Ms. Disston
P5
3 October 2014
Alexander the Great Hero or Villain?
Alexander the Great, a king, commander, politician, explorer, and a scholar; a hero or a villain. Tutored by Aristotle himself in philosophy, politics, history, literature and medicine. Inherited his father’s, king Philip II of Macedon, kingdom and became king of Macedonia. Alexander the great is called the ‘greatest military leader of all time’ by many historians. While conquering different empires, Alexander learned about their cultures and spread their different ideas. He became the leader of the Greeks, ‘overlord’ of the Asian Minor, Pharaoh of Egypt, and a king of Persia and Macedonia at the young age of 25. Alexander allowed people to continue practicing their religions even after they were conquered.
After Alexander the Great inherited his father’s kingdom, he executed anyone who showed sign of conspiracy against him. He conquered an enemy city called Thebes, enslaved the cities families and sold the women and children into slavery. Alexander then demolished every building in the city. He moved onto Persia; who were the rivals of Macedonias. His troops took control of the Persian capital and destroyed all of their temples. Those Persian temples were part of their culture and way of life. Alexander learned about Buddhism from the Brahmins and then executed them.
I believe Alexander the Great was a very intelligent and powerful man, but how he acted wasn’t so great. He destroyed and took over territories from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River. His army enslaved many women and children and his troops murdered and executed thousands of innocent people. Alexander’s army destroyed cities, towns, villages, and whole empires. When he ordered his troops to destroy the Persian temples, he destroyed a piece of Persian culture. My great-grandfather is Iranian/ Persian, which makes me somewhat Persian. Alexander the Great played a big role as a villain in many innocent people’s lives.
Works Cited
“Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC).” BBC News. BBC, 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2014
“Alexander The Great.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia.
World Almanac Education Group, Inc., 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
History.com Staff “Alexander the Great.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2014
Cited: “Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC).” BBC News. BBC, 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2014 “Alexander The Great.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. World Almanac Education Group, Inc., 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. History.com Staff “Alexander the Great.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2014
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