Alexander III, better known as Alexander the Great was a very confident young man and the son of Phillip II. He was born in Pella, the capital city of Macedonia in the year 356 BC. Although the life he led was quite brief, he accomplished numerous feats and was a military genius. His endeavors have earned him not only the respect of his army, and his people, but countless others throughout the centuries. The existence of Alexander the Great significantly impacted history and spread knowledge throughout the ancient civilizations as he conquered more and more territory. The Hellenistic people are a direct result of his influence. If not for his mother, Olympias, Alexander may have never become king. She was considered angry and spiteful, but to her son she was nothing but uplifting. Her constant ego boosts, telling Alexander he was descended from the Gods and so on, had him convinced that he was better than everyone. In fact historians regard him as narcissistic.
As a young boy Alexander was described as polite, intelligent, and brave. Aristotle tutored him at Temple of the Nymphs at Meiza until the age of sixteen. Aristotle’s text book was the Homeric poem “The Iliad,” which the young Macedonian had memorized. Everyone seemed to notice that Alexander was bound for greatness; indeed the ambassadors spurned his title by stating that he was “great” while the king was only “rich.” The would be conqueror did not see his father all that often as he spent most of his time on the battlefield but Alexander demonstrated his boldness and cunning to his father by showing that his feisty new horse was actually tame. He observed that the animal was simply afraid of its new surroundings and even more so of its own shadow. Impressed by his actio...
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...ry from a long life of battles so Alexander ended his conquests and everyone was released from fighting and able to go home.
Ironically, even though Alexander was a strong man in the prime of his life and was undeniably respected and feared by many, he met an untimely death. He was struck down by an illness that was quite common in those days, now known as malaria or swamp fever, back then only known as yellow fever. There is no known cure for the fatal disease, and the King, not being divine as he believed was not an exception to the consequences. He passed away at the tender age of thirty-three after twelve days of suffering. His legacy lives on in the history books of the modern day. He is regarded as brilliant, courageous, and ambitious among other things. His name will endure and echo on in future history courses and like him or hate him, you must respect him.
The first matter to consider is what constitutes “greatness”. There are no set standards no checklist, to apply to a person, to determine it they are “great.” The simplest way that I could conceive to decide whether this title should apply to Alexander was to determine if he was, in some way, superior to the rulers that came before or after his reign. The most obvious place for me to start my consideration is with Alexander’s vast accomplishments as a conquerer.
Alexander the Great was the son of Philip Macedonia. Alexander the Great was a big admirer of Greek culture during his time. During Alexander the Great time in history he spread the Greek culture through the Middle East and North Africa. Alexander the Great past away at an early age and after his death the Greeks took over the Romans.
Alexander was a smart man and there was one main person to thank for that, his father. Philip II, knowing that someday his son would be a powerful figure arranged for none other than Aristotle to be Alexander’s tutor. Alexander grew to love his tutor almost as much as his father. Alexander’s favorite book was the Iliad by Homer, it was a story about some of the things he hoped to do when he got older, such as fight in wars. As a youth Alexander also enjoyed hunting and martial arts. Alexander feared that by the time he became king there would be nothing left for him to conquer.
Alexander the Great was only 20 years when his father Philip of Macedon died. Even though he was a young man, he had an unusual talent for politics and military tactics. After his father’s death, Alexander moved to continue Philip’s invasion of Persia. In the ten years of his war campaigns, Alexander conquered a large portion of the then-known world. (Judge & Langdon, 2012.)
Even though Alexander III of Macedonia, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, only lived to be 32 years old, his accomplishments were so vast it would be impossible to capture them all in a 3-hour Hollywood film. The well-known director, Oliver Stone, spent years studying Alexander and dreaming of making an epic film about his life. Stone's 2004 film, Alexander, was met with reviews that made it sound as if it was mediocre or disappointing, but the problem with it is that in the era of exciting action-driven Hollywood films, Alexander asks viewers to go deeper than they are accustomed. The length of the film was considered too long, but the history of Alexander is so huge that it is actually too short. Since Alexander lived more than 2300 years ago, and much of the information on Alexander's life has been lost over time, it seems to me that Alexander accurately depicts the historical era, Alexander's relationships, battle scenes and the different cultures involved in Alexander's conquests.
Alexander is the son of King Philip of Macedonia and Queen Olympias. We see Alexander's daily life and the strained relationship between his parents. Alexander grows up with his mother Olympias and his tutor Aristotle, where he finds interest in love, honor, music, exploration, poetry, and military combat. Young Alexander impresses his father by taming an intractable horse, but both mother and son are banished from the kingdom, Olympias advising her son to seize the throne before Philip has him murdered. As things work out, Philip is murdered, and Alexander rules Macedonia. (BBC)
In conclusion, Alexander the Great wasn’t great because he didn’t care for other people, didn’t show leadership or any smarts. Many may say that he was an amazing person who did incredible things with the support of the people. However, if you look closely at his actions you could clearly see his reasoning of greed and power. He killed many innocent people to make his dream of controlling the world come true. Before giving someone a title or name it’s important that we make sure it makes sense and fits their
Plutarch’s Life of Alexander speaks of Alexander’s father telling him “my son, seek thee out a kingdom equal to thyself; Macedonia has not room for thee” (Plutarch, 6.1). Aristotle tutored Alexander where he encouraged his ambition, and taught him that bravery in a man was an admirable quality. Alexander’s birth was associated with great signs; Plutarch writes “Alexander was born the sixth of Hecatombeon … the same day that the temple of Diana was burnt while its mistress was absent, assisting at the birth of Alexander” (Plutarch, Lives).
Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC in Pella, Greece. He took over the throne when he was 21, in 336 BC, when his father was murdered. In his time as king, Alexander united the Greek city states and built over a dozen cities, including Alexandria. His empire stretched over 2 million square miles, and he never lost a battle in his lifetime. Alexander died of Malaria in 323 BC.
In the countries who believed Alexander was the son of the devil or the devil himself, will say he is not ‘great’ but a demon who did evil. The countries who were on his side would say he was the greatest conqueror to live. He began as a Macedonian cavalry commander at eighteen, king of Macedonia at twenty, conqueror of Persia at twenty-six and explorer of India at thirty [Foner and Garraty]. The amount of large scale accomplishments he managed to finish in a span of six years is astonishing. Alexander’s tomb was the largest tourist attraction in the ancient world. The tomb was even visited by Julius Caesar, Pompey, Caligula, and Augustus. Alexander the Great’s accomplishments set a bar in which provided a standard that all other leaders would match their careers too. Many leaders after Alexander could not reach the standard left by him [Foner and
Alexander the Great is hailed, by most historians, as “The Great Conqueror” of the world in the days of ancient Mesopotamia. “Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. Alexander was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia in July 356 BCE. His parents were Philip II of Macedon and his wife Olympias. Philip was assassinated in 336 BCE and Alexander inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire” (Web, BBC History). It is important to note, which will maybe explain his brutal actions, that Alexander was only twenty years old when he became the king of Macedonia. “When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor. During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life” (Web, Project of History of Macedonia). “In, 340, when Philip assembled a large Macedonian army and invaded Thrace, he left his 16 years old son with the power to rule Macedonia in his absence as regent, but as the Macedonian army advanced deep into Thrace, the Thracian tribe of Maedi bordering north-eastern Macedonia rebelled and posed a danger to the country. Alexander assembled an army, led it against the rebels, and with swift action defeated the Maedi, captured their stronghold, and renamed it after himself to Alexandropolis. Two years later in 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior gener...
Few historical figures stand out in the same degree as that of Alexander the Great. He was a warrior by 16, a commander at age 18, and was crowned King of Macedon by the time he was 20 years old. He did things in his lifetime that others could only dream about. Alexander single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in just over a decade. There were many attributes that made Alexander “Great.” He was a brilliant strategist and an inspired leader; he led by example and was a conqueror at heart. In looking at his early childhood, accession to the throne, conquests, marriage, and death one can see why Alexander the Great is revered in historical contexts as one of the greatest figures of all time.
He had inherited the finest army in the world from his homicidal father Philip II, Alexander also ‘inherited’ Philip’s outstanding Chief-of-Staff, the 64-year-old Parmenion. People say that he was just lucky to be general of an already great army. They also say that without this luck he wouldn't have been noticed for Great War tactics at all. It's easy for someone with everything to be great. Therefore he never made himself great. Also three of Alexander’s four great victories were achieved against the Persians, a nation that today we would be described as a paper tiger. A paper tiger is something that is weaker than it is portrayed. Persia seemed strong yet they were not. Therefore his greatest battles were against weak empires, making his achievements not so heroic after all. He killed millions of people during his lifetime as he spread his empire all through the eastern hemisphere. People who are great are able to expand without killing people or they just don't kill people in the first place. I can not think of many people who are considered great that have killed anyone. Finally, many of Alexander's policies were failures. He had made his generals marry Persian women to integrate the Macedonians and Persians, but once he died many of his successors exiled, banished, or divorced their Persian wives. His attempts to create a unified Macedonian empire ended
Alexander the Great, one of the greatest and most successful generals in all of history was a brilliant, patient and often devious man that never struck without careful planning. Alexander made decisions with great speed and took astonishing risks, his success was achieved by his show of sheer force and will to overcome. During his lifetime, he defeated the Persians and Greeks, conquered Egypt and Asia Minor, and secured the Mediterranean Sea. Yes, Alexander the Great was gallant, but he was also malicious. He killed thousands while leading his men through the toughest of situations. He was a man who let no resistance go scot-free. On one hand Alexander was a man who brought great devastation, while he set free great social and cultural energy, Alexander’s legacy was left for all to see. Alexander the Great changed the world in several important ways. He brought to the Greeks a new way of fighting. He brought to the Persians the Greek way of life. Greek culture prospered in east Asia and India. He brought to everyone in his empire a view of the wide world. Three great world religions rose in the Hellenistic culture of the Near East.
In conclusion, I believe Alexander is one of the best political leader and the best general in the history. He managed to conquer and govern a huge territory with his wisdom. He didn’t win wars with soldiers, he won with strategy. Without a question, he was the most successful leader in the history. He knew how t rule and how to make people obedient and it is the main reason that he was very influential. These qualities made him live forever in stories, epics, and