Alexander the Great

written by Chris Liv.

Alexander III of Macedon (356 - 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of Macedon, a state in ancient northern Greece. The son of King Philip II of Macedon and Queen Olympia, daughter of Neuptolemus I, king of Epirus, Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of the Ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia.

Alexander was a student of the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, by whom he was taught the classical Greek literature, philosophy, art and science, and developed a great passion for Homer, and especially his work Illiad.

Left to right: Alexander at a young age, Philip II and Olympia

At the age of ten, Alexander managed to tame a wild horse which was told to be a descendant of the legendary horses of Diomides, in front of the Macedonian generals and his father, after none of them was able to do so. Alexander named this exceptional horse Boukephalas (ox-head) and the horse would take him as far as Pakistan, becoming his loyal battlefield partner. Alexander joined the Macedonian army at the age of 18, when he suppressed the Thracian Revolution and impressed everyone with his bravery and his ability in the battlefield. In 336 BC, his father was assassinated and Alexander became the new king of Macedon. Soon he started successful campaigns against the southern Greek kingdoms, such as the Athenian, and the neighboring Balkan kingdoms, and soon started his great dream: to take over the Persian Empire and spread the Greek culture and language to the “end of the world”.



Left to right: Aristotle, mosaic detail with Alexander and Boukephalas and statue of Alexander

With an army of 48.000 soldiers, 6.000 cavalry and 120 ships, Alexander marched through minor Asia, ruling several ancient Greek cities which were now under Persian occupation and then reached Syria, where they gave one of their most important battles. The Battle of Issus saw the significantly smaller Macedonian army easily defeating king Darius’ Persian troops, and after this success Alexander was called king of Asia. Alexander and the Macedonians then conquered Levant and Egypt. In Egypt, Alexander was crowned Pharaoh and founded the most famous of his cities, Alexandria.

 

Alexander the Great’s journeys of conquest

The Macedonian Army then again marched eastward into Mesopotamia but his last campaign would be the invasion in India. Alexander had also been planning a new campaign against the Arabs, which, however, he would not live to start, as he died on 10 or 11 June 323 BC from fever in Babylon. However, Alexander is one of the most historic figures in the World History, as he managed to create one of the greatest empires in history, and spread the greek art, wisdom and language throughout Asia. He is also symbolic for his military ability, and became the measure against which military leaders compare themselves, while military academies throughtout the world still teach his tactics. Last, what is sure is that Alexander the Great will always be one of the most famous, important and beloved figures in Greek History.

The death of Alexander the Great (painter Karl T. von Piloty)