Alexander the Great Blog

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

Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. But does Alexander actually deserve to be called “great”. In my opinion I think that Alexander does deserve to be called great for the many achievements he accomplished throughout his lifetime. Alexander's father, Philip, chose Aristotle to instruct his 13-year-old son. Aristotle taught Alexander geography, science, and literature. Alexander also became a commander at the age of 18 and 2 years later he became king when his father was assassinated. He first quelled the rebellions that were occurring in Greece with such brutality that it dispelled the thought of rebellion from other Greek states. Then he marched onto Persia with an army of 35,000 men and conquered the Persian Empire in 2 short years (Source).  Alexander moved on even further and captured Egypt and set up the city Alexandria. It became a cosmopolitan, diverse, bustling center of trade, the arts, and ideas (Source). 

Now some people might say that Alexander was a horrible person. That he was ruthless; had no mercy to his enemies and killed everyone in his way. Also that he was autocratic in his ideas of what a king should be, and that he should be acclaimed as a god. Even though all of these are true we must overlook these and see the great things he did in his short life time. Alexander wasn't only great for his military brilliance and the fact that he ruled the largest empire in the empire world (Source). Once he died, a new era was formed because of him. The Hellenistic culture was a mix of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences. There was a common language spoken, Kione, and this allowed people and traders to communicate in cities throughout the Hellenistic world. The successes that Alexander achieved were nothing compared to the formation of the Hellenistic world. This truly enabled Alexander to deserve the title of “great”. (History Text book) 

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

There is much we can learn about the values of society based on their views of greatness. The Macedons saw "greatness" in people that were conquerors and how big their empire was. They valued strength and power over arts. They saw greatness in Alexander because of his ability to conquer land efficiently. However, in a place like Athens their values were far different. Athens saw "greatness" in people that were great scholars and philosophers. They respected artists and authors and had a great sense of passion for plays. In the society of Athens one can see that they value arts and literature, science and knowledge. They want people to be creative and find what they really enjoy in life. These example show how what a society views as "great" greatly affects their daily values.

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

                Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India’s independence movement while the British ruled over India. Ghandi was widely known for his non-violent protests against British rule. He was jailed multiple times because of his actions and did not object to any of his punishments. Ghandi was considered great because of his commitment to non-violence people like MLK Jr. were inspired by Ghandi and followed on the same path. The type of greatness that Ghandi was known for would be highly respected in our world today (Source).  Alexander however, was great because of never losing a war, defeating the Persians, and conquering the biggest Empire in the world. Back then people used to think that the more land that you conquered the stronger and better you are. Now days if a leader conquers territories of other countries such actions are frowned upon by the rest of the world (Source). 

                Gandhi was known to be a great man throughout all of his life, he was an anti-war activist for a majority of his life, studied law, and even went to South Africa for 20 years to oppose discriminatory legislation against Indians (Source).  Alexander on the other hand was only alive of 33 years. In his life time he accomplished many amazing tasks but because he lived such a short life no one got to see what happen. Alexander died at the peak of his success, he hadn't lost a single war and he ruled the largest empire in the world (Source). No one got to see what happened to Alexander’s rein 30 years later because he had died. For all we know if Alexander hadn't died from a “fever” then he might as well have lost every war after.

Citations

"Alexander the Great." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ushistory.org/civ/5g.asp>. 

Bialo, Ellen. "career of Alexander the Great." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

World History: Patterns of Interaction Florida. N.p.: Holt McDougal, 2012. Holt McDo. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. <http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=9780547521084>.

Worthinton, Ian. "How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]." How "Great" Was Alexander? [P.1]. University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. Web. 29 Sept. 2014. 

<http://www.utexas.edu/courses/citylife/readings/great1.html>.

"Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 30 Sep. 2014.