Alexander the Great

          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. 

Works Cited

“Alexander the Great.” Alexander the Great. www.in2greece.com, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://www.in2greece.com/‌english/‌historymyth/‌history/‌ancient/‌alexander.htm>.

“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/>.

A Day in the Life of an Ancient Greek Woman

          I am so excited!  Today is one of the few times of the year when I am allowed to leave the house and go out in public with my husband!  I know that, me being a woman, means that I am inferior to the men, and it makes perfect sense for me to stay in the house all day.  I mean, I'm a woman!  Who would cook, clean, weave, and look after the children if not for us - certainly not the men!  For once, I won't be kept busy all day with my chores.  I can go out, watch some theater, and enjoy myself!
         The festival in honor of Dionysus starts today, and I will be able to see all sorts of plays, composed by writers from different parts of Greece.  I do hope that good tragedies are performed.  I absolutely adore a nice, heart-wrenching tale of some sad warrior trying to get home after war and things like that.  They are just so realistic!  The comedies are o.k, but I don't enjoy them as much.  I bet everyone feels the same way as me - that must be why there are three days of festival for tragedies and one day for comedy!
          I need to get ready and primp up.  I go dress in my best tunic, and when I emerge from my rooms, I find my two children, one boy and one girl, eagerly waiting for me.
          "Papa told me to tell you that he is going to have some friends over for dinner, so you cannot eat with him tonight," my elder daughter informs me.  I feel a small twinge of disappointment.  I had been hoping to dine with my husband, but, as I am a woman, I must do what he tells me, and if he wants company, who am I to complain?  However, I am still so pleased about going out today, and I will not let this evening spoil how much fun I will have at the festival.  I smile down at my children and take their hands.
           "Let's go find Papa so that we can go to the festival!" I say, happily.  My five-year-old son cheers, and my eight-year-old daughter breaks into a grin.  I am glad that they are so joyful today, just like me.  I think everyone should be able to feel this light on a beautiful, sunny day like this.  I feel as though I am dancing on light, I am so jubilant.

          My smiling husband greets us at the door to our house.  He holds open the door and motions for us to leave.  I wish that I could jump and leap over the threshold as my children do, but I must contain my excitement.  I am a grown woman.  We do not do such things.  My children release my hands to run ahead of us, and my husband takes my right one.  We smile.  We walk out into the beautiful, sunny day, to enjoy ourselves. 

The Spartan Way

          The Spartans were a very unique civilization.  They had the best armies, the strictest government, and were the most cruel to their slaves, but they were also very successful.  For over 200 years, Sparta was the most powerful city-state in ancient Greece.

Spartan Soldiers

          Sparta's power came from the strict discipline that made their formidable army.  Once a child was born, government officials would come around to inspect it.  If it seemed sick or poorly, then it was left up in the mountains to die.  When boys were seven years old, they were taken away from their families to live in barracks with other boys their age.  They were put into military training under the control of older boys, and known as trainees.  Trainees needed to learn how to "obey orders and endure pain".  They were made to go barefoot, and were permitted to only wear a cloak, even in winter.  They were given the least amount of food possible, and if they did even one thing wrong, they were whipped.  Trainees were expected to not show even the slightest sign of suffering through all of this.  Boys were encouraged to fend for themselves, and many ended up stealing whatever food they could from other boys, or from behind the backs of lax guards.  However, if they were caught, they were given a beating, and their food provisions were taken away.
          At the age of 30, men became citizens, which meant they were allowed to vote.  However, they still had to serve the army, and they were forced to eat in mess halls, instead of with their family.  Spartan food was cooked deliberately to taste awful.  They did not believe in luxury of any kind, and thought that deprivation would keep you strong.
          The purpose of women in Sparta was mainly to bear children.  It was believed that a woman must be healthy and fit to have healthy kids, so Spartan girls were trained to be just as athletic as Spartan boys.  They were taught how to throw javelins, wrestle, run, and many other forms of exercise.  Unlike other city-states, women were given more freedom and more equality to men.  They could own land, do business, and run their own households.  They were not permitted to wear perfume, jewelry, or any other nice but unnecessary things, but that seemed to be a small price to pay for the freedom they had.
          When men were not at war, they had free time.  They were allowed to do whatever they wanted.  Some people might wonder at why this was - wouldn't they have to farm their land and look after family affairs?  The reason why they had so much time on their hands was because of slaves, called "helots."  Like many other Greek city-states, the slave population far outnumbered that of the actual citizens.  In Sparta, helots outnumbered the people by 10-1.  The helots farmed their master's land, and Sparta depended on their slaves to keep the city going.  Because of the large slave population, Sparta was always fearful of revolt.  They took extra precautions to keep the helots under control.  At night, teenage boys patrolled the roads, killing any traveling slave they came across.  A helot was also killed if he or she appeared smarter or stronger than the others.  Because the Spartans were so cruel to their slaves, the helots revolted many times.  Although some of the rebellions ended up lasting for years, the Spartan government always won in the end.  The helots hated the Spartans so much that one person said that they would "eat a Spartan raw".
          Sparta had a huge army.  A Spartan man was expected to fight to the death, and Sparta conquered Athens in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC.  After Athens was defeated, Sparta was the ruling city-state of Greece until 371 BC, when it was conquered by Thebes.  Thebes had destroyed Sparta's army, and without it, the city-state "collapsed".  The Romans finally took it over in 146 BC, and then Sparta was gone for good.

References:
Knight, Theodore. "The Ancient Olympics." The Ancient World. 2010 ed. 2010.
     Print.

The Olympics

          No one knows for sure who invented the Olympics or when they were first established.  There are some myths and legends about it, but there really is not any hard-core evidence concerning the origin of the Games.  The first written record of the Olympic Games was about a man winning a 200-yard footrace in 776 B.C, and receiving an olive branch as his prize.  Archaeologists have uncovered temples and other buildings at the site where it is believed the Olympics were held that date back to before 776 B.C, but there is no evidence that Olympic games were held there until that footrace.  From 776 B.C. to 393 A.D, 293 Olympic competitions were celebrated.

Chariot Races

           In the beginning, there were only footraces. Later, more events were added.  These include chariot races, boxing, wrestling, pancratium, and the pentathlon.  Pancratium was a sport that combined boxing with wrestling, as well as adding biting, kicking, and strangling into the mix.  Many men were injured or killed in this event.  The pentathlon combined five sports, including wrestling, throwing the discus and javelin, sprinting, and competing in the long jump.  Some of the most popular Olympic sports were wrestling, boxing, and pancratium.  According to archaeologists, this may be because of the level of hostility among cities.  The Olympics demanded that there be a truce between all warring city-states while the festival was going on, but people could still watch athletes from enemy cities fighting with their own athletes.
         Women were not allowed to compete in the Olympic games until the 128th Olympics.  They could not even watch, death being the consequence to disobedience.  Only men who were citizens of Greece could compete.  Although the stakes were so high, some women still risked their lives to see the games by wearing a disguise.  Supposedly, a woman who had helped to train her son in running, disguised herself as a man so she could watch him compete.  When he won, she was so loud that she was found out, but she was not killed.  Even after all these years, scientists still don't know why.  Originally, the athletes competing in the Olympics had to come from wealthy families, because they all had to be able to provide transport to and from wherever they lived and Athens.  Also, winners of the games were expected to host a large banquet to celebrate their success.  Therefore, women, slaves, foreigners, and people of the lower class could not compete in the Olympic games.
           While the Olympic festival was at its peak, there were five days of athletic events, feasts, parades, religious rituals.  Every day, sacrifices were made to the gods and gifts were placed in front of the statues of past Olympic winners.  City-states competed against each other in which one could give the most lavish and expensive gifts to the statues.  On the third day of the Olympics, one-hundred cattle were killed and then burned as a special sacrifice to the gods.   These were good times for Greece.
           However, all good things must come to an end.  The Romans conquered Greece in 100 BC, and from then on, the Olympic festivals went into decline.  People stopped celebrating the Olympics as a way of honoring the gods, and instead, everyone wanted to win for themselves.  Cheating and bribery ensued among the competitors.  In 393 AD, around the time Christianity had spread to Rome, the emperor Theodosius declared an end to the Olympics.  As said in the text, "After well over twelve hundred years, the festival at Olympia had ended.  There would be no Olympic Games for more than fifteen hundred years".

References:

Knight, Theodore. “The Ancient Olympics.” The Ancient World. 2010 ed. 2010. Print.