure what went on inside his head, but evidence shows that he was not as great as everyone thinks. He was a megalomaniac, he may have taken part in the assassination of his own father, he led people to believe that he was a descendant of Achilles, and might not have spread as much Greek culture as it was previously believed. All in all, Alexander the Great was not as great as he seems.
However, there is some controversy about how Philip of Macedonia was killed. Some believe that foul play on Alexander's part was involved, and others believe that it was his wife, Olympias, (Alexander's mother), and more think it had nothing to do with either of them. Apparently, Olympias and Alexander had a special relationship. Olympias was very ambitious for her son, and told him that he was a descendant of the great hero, Achilles. She encouraged him in everything he did, and some believe that part of his ambition was caused from wanting to impress her. Alexander may have killed his father because he was afraid that by the time it came around to him, Philip would not have left his son enough cities to conquer. Also, Alexander or his mother could have murdered Philip because of his disloyalty to Olympias. If Alexander the Great did indeed take part in the assassination of his father, Philip of Macedon, he is not as great as his name implies.
After his father died, Alexander seized control of their armies, and squashed the few revolts that had sprung up when they had learned of their king's death. Then, he left Greece in 334 BC to conquer and control more land. In 332 BC, Alexander defeated Tyre, which was one of Persia's last navy bases. After that, the Persian government gave him their land and money without fighting, because they knew that they could not defeat him. In order to prevent more revolts, Alexander wore Persian clothes, married a Persian woman, and brought Persian soldiers into his Greek/Macedonian army. He hoped that by doing this, he would be more familiar to the Persian people, and they would feel comfortable with him ruling them.
But even Persia was not enough for Alexander the Great. His thirst for power could not be quenched by a mere Persian empire. He needed more. Alexander the Great marched on to to defeat India. He led his army on a particularly difficult stretch called Khyber Pass, where he made them destroy all the treasure they had brought from Persia, because it was hindering their progress. He forced his armies on until 326 BC when they reached they reached the end of their limits at the Indus River. They simply refused to move on. It is said that Alexander moped for three days, and then purposely led his armies home through the Agate Desert to give them a hard time. In 323 BC, Alexander the Great contracted a fever and died. He had ruled for 13 years, and had built the largest empire in the western world. After Alexander the Great died, Greek culture still flourished in the cities he had defeated. Most people think that it was because of Alexander that all the Greek ways spread and diffused into Persia and Asia Minor, but new studies show that this may not have been true. Scientists at Berkeley have discovered that Greek culture could have spread as far as Israel in 400 BC, long before Alexander came along. These people knew how to make pottery and build boats the same way the Greeks did, although neither literary nor political Greek culture was evident. But if Alexander was not the one bringing all the culture to the cities he conquered, and instead, it had been there already, he is not as great as everyone seems to believe.
Some people also believe Alexander the Great was a megalomaniac, with delusional views of power. There is evidence of this in the fact that he named at least 15 of the cities he founded or renamed after himself. He wanted power and control, and he would keep fighting until he got it. Some of his friends tried to kill him because they thought he was too full of himself. There is a quote by him that goes, "Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters." This means that he believes that earth can only be ruled by one man - himself. Before he came along, the world did fine without his leadership. Just because he is a military genius does not mean that he must be the ruler of the world, because earth "can only brook one master". This idea of power he has, that he must be the master of earth, is rather twisted. Earth can have more than one "master," and it can even be better off with more than one of these "masters".
Sure, Alexander the Great did great things. He built an empire, and he conquered many city-states and countries. But behind all that, was he really that "great"? No one really knows for sure what went on inside his head, but evidence shows that he was not as great as everyone thinks. He was a megalomaniac, he may have taken part in the assassination of his own father, he led people to believe that he was a descendant of Achilles, and might not have spread as much Greek culture as it was previously believed. All in all, Alexander the Great was not as great as he seems.
Works Cited
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“Alexander the Great of Macedon Biography.” Alexander the Great of Macedon Biography. historyofmacedonia.org, 2001-2003. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html>.
Alexander the Great Quotes - BrainyQuote. BrainyQuote.com, 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alexander_the_great.html>.
Dye, Lee. “Study Suggests Alexander Not So Great.” ABC News. abcnews.go.com, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97611&page=1#top>.
Lendering, Jona. “Alexander the Great: His Towns.” Alexander the Great. Livius.org, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_z2.html>.
“Philip of Macedon.” historyofmacedonia.org. historyofmacedonia.org, 2001-2003. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/PhilipofMacedon.html>.
Simpson, John. “Alexander the Not-So-Great.” ScienceNOW. AAS.org, 14 May 2007. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2007/05/14-01.html>.
Whitten, Chris. “Alexander the Great.” interesting.com. interesting.com, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://www.interesting.com/stories/alexander/>.
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