"In 15 years of conquest, Alexander the Great never lost a battle"
"We are what we repeatedly do; greatness, then, is not an act but a habit."
Although the word “great” might be defined differently in today’s society than in Alexander’s time, there are some ideas that nearly everyone considers great, and Alexander managed to achieve these things. So, who or what should determine greatness? One key element that determines this idea of greatness is someone’s actions and what they chose to pursue and achieve within their lifetime. During Alexander’s 12 years of leadership, he was able to promote the idea of blending cultures and religion through the Hellenistic culture, a blend of Greek, Persian, Indian, and Egyptian culture. Alexander often encouraged his Greek soldiers to marry Persian women, by doing this Alexander encouraged the blending of different beliefs and cultures. Alexander’s steps towards integration of cultures had a lasting effect on our modern day society. Alexander believed that the people of all cultures should be collective, instead of segregating themselves to only those of their own beliefs and ideas. By giving people the opportunity to spread their culture but also appreciate other’s, he promoted individualism.
"We are what we repeatedly do; greatness, then, is not an act but a habit."
~Aristotle
~ Alexander the Great
Despite the fact that Alexander had many military successes in his lifetime, such as the conquering of Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, his greatest and most famous success was the conquering of the Persian empire. When Alexander inherited his father’s empire at the age of 20, his father had started a project, planning the defeat of the Persian empire. When Alexander inherited his father’s empire, it was nearly bankrupt. Alexander knew that the only way to stop this was to attack the Persian empire, and soon. Although his plans to attack were not very organized and Alexander’s army was outnumbered, he used his knowledge of the Persian’s weaknesses and exploited them. Many historians claim that Alexander did not deserve to win due to his unpreparedness. However, Alexander’s ability to outsmart the Persians mentally proves he was not only a strong military leader but also a very intelligent leader.
"There is nothing impossible to those who will try"~ Alexander the Great
Even though people of Alexander’s time consider him to be a strong and powerful leader, not everyone agrees. But it is hard to argue that he was not worthy of the title Alexander the Great, especially when many historical “legacies” such as Napoleon admired and strived to achieve Alexander’s success and to perfect his tactics. Alexander has more success in battle than anyone else of his time. Many admire the fact that he not only trained his soldiers he fought with them. “Alexander suffered many of the same wounds as his soldiers” . In this quote, we gain a better understanding of Alexander and how he didn’t necessarily consider himself to be better or above his troops. Despite the fact that he trained them to be obedient and disciplined, he still thought of them as equals and knew many of them personally. So overall the majority of history does believe that Alexander is worthy of his title.
So is alexander worthy of being defined a great? Yes, he is for many reasons. Alexander was able to take control of an empire practically in bankruptcy, defeat the most powerful empire of his time, and promote the integration of culture all at a very young age. Because he was able to accomplish these things history has always defined him as a historical legacy, and one of the most powerful conquerors of all time. Alexander deserves the title of great because of the way he influenced our modern world throughout his short time as a leader.
Works Cited
“Alexander the Great.” ABC-CLIO eBook Collection, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/575648?terms=alexander+the+great&sType=quick. Accessed 16 Sept. 2016.
“Alexander the Great Quotes.” A-Z Quotes, www.azquotes.com/author/5835-Alexander_the_Great.
“Alexander the Great Quotes.” Good Read Quotes, www.goodreads.com/quotes/603119-we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-greatness-then-is-not. Accessed 28 Sept. 2016.
“Alexander the Great’s Acomplishments.” ABC-CLIO eBook Collection, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/648833?terms=alexander+the+great+accomplishments&sType=quick. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.
“Alexander the Great Tactics.” Great Empires of the Past Online, online.factsonfile.com/alexander-the-great/learning-modules/the-beginning-of-alexanders-empire.aspx#!73556. Accessed 19 Sept. 2016.
“Alexander the Great, the Expansion of an Empire.” US History, www.ushistory.org/civ/5g.asp.
“Aristotle’s Greatest Quotes.” Good Reads, www.goodreads.com/quotes/603119-we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-greatness-then-is-not.
Badian, E. “Alexander the Great and the Creation of an Empire, Part 1.” History Today, www.historytoday.com/e-badian/alexander-great-and-creation-empire-part-i. Accessed 17 Sept. 2016.
Badin, E. “Alexander the Great and the Creation of an Empire, Part 1.” History Today, June 1958, www.historytoday.com/e-badian/alexander-great-and-creation-empire-part-i. Accessed 21 Sept. 2016.
“Darius the III.” Great Empires of the Past, online.factsonfile.com/ancient-persia/learning-modules/the-achaemenid-empire-at-its-largest.aspx?q=darius. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.
“Great Definition.” Dictionary, www.dictionary.com/.
Ian Krajna
ReplyDelete1.I found it interesting that Alexander never lost a battle in his 15 years of conquests. I also found it interesting how much you focused on the importance of blending cultures.
2. My research found almost everything the same, but I never came across the fact that when Alexander inherited King Philip II’s empire it was bankrupt.
3. Everything was clearly explained and well wrote out, but I want to know who said the third quote in your third body paragraph.
I like how in your blog you talk about how Alexander might not be great in today’s terms but how his influence was so important. I really like the pictures and when you talk about Alexander bringing his army back from bankruptcy.My blog is very different from yours but some of the points are similar. One of the major things I talk about was how just because he had great parents doesn’t make him great. But- I like the point where you talk about how people like Napoleon admire him. I wish you would have included a little more about how he influenced modern culture.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how at the beginning you defined great and how you put in contrasting opinions. I also enjoyed how you put quotes and pictures in between your paragraphs. My research shows that he was great as well, conquering the Persian Empire isn’t easy. I didn’t know that his empire was bankrupt when he inherited it. I wish you would have mentioned more about what came out of the Hellenistic culture
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how you said Alexander promoted individualism, something that I didn’t discover in my own research and also that you affirmed that historical accounts agree with your argument. My research doesn’t contradict any of your points. I wish you would have also mentioned some of the things that some say made him not great (temper, etc.).
ReplyDeleteLily’s Blog
ReplyDelete1.I like how Lily talked about Alexander unifying cultures and how the adjective great is used by describing Alexander.
2.My research agrees with her points, but she focused more on how the cultures were affected which I found very interesting.
3.I wish Lily mentioned what occurred during the many battles between Alexander and King Darius III. Explaining this topic would give the reader a better understanding on how other leaders feared Alexander and his army.
Lily:
ReplyDelete1.I found the pictures interesting because it gave the reader a visual on how he went into battle.
2. In the second paragraph my research showed that he had help from a Greek mercenary in scouting the Persian land so he didn’t do it by himself.
3. I wish you would’ve mentioned on how Alexander beat the Persians and what i mean by that is what tactics did he use and who helped him.