Is Alexander really great?

1) Does Alexander deserve to be called “Great”?  

 In my opinion I think that Alexander did deserve his epithet, he deserves it for a number of reasons. Alexander only at the age of twenty took rule over entirety of Macedon and the Corinthian League after his father, king Philip, and led an army over 3,000 miles on foot. During Alexander’s rule he never lost a fight though some argue he never had a chance. He also introduced lots of strategies in war, some called Alexander a military genius because of how good he was at commanding his army. Alexander introduced a new phalanx with weapons that were far more advanced than his enemies. (Konstam, Angus. Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece. New York: Checkmark, 2003. Print.) When Alexander completed his father’s goal, to invade Persia, he wasn’t finished there. Alexander continued to trek across Asia destroying and also improving things throughout his journey. (“History Study Center - Home Page." History Study Center - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.) After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C the Greek culture flourished throughout Asia where he had conquered. So in some ways Alexander did good to help improve things.

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

Based on how someone defines greatness can change how they look at society. There are many great people doing good to help improve the society we have today. People like doctors are constantly working to keep our society alive. Doctors are great people because they work to save lives of people who are sick. During Alexander’s rule the people needed a king to take over the land captured, but Alexander continued to capture more territory when he could have just stopped and returned to Macedon. ("History Study Center - Home Page." History Study Center - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.) The people who saw Alexander as great for all of the killing he did would prove that the Macedonian society was violent.  A society has to have people who trust each other to do the right thing.

3) Do time and distance impact someone’s popular perception?

 Time and distance can have a very large impact on someone’s popular perception. In Alexander’s day a person who lived and Macedon would likely think differently of how we see him living in America today. Many of us would see Alexander as a king who made the largest empire in the world whereas someone living in Macedon or Asia might just see him as a ruthless killer who wouldn’t stop conquering land for his empire. Time also changes how we see someone. We can see the overall changes many years after his death. We can see that Alexander also made Greek culture thrive throughout Asia. ("Science, Civilization and Society." Science, Civilization and Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.) Also over time the stories told about Alexander could have been biased and blown out of proportion. Time and distance can really change how we see people and their actions.

Works Cited

Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.

Sienkewicz, Thomas J. Encyclopedia of the Ancient World. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2002. Print.

"Science, Civilization and Society." Science, Civilization and Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.

"History Study Center - Home Page." History Study Center - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.

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

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

Konstam, Angus. Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece. New York: Checkmark, 2003. Print.