Top 10 Reasons Alexander the Great Was, Well ... Great!

[akritas]

n the wake of Oliver Stone's epic movie about the Macedonian conqueror's life we at LiveScience believe a reassessment of his triumphs is needed to right the wrongs inflicted by Colin Farrell's hair, Angelina Jolie's lips and Val Kilmer's performance.Alexander III (356-323 B.C.), king of Macedon, parlayed his father Philip II?s conquest of Greece into an empire that expanded from the Balkans to the Nile to the Himalayas, subduing tens of millions of people along the way.

Like Napoleon, Alexander was rather short (Note: Read Freudian interpretation here). He was blond with a ruddy complexion, and according to one source, had one eye as dark as night, the other as blue as sky (Hmm, maybe they should have cast David Bowie.) He was raised by his mother, Olympias, to believe he was descended from the mythical characters Achilles and Herakles.


His father, Philip II (382-336 B.C.), consolidated power in Macedonia, then subdued the Greek city-states to the south. Although the Macedonians spoke Greek, they were considered hicks by the sophisticates of Athens and Thebes.


But Alexander was quite enamored with Greek philosophy, science and art. His empire fell apart soon after his death, but his lasting legacy was that he spread the Greek language and civilization to all the lands that he conquered. The unifying nature of this cultural tradition, called Hellenism, was the basis of more permanent institutions, like the Roman Empire and Christianity.


Above all things, Alexander was a great military commander, leading his troops into every encounter. A bit of an over-achiever, the historian Plutarch wrote that Alexander wept upon learning that the universe was infinite. When asked what was wrong, he replied: "There are so many worlds, and I have not yet conquered even one."
-- Micheal Schirber



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[akritas]

6

Crossed the Hellespont

After solidifying his rule of Macedonia and Greece, Alexander looked east to Asia and the Persian Empire, which was led by Darius III. Alexander assembled an allied Greek army of 5,000 cavalry and 32,000 infantry to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 490 B.C. With 60 naval vessels, Alexander crossed the Hellespont (a narrow strait separating Europe and Asia -? now called the Dardanelles) in 334 B.C. From his ship, Alexander threw his spear onto the shore. As he took his first steps in Asia, he pulled his weapon from the sand and declared that these lands would be won by the spear. But the first order of business was a little tourism! Being quite fond of the Trojan War story -- even keeping a copy of Homers Iliad tucked under his pillow, Alexander made a special trip to Troy to perform several sacrifices and to trade some of his armor for a sacred shield in the Temple of Athena.



10

Trained in philosophy by Aristotle

How many of historys great leaders can claim to have had one of the great philosophers as their personal tutor? Out of all the intellectuals at the prestigious Academy in Athens, Alexanders father, Philip, chose Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) to instruct his 13-year-old son. Aristotle, who had been the student of Plato, was offered a handsome salary to move to the town of Mieza, deep in the Macedonian countryside. In the nearby Temple of the Nymphs, Aristotle taught the young prince geography, zoology, politics and medicine. Alexander was greatly influenced by the philosopher?s teachings. On later military campaigns, Alexander brought scientists with him and sent plant and animal specimens back to his former mentor.

[Alita]

And to top it all off, he was a gentleman.

[Lakonian]

We are not bastards my friend, we have and know our roots...your have the identity complex.

[Truth Bearer]

??????????
Who called us bastards Lakonian?

[Lyssius]

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. He did -not- spread civilization to the Persian empire. for one, the civilization was already there, they had a road system to match the romans, they built palaces and cities more than the equal of anything greece built, and for another, he left everything pretty much the way it was. He didn't change any governing systems, he kept almost all the former rulers in charge, he supported and paid for Eastern culture to flourish, he most certaintly didn't spread the greek language.. how much more must I go on?

[Ehetlaios]

[Lyssius]

not the most constructive reply i've ever seen

[Alita]

What were you hoping for Lyssius?

[Lyssius]

Well, something that actually lent to the discussion. It is simple fact that he didn't spread greek culture and indeed helped eastern culture flourish. Somthing on those grounds would be apreciated.