In the novel, The Classical World: an Epic History of Greece and Rome by Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great conquered the vast majority of the populated Ancient World from what is known today as Turkey to Pakistan. He was one of the greatest warlords of all time and there are multiple motives throughout Alexander’s life that prompted his success. Growing up under the success of his father, inheriting a strong and built empire, as well as viewing Philip as a powerful role model to surpass, became the motives that prompted Alexander’s many achievements. Alexander’s complicated relationship with his father Philip provided the primary motivation for his conquests. Alexander, growing up in the shadow of his father’s success, wished to expand the success and wealth that his father’s conquest brought the Greek kingdom. The power and material value witnessed by Alexander brought by his father’s successful conquests, pushed Alexander to capitalize upon this concept and follow in his father’s footsteps. “The more …show more content…
Alexander’s tremendous ambition was fueled by the desire to excel beyond his father’s achievements and greatness. “The role-model of a hero and the parentage of a god supported Alexander’s innate energy and boundless ambition. No doubt his edgy relationship with his own father, Philip, also accentuated his own endless wish to excel.” (Fox, para. 3, 235) It is without a doubt that the thought of merit-based supersession over his own father was a significant motive to Alexander’s conquests. Only by achieving a level of dominance dwarfing his father’s, Alexander could satisfy his psychological need to greatly advance on his father’s legacy. Alexander was always in the public eye and as time went on Alexander began to outgrow Philip on the battlefield and started to excel far beyond his
Alexander’s empire stretched from the Aegean Sea to the Indus River. (Doc. 3) The land he controlled had many different terrains and would have been different to obtain, but Alexander’s desire to control the “whole world” consumed him. Even when he controlled a large amount of land, he still wanted to gain more and more. (Doc. 2) With a feather-plumed helmet and himself on a horse in the very front of every battle, Alexander made himself an easy target for enemies. (Doc. 6) This is a brave and courageous gesture he made every battle and he knew the dangers of doing that, but still did it anyway. Alexander’s vast land he conquered connected many of these cities and eventually created the Hellenistic Era. In the city of Persepolis, Alexander took over and added it to his collection of cities he now controlled. (Doc. 4) Both saying positives and negatives about Alexander, the document remain
In the Ancient World, Alexander III is viewed as a great leader.As a boy, Alexander’s dad, King Philip III, was the king of Macedonia from 323 BC till 317 BC. While King Philip III was ruling Macedonia, Alexander was taught by philosophers ,such as Aristotle, and trained to become a vigorous leader. Later on, King Philip III died of unknown causes and Alexander III took over at the age of 20, inheriting his father’s kingdom Alexander became a renowned,strong leader. Alexander was a great general who feared nothing. He rode into battles in front of his soldiers and marched into unknown lands. He had great intelligence and battle strategies thinking of the enemies' next
One reason that Alexander the Great was such a Great, was because he was a really good military leader. Alexander knew how to give a motivation speech to his army and could take over any city, he had good strategies and was a good political leader. Alexander the great was born on July 20, 356 B.C., to his parents King Phillip the second and Queen Olympia. “In 336 B.C., Alexander’s father Philip was assassinated. Just 20 years old, Alexander claimed the Macedonian throne and killed his rivals before they could challenge his sovereignty. He also quashed rebellions for independence in northern Greece. Once he’d cleaned house, Alexander left to follow in his father’s footsteps and continue Macedonia’s world domination” (History, n.pg.). Alexander wanted the throne right from the start, some say that Alexander hired someone to assassinate his dad and others say he did it himself. Anyways though we know that Alexander wanted the throne right away, and he was not afraid to kill and fight people for the throne by, he killed his rivals and he
Great men have lived on the face of the earth and left marks of their prowess and legacy that men of the present and even the future find it hard to emulate; a good example of such men is Alexander the Great. This paper seeks to explain further Alexander’s military genius and its positive impact on military impact over the past centuries. The paper also gives a well thought analysis why Alexander was so much successful in his wars and conquests. His big empire spread all the way from Gibraltar to the Punjab and in his leadership made Greek the lingua franca of his new World (Cary, M, 1932).
Alexander the Great had an amazing political and military mind. With the tutelage of his father, Philip II, and a great education, he became one of the best leaders of all time. And even as a boy, many knew Alexander’s destiny was to rule.
Alexander had been taught many things from a very young age such as academic subjects, politics, sports, and warfare which made him think very highly of himself. His father Philip of Macedonia made an extremely strong army and took over many Greek polises and wanted to take over the Persian Empire. This struck Alexander’s aspiration to take over the Persian Empire as well. Alexander then inherited his father’s kingdom at the age of 18 after his father
For centuries, Alexander the Great has held an eminent place in history. Arguably one of the greatest men the world has ever known, the Macedonian King accomplished many great feats in his short, but glorious life. During his reign, Alexander played several roles in the process of conquering the Persian empire, and in the assessment of his character, aspects of Alexander's capabilities of both strengths and weaknesses must be explored in him as a person, a statesman and a leader.
“Alexander, like everyone else, was tormented by by thirst, but he was nonetheless marching one foot at his men.” (Doc. D). Although Alexander was exhausted just like the others, he still went out of his way to lead his army to greatness. “The army was crossing a desert of sand; the sun was already blazing down upon them, but they were struggling on under the necessity of reaching water, which was still far away.” (Doc.D). Despite the fact that Alexander had to deal with the harsh conditions, he was still determined to win. At no time would he let his army down, he was there to support, and advise them. Alexander influenced his followers with his ways of
Alexander the Great was a king and conqueror. He is commonly referred to as “the most powerful leader of all time.” What is it that makes him such a powerful leader? What has he accomplished that has made him so significant? Were his accomplishments positive or negative? These are all questions that when combined as one create a debate that has been going on for decades. There are those who admire Alexander’s military achievements and ability to carve out the largest empire the world has seen. Then there are those who perceive him as a selfish, cruel madman with drinking problems. This paper will outline the different sides taken on Alexander and the question as to what his significance/influence was and whether it
Alexander the Great was able to consolidate his power because of his legitimate claim to the throne and because of his mother’s ability to discard any rivals that may have got in the way for Alexander’s
From an early age he was an achiever, he conquered territories on a superhuman scale, he established an empire until his times unrivalled, and he died young, at the height of his power. Alexander as both an action man and a philosopher-king. Thus, we can see how the historical Alexander has faded into the invincible general, the great leader, explorer and king. Alexander’s military successes throughout his reign were spectacular to a very large degree -- and certainly manufactured by the king to be great (see below) -- and we should expect his people back home to feel proud of their king. So, we see the of ambition and obsession. Plutarch is teaching us both about history and about how to be successful.
At an early age Alexander’s father Philip hired a tutor. Alexander’s tutor was Aristotle, Philip II hired him to ensure Alexander had the best education. Aristotle worked with Alexander to help improve his intelligence. Alexander was able to conquer more land than his father. He was a very ambitious man he wanted to conquer the world. After his father was murdered he became ruler of the Macedonia empire (57). Under Alexander’s rule the Macedonia empire had control over Persia, Greece, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan and some of India (64).
Pagden elaborates on Alexander’s greatness by describing how Alexander’s extremely powerful empire was a threat to others and how his success in his short lived life contributed to his defining empire, stating that, “his life became a tale of the elision of knowledge and understanding with power, of the merging of science and exploration with domination and settlement” (Pagden 14). The “merging of science and exploration with domination and settlement” is particularly significant in Alexander’s success, because it was put into his head that he modeled the hero Achilles, and Alexander impersonated him. Also, he was tutored by Aristotle and was convinced by Aristotle that the Greeks were the most advanced people compared to other cultures. Once Alexander conquered the Persians, he adopted many Persian customs and his ideas changed. Aside from his success on the battlefield, he also merged the customs of other lands he conquered with the Greek culture.
Alexander the Great was born to King Philip II, around 356 B.C. in Macedonia. Alexander witnessed his father rule Macedonia as the king and having had one of the greatest philosophers at the time, Aristotle as his teacher it’s no surprise that Alexander from a very early age showed characteristics of a leader. When Alexander managed to tame the horse, Bucephalus his father pointed out even as a child his ambition is far too great, “My son, seek thee out a kingdom equal to thyself; Macedonia has not room for thee” (Plutarch 317). Alexander didn’t experience struggles or opposition when he rose to power, in fact he had inherited his position when his father was assassinated. However, there is no concrete evidence whether Alexander the great had anything to do with the death of his father.
In the second part, "Alexander the Great and Heroic Leadership", he details the life and conquests of Alexander the Great. He was a son of Philip II of Macedon whom Philip II had a great influence on Alexander and his methods as a soldier and commander. Throughout Alexander 's childhood, he was well educated in many areas suitable to a young royal. Alexander 's education included learning to sing and play the lyre, hunt and ride and how to debate, and to appreciate epic poetry, mostly as it related to Homer. On the eve of his march into Asia he was certainly one of the best-informed men in the Greek world. Alexander would become known worldwide for being the leader who did what no other could do before or since conquer states and entities on several continents and create a kingdom greater than any other. He was conquest of the Persian Empire and he marched with his men toward India. He