Alexander the "Great" or Alexander the Great

                        Alexander was the son of Phillip of Macedonia. He took over as the king of Macedonia shortly after his father's death and at a young age. He conquered territories at extreme levels and was referred to as "Alexander the Great".

Does Alexander the Great deserve his title "Great"?

1)                    If someone were to question Alexander the Great for truly deserving the title "Great", they would immediately focus on him being egotistical, a drunk, and putting his "pothos"-desire, longing- before his people's needs. But, there is no denying that Alexander had great attributes of courage, bravery, intelligence, and battle techniques. He executed his battles to the point that he conquered one of the most powerful empires of all time, the strongest of his time.

Macedonia during Alexander's command

 He brought his own, poor, somewhat barbarian country to it's peak and to the attention of the world. It would be unfair for anyone not to give Alexander the credit of building a massive empire, carrying out intricate battle plans, and keeping a group of loyal, strong followers. He may not be the kindest, wisest, or most thoughtful leader, but greatness is not measured by every aspect of a person. Alexander was great, he was a great leader. He achieved, he advanced, and he was followed.  He was so great that, people still call him, "Alexander the Great" and even "Alexander the Great and Powerful."
                   
                      Great is a vague word, it has sixteen definitions for only the adjective, twenty-three including adverbs, nouns, interjections, and idioms. So, if one were to not agree with Alexander being "wonderful, first-rate, very good" then they might agree with "considerable in degree, intensity, or power".  Some historians claim that he isn't good or wonderful so therefore he doesn't deserve to be called Great, but isn't he intense, powerful, important, famous? Doesn't he deserve to be called those things? He isn't large either, or plentiful. He wasn't six-foot-four, he was five-foot-six. There weren't multiple Alexanders. It would be pointless to take away those titles, that he deserves, just because some the other titles that go with the word don't agree with Alexander's being.
                   
                      Alexander claimed himself to be the King of Macedonia at age twenty. He led from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C.. In these years he united Greece, recovered the Corinthian League, conquered Persia -the most powerful empire of the time. Alexander mastered the Macedonian Phalanx- a battle tactic his father, Phillip, created (see image below) - and used the tactic to conquer Persia. He brought Macedonia to it's peak of power, established Macedonian colonies and became king of Persia, Babylon, and Asia. Alexander the Great was, in fact, Great.

Macedonian Phalanx: Battle Tactic developed by Phillip, mastered by Alexander

What can one learn about the values of a society based on their views of greatness?

2)                  Every society has it's own "Greats" or people that they feel shaped their society directly and in a positive way. But how a society sees positive or useful influence is what decides who these "Greats" are. For instance, in the United State, their "Greats" would be George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and many other political and inspirational leaders. It would be interpreted from an outsider that the values of the United States, based on who are Greats are, would be freedom and bravery.

                     Alexander, being a Great of certainly the people he led and many others observing his accomplishments, show the world a little bit about what his society valued. Just because they thought of him as Great, doesn't mean they thought all of him was great. Alexander went on drunken rages several times during his rule of the Macedonian army, but that doesn't mean that Macedonia valued murder of the innocent and drunk generals. In studying what a societies Greats mean about the society, someone would also have to look at what they knew of the Greats and what they found not-so-great. His people valued his great battle and combat skills and his ability to take over the surrounding territories. This meaning that they most likely valued expansion and violence. They didn't, however value his selfishness, proving they valued unity of their country.

Do time and distance impact someone's popular perception?

3)                 After many years a person's reputation can be altered. In a long period of time more information about a person could be unearthed, the people's, who hate or love the person, views could change, and many more circumstances could take place. Great leaders who have once been loved by the public have been discovered to be drunks or other qualities could be discovered to discontent their followers. Hated leaders have been discovered to only be upsetting their people, not because of being terrible people or only looking out for themselves, but because they were forced to make poor decisions, the decision they made was better than the other options, or because the people didn't realize what was actually going to help them, and vice-versa.

Alexander and his soldiers

                   Alexander the Great had thousands of loyal followers in his time, they adored him and worshipped him, but today, his following is far more limited. Today, we know more about Alexander and his personal life, we don't have the same passion and perspective as his followers, our goals have changed, and hundreds of other leaders and generals have taken his glory.
               
                  As mentioned before, he was a drunk. This may have been known by his soldiers, but it wasn't released as common knowledge to the people of Macedonia. The people of Macedonia also didn't know his motives as in depth as people in the twenty-first century do, due to uncovered documents and artifacts. Many people in his time thought that his motive, whether they agreed with his decisions or not, was in sight of the city-state's best interest. With further evidence, it is known now that Alexander's true intentions were in the interest of himself, and his well-being. He often went on drunken rages, killing several of his men. He thought that he wasn't actually Phillip's son, but the son of Zeus.  His people knew of his egotistical ways, they were forced to bow down to him as they would to a statue of a god, but they didn't know the extent of how egotistical he was as historians have discovered after his death.

Artwork of Alexander made during his reign show him as a heroic leader

   
                Taking control over countries is as common of a goal or as admirable of a goal to have as it used to be. Then, in Alexander's time, expanding territories was a high priority to the people of Macedonia. New land and people meant more money, servants, warriors, and people to sell goods to. Getting new land now still means more money, people to sell items to, and tax, but the government doesn't look at citizens as assets as much as they used to. More countries interact peacefully together, so if one country had more wheat than another, they would be more likely to sell the wheat to the other country with less wheat. Empires in 360 B.C. , around when Alexander was alive, of Persia would have no option of how to get the resources of other empires but to conquer or have small, minor trade interactions. Countries today are united, they aren't threatened by each other, in comparison to when Macedonia was at it's peak.

               Many great leaders have came and passed during the time that Alexander the Great and his empire have fallen. Whether they were leaders politically, religiously, or artistically, they have all shifted the public's mind further away from Alexander. The more the leaders affect people directly, the more the people care about that leader and the less they care about what happened over two-thousand years ago.

Works Cited

"About This Site." Alexander the Great on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. 

"Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) Biography." Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. 

"Alexander the Great." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. 

"Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.09.30." Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.09.30. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. 

"Historians on Macedonian Imperialism and Alexander the Great." Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. 

The Legacy of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. 

Webster's Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Federal Street, 2009. Print.