Alexander The Great

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, was born in June, 356 BC, in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. His parents were Philip II and Olympia. Some say that Zeus was his father but it is probably just a myth. Aristotle taught Alexander in his early teen years. He stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy. In the summer of 336 BC, Alexander's father was assassinated, and

Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne. He found himself surrounded by enemies at home and threatened by civilizations all over. But Alexander disposed of quickly of all his enemies by ordering their execution. Then he took off to

Thessaly, where partisans of independence had gained ascendancy, and restored

Macedonian rule. Before the end of the summer of 336 BC as general of the

Greeks in a campaign against the Persians, originally planned by his father before he croaked, he carried out a successful campaign against the defecting

Thracians, penetrating to the Danube River. On his return he crushed in a single week the threatening Illyrians and then again took of to Thebes, which had revolted. He took the city by storm and razed it, sparing only the temples of the gods and the house of the Greed lyric poet Pindar, and selling the surviving inhabi¬ tants, about 8000 in number, into slavery. Alexander's promptness in crushing the revolt of The¬ bes brought the other Greek states into instant submission. Alexander began his war against Persia in th...