It is said that some are born  great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. For  Alexander of Macedonia, all three were true, so let’s look at his fool-proof  plan for historical fame. 

Alexander the Great

Alexander of Macedonia was born in Pella,  Macedonia, in 356 BCE. The exact date is unknown as the Ancient Greeks followed their own  calendar, but we know he was born in the month of Hekatombaion. His first steps towards  the title “great” were taken before he was born. Having two ruthlessly ambitious parents  certainly set him on the path to greatness. Alexander’s father, Philip II of Macedon, came to  power after the deaths of his two older brothers. He proved to be a more competent  leader than either of them. He innovated the Macedonian army, invaded  Paeonia where he defeated the Illyrians, and dominated Greece with a combination of  warfare and diplomacy. By his death in 336 BCE, he had started to unite Greece, something  which Alexander would take over. Alexander’s mother was equally ambitious  and perhaps more ruthless than his father. 

The daughter of the king of Epirus, she was  Philip’s fourth wife, and their marriage served to strengthen his western frontier. Supposedly,  her name had initially been Myrtale, but she changed it to Olympias in recognition of her  husband’s success in the Olympic games of 356 BCE. It was her mercilessness that secured  Alexander’s place on the throne, a trait that Alexander would display during  his rule. After Philip’s assassination, Olympias ordered the deaths of Philip’s  seventh wife Cleopatra and her children. It is worth noting that some sources claim  Cleopatra only had a daughter with Philip, while others cite that she also had a son shortly before  her death. The point is moot, however, as they all died at the command of Olympias, with Cleopatra  taking her own life after her kids were murdered. Olympias outlived her son but was eventually  killed by relatives of people she had executed. 

Bucephalus: Why is Alexander The Great’s Horse Famous ?

Alexander’s life is littered with legends.  One of the first comes from how he acquired his famous horse, Bucephalus. At around thirteen  years of age, Alexander had accompanied Philip to look at a horse. The horse was magnificent but  unmanageable by anyone who attempted to ride him. The young Alexander shrewdly noticed that the  horse was spooked by his own shadow and so made a bet that he would be able to ride him. Alexander  turned the horse towards the sun and was able to mount and ride him, prompting his father to  exclaim, “My son, Macedonia is too small for you – you’d better find a kingdom your own size.”  It seems that Alexander took this challenge to heart and would attempt just that in the future. At the age of thirteen, Alexander’s parents decided to ensure that he had the best education available to him at the time. His tutor is considered to be one of the greatest intellectual  figures in Western history, the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Aristotle inspired in Alexander  an interest in scientific investigation, philosophy, and medicine. However, Alexander  would not prescribe to his tutor’s belief that anyone who wasn’t Greek should be treated  as a slave. While historians dispute how much Aristotle’s tutelage affected Alexander’s later  reign, it is undeniable that the work of his old teacher would have inspired Alexander’s quest  for scientific and geographical knowledge. 

Alexander the Great Study: Aristotle

Three years later, Alexander’s education under  Aristotle was complete. Alexander would have been taught combat and military strategy alongside his  formal education, probably in part by his father. At sixteen, he was left in charge of Macedonia  while his father led the army to attack Byzantium. Even as a teenager, Alex was a successful  military leader, although this may have been at least partially due to the well-trained  and experienced Macedonian army. Alexander also fought alongside his father, commanding  the left wing at the Battle of Chaeronea. But Alexander and Philip didn’t always get  along, and after Philip divorced Olympias and married Cleopatra, a quarrel led to Olympias  fleeing to Epirus with her two children. Despite the father and son reconciling, Alexander’s  position as heir appeared to be jeopardized. However, Alexander’s reputation for greatness on  the battlefield won him the support of the army. This fidelity meant that Alexander  succeeded him without opposition when Philip II was assassinated in 336 BCE. Just  to be sure, though, Alexander executed any rivals along with anyone who did oppose his succession.  Alexander was 20 when he ascended to the throne, and he had already demonstrated the  beginnings of being a great leader. Alexander did not hesitate to continue his  father’s legacy, which he would soon surpass. As great as Alexander was, he was not averse  to extreme acts of violence and callousness to achieve his goals. Shortly after his ascension,  rumors persisted of his death, the result of which was a Theban revolt. Alexander marched  his army 240 miles to Thebes in just two weeks. On his arrival, the Thebans refused to  surrender. Supposedly, Alexander razed the city to the ground, killing six thousand  people and sold all the survivors into slavery. He did, however, spare the house of the  Greek poet Pindar and the temples of the city. The severity of this attack meant that  Alexander could treat other cities, like Athens, more leniently as the Greek city-states had  all seen the shocking result of resisting him.There are many anecdotes about Alexander’s  life, and their truth is uncertain.

However, the legends persist and add to his historical  legacy. One such story describes an encounter while Alexander and his army were touring the  Greek city-states accepting oaths of allegiance. Alexander saw a naked man who was around 70,  sunning himself in the street. Intrigued by this man’s lack of awe at the sight of the king and his  entourage, Alexander approached him and declared, “I am Alexander, the Great King!” but the  man simply replied, “I am Diogenes the Dog.” Amused, Alexander offered the man anything he  wanted to which Diogenes asked, “I would like you to stand out of my sun.” Instead of being  insulted, Alexander showed great admiration  

for Diogenes, telling his companions, “If I were  not Alexander, I wish I was Diogenes.” It seems strange that a man who would conquer the known  world would wish to be a Greek philosopher who had shunned all material items and lived  in a barrel. But perhaps this was another layer to his greatness, that he saw a simple  life free from ambition as one to be envied. However, he was Alexander and, as such,  was destined to the life of a conqueror. After subduing Greece, Alexander set his  sights on the riches of Persia. In 334 BCE, Alexander and his army crossed the Hellespont,  the narrow strait which separates Asia and Europe. On approaching their landing site, Alexander  supposedly threw his spear onto the shore, pulling it from the sand upon disembarking and declaring  that the lands would be won by the spear. Due to his education and his love for Homer’s  Iliad, Alexander already had knowledge of some areas in Asia. He was not always in the mood  for destruction, and his military campaigns sometime  doubled as tourism. Alexander visited  the famous city of Troy to make sacrifices and get a sacred shield from the temple of Athena. Another famous legend from Alexander’s life was the untying of the Gordian Knot.

According to  folklore, an oracle told the Phrygian people who lived in modern-day central Turkey that  the first man to ride into town on an oxcart should be made king. The lucky fellow, a  peasant named Gordius, dedicated his cart to Zeus following his coronation and tied it  to a pole outside the city using cornel bark, which hardens over time. It was said that whoever  untied the knot would rule all of Asia. Of course, the twenty-three-year-old Macedonian conqueror  could not pass up an opportunity like this. In 333 BCE, he marched to the Phrygian capital of  Gordium, determined to untie the knot. On arrival, he found the knot quite impossible to undo, as  there were no ends and no way even to get started. Proving that men in their early twenties have  not changed much over time, he drew his sword and sliced the knot in half. Not wanting to  argue with the guy holding a sharp sword and backed up by a huge army, it was declared that  Alexander had successfully untied the knot.

This story is now synonymous with an intricate  problem that requires an unconventional solution. After defeating the Persians at  the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE, Alexander traveled to Egypt. The Persians had  ruled the Egyptians for nearly two hundred years, with intervals of independence, and gladly  welcomed Alexander, anointing him as Pharaoh. As in Asia, Alexander was drawn to cultural legends,  and it is thought that he traveled through the desert to the shrine of Zeus Ammon. Supposedly,  his journey was guided by ravens and blessed with rain, and upon his arrival at the temple, the  priest declared that he was the son of Zeus. 

Great Library At Alexandria

Alexander destroyed a lot of cities. But  he also founded more than twenty new ones, naming most of them after himself. The  most famous is Alexandria, although its renowned library would be built after his death. In 331 BCE, just five years after he had become the King of Macedonia, Alexander defeated  the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela and was crowned King of Asia. To ingratiate  himself with his newly conquered people, he dressed like a Persian and married a Sogdian or  Bactrian princess called Roxane. His army thought that attempting to please a defeated nation was  below him. Still, Alexander knew the power of culture and demonstrated skill in administration  that was akin to his military prowess. He incorporated native rulers into his  government and set up democracies in many areas. These acts ingratiated him amongst the conquered  people and enabled him to spread Hellenistic monetary systems and culture across his empire. He  surrounded himself with learne people, including historians, scientists, engineers, and architects,  a further example of his fondness for knowledge. 

Alexander’s last great campaign started in  the summer of 327 BCE when he invaded India. He was clearly a charismatic man, even making an  ally out of a former enemy. In 326, on the banks of the Hydaspes River, Alexander fought his  last great battle. Despite being outnumbered, he was victorious and won the respect and loyalty  of the opposing King Porus. It was here that his energy and enthusiasm outlasted that of his army.  They mutinied and insisted on returning home rather than continuing the campaign. Alexander  reluctantly complied, returned to Persia, and sent many of his veterans home with honor and riches. Alexander’s thirst for exploration was not sated, and in 323 BCE, he traveled back to  Babylon intending to explore Arabia but was taken ill and died on June 13, 323. The  cause of his death is highly disputed, with some historians suspecting he was poisoned and others  maintaining that it was due to natural causes.

Alexander The Great Was Well Great

Alexander the Great was born to greatness,  with his influential parents founding his legacy in comprehensive education. He inherited a  kingdom on the brink of almost total domination, having greatness thrust upon him by his  position. But he achieve greatness by being a superb military leader and tactician  and through his unbridled ambition. During his eleven years of campaigning, Alexander never  lost a significant battle. In thirty-two years, Alexander achieved what most of us can only dream  of given a whole lifetime. He was, truly, great. To learn more about Alexander the Great, check  out our book, Alexander the Great – A Captivating Guide to the King Who Conquered the Persian Empire and Babylon, Including His Impact on Ancient Greece and Rome.

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