Alexander--Great or Nah?

Does Alexander III of Macedonia really deserved to be called "Great"? 

This question is truly debatable, but it all comes down to pure opinion, which is usually based on hard facts. What exactly did Alexander do that could lead people to infer that he was indeed great, and what did he do that could lead people to believe that he wasn't? Above all, excluding all details, was Alexander's disposition great? Is it possible that the things that Alexander did that were not considered great outweigh the things that he did that were considered great? In my opinion, Alexander shouldn’t be considered great. I truly believe that Alexander III of Macedonia doesn't deserved to be called great. Granted, he did accomplish great things in his lifetime, but they're tainted by some questionable things that he did. After his father Phillip II died, Alexander took the throne unopposed but still murdered his half-brother, who was just a baby, just to eliminate any future threat. On more than one occasion did Alexander kill his own men (Fox 112). During one occasion, Alexander threw a spear, impaling his best friend.

Alexander impales his best friend Cleitus with a spear,
 killing him.

I acknowledge the fact that Alexander conquered Persia and inspired Hellenistic culture, because these achievements are truly great. Alexander as a person, however, was not. Someone who kills friends and family members shouldn't be considered great. Nor should a person who murders thousands of innocent women and children (Arron, Lysippus 74) just to prove a point. Alexander was a drunk and a murderer who happened to be a magnificent general and a king who knew how to make his land prosper. In 324 B.C, Alexander returned to Susa (Adkins 43) to find disloyalty among the people. He purged the city mercilessly. Alexander also forced his officers into marriages with Persian women (Grant 88). Above all, Alexander's orientalism caused him to ask that he be treated like a god by the Greeks; he requested they bow down to him which was a custom that Greeks only did  for gods or fallen heroes. A "great" person is one treated with respect by all, and this Alexander was not. Not by the Thebans, whom he killed and sold as slaves; not by the Susans, whom he purged; not by his own soldiers, whom he forced to marry women of a foreign country.

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

There is a lot to be learned from the ancient Macedonians, and one can infer a lot about the values of their society based on their view of greatness. Alexander's people saw him as great because he was unprecedented in nearly every aspect, namely in battle. The Macedonians were proud and saw it as a display of power when Alexander conquered Persia, among many other regions. Sometimes our values seem trivial and superficial 

Alexander III of Macedon charging into yet another 

undefeated battle with his men behind him.

when compared to the problems that the rest of the world is facing, and the same can be said for the ancient Macedonians. From what we know, Alexander was looked up to and thought highly of by his people because of his immense victory in battle and his ability to take over what seemed to be anything that he set his mind to. This tells us that the ancient Macedonians valued pride and victory. Again, the same can be said of us in the sense that many people today 

Do time and distance impact someone’s popular perception?

Time and distance absolutely have an impact on one’s popular perception. We view people from history much differently than they were viewed in their own time and by people who were closer to them.

Thebes, located near the river Nile.

 In 335 B.C (Adkins 42-44), rumors spread throughout Greece that Alexander III of Macedon had died. Thebes, a small city-state, began to revolt at the news of his death. Immediately, Alexander headed to Thebes. Even though he gave the Thebans a chance to repent of their wrongdoings, he ruthlessly destroyed them when they didn't.

Alexander and his men ruthlessly destroying Thebes in 335 B.C.

He and his men killed six thousand, sparing no women or children, and sold the remaining thirty thousand as slaves. The Macedonians might have seen this act as a display of power, but any Theban sold into slavery by Alexander would’ve thought that Alexander was cruel, unmerciful, and excessive. Even today, people who live in proximity to Greece might interpret what Alexander did to the Thebans differently than people in the United States of America do. In addition to distance, time plays a key role in determining a person’s popular perception. Unfortunately, many of our opinions today on specific subjects are tainted and biased because we allow outside knowledge to influence us. In Alexander’s time, news was spread more purely, straight from person to person. Some of the things that we now know about Alexander might not have been widely known by people back then, which means that their opinions on a certain subject would be completely objective, with no outside influence. That doesn’t necessarily make them fairer than we are, just because they knew less, but it definitely has an impact on the way that one was viewed in their own time and is viewed today.

Works Cited

Adkins, Lesley. Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece. N.p.: Fact on File, 2005. Print.

Fox, Robin Lane. Alexander the Great. N.p.: Penguin Group, 2004. Print.

Grant, Michael. A Guide to the Ancient World: A Dictionary of Classical Place Names. N.p.: Sterling, 1997. Print.

Green, Peter. Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography. N.p.: U of California, 2013. Print.

 History of Macedonia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html>.

Kreiger, Larry S., Roger B. Beck, and Linda Black. World History: Patterns of Interaction. N.p.: n.p., 2007. Print.

Levi, Peter S. Atlas of the Greek World. N.p.: Fact on File, 1981. Print.

Robinson, Charles Alexander, Jr. Ancient History. N.p.: Literary Licensing, 2011. Print.

Salowey, Christine A., ed. Great Lives from History: The Ancient World: Prehistory-476 C.E. N.p.: Salem, n.d. Print.

Walbank, Frank W. "Alexander the Great." Britannica. N. pag. Alabama Virtual Library. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. <http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/106078>.