Achievements Of Alexander the Great
Achievements Of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great was a king of Macedonia who conquered an empire that stretched from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.
Alexander was the son of Philip II and Olympias (one of Philip’s seven or eight wives). He was brought up with the belief that he was of divine birth. “From his earliest days, Olympias had encouraged him to believe that he was a descendent of heroes and gods. Nothing he had accomplished would have discouraged this belief,” writes Wellesley College classics professor Guy MacLean Rogers in his book "Alexander" (Random House, 2004). “Achilles, Alexander’s model and ancestor, had not even takenTroy …”
Yet, despite his military accomplishments, ancient records say that he failed to win the respect of some his subjects and, furthermore, he had some of the people closest to him murdered
The writer Arrian (A.D. 86-160) notes that at one point after he had conquered part of modern-day Pakistan he came across a sage who said “King Alexander, each man can have only so much land as this on which we are standing. Like the rest of us, you are only human, except that in your restlessness and arrogance you travel so far from home, making trouble for yourself and others. Well, you will soon be dead and will have as much land as will suffice to bury your corpse.”
(Translation by Pamela Mensch and James Romm, from "Alexander the Great: Selections from Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch and Quintus Curtius," Hackett Publishing, 2005)
Alexander the prince
Alexander was born around July 20, 356 B.C., in Pella, which was the administrative capital of Macedonia. His father was often away, conquering neighboring territories and putting down revolts. Alexander showed great aptitude as a child and one of his tutors was Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher.
Cambridge University professor Paul Cartledge writes in his book "Alexander the Great" (MacMillan, 2004) that, at the age of 16, Philip II decided to leave his son in charge of
Alexander the Great was a king of Macedonia who conquered an empire that stretched from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.
Alexander was the son of Philip II and Olympias (one of Philip’s seven or eight wives). He was brought up with the belief that he was of divine birth. “From his earliest days, Olympias had encouraged him to believe that he was a descendent of heroes and gods. Nothing he had accomplished would have discouraged this belief,” writes Wellesley College classics professor Guy MacLean Rogers in his book "Alexander" (Random House, 2004). “Achilles, Alexander’s model and ancestor, had not even takenTroy …”
Yet, despite his military accomplishments, ancient records say that he failed to win the respect of some his subjects and, furthermore, he had some of the people closest to him murdered
The writer Arrian (A.D. 86-160) notes that at one point after he had conquered part of modern-day Pakistan he came across a sage who said “King Alexander, each man can have only so much land as this on which we are standing. Like the rest of us, you are only human, except that in your restlessness and arrogance you travel so far from home, making trouble for yourself and others. Well, you will soon be dead and will have as much land as will suffice to bury your corpse.”
(Translation by Pamela Mensch and James Romm, from "Alexander the Great: Selections from Arrian, Diodorus, Plutarch and Quintus Curtius," Hackett Publishing, 2005)
Alexander the prince
Alexander was born around July 20, 356 B.C., in Pella, which was the administrative capital of Macedonia. His father was often away, conquering neighboring territories and putting down revolts. Alexander showed great aptitude as a child and one of his tutors was Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher.
Cambridge University professor Paul Cartledge writes in his book "Alexander the Great" (MacMillan, 2004) that, at the age of 16, Philip II decided to leave his son in charge of