Sure, you’ve probably heard of Alexander the Great and how he was amazing and all… but does he really deserve to be remembered as great? I mean, his empire was very large, and he accomplished it in a short time, but if you look at the facts he doesn’t really pass of with a clean record. He did some pretty bad things, like:
- Taking over land forcefully1
- Letting his ego get in the way of common sense2
- And founding a “great” empire that fell apart faster than it took to build it!3
I really don’t think a man who did wrong to so many people should be known as great.
Even though his empire was huge, Alexander wasn’t exactly kind in getting it that way. He seemed to be killing a lot more people than necessary. If you lived in the ancient times, would you want to be slaughtered if your city resisted Alexander’s rule? I don’t think so. To your dismay (I hope), this actually happened. Most of the citizens of a city called Tyre were mercilessly killed or sold into slavery, after their city resisted Alexander’s siege.4
You think I’m done yet Alexander? You think I’m finished exposing the truth of what you did? NOPE. Let’s go on.
What else could I possibly critique about Alexander… let’s see… oh I know HIS GINORMOUS EGO! Ladies and gentlemen, we all know someone who is so full of themselves they think they’re practically a god. Alexander was this person! He had such a large ego that he actually thought he was descended from gods.1
All this considered, I know what you’re thinking. What’s wrong with a little ego if it didn’t hurt anyone? Well surprise, surprise, Alexander actually killed someone due to his ego!
According to “The Legend of the Hat Band,” a soldier retrieved Alexander’s hat after it fell into the water and put it on his head so it wouldn’t get wet. After being returned the hat, Alexander rewarded the soldier, and then STRAIGHT UP KILLED HIM.2 That’s right, he killed someone who was trying to help him. Supposedly, Alexander killed the soldier because no one else was allowed to wear his hat! You can definitely see how this would affect some important ruling decisions negatively. Talk about an egomaniac!
Finally, don’t forget about his empire! Remember how Alexander founded a giant empire that was 2,000,000 sq. miles at his death?3 People say Alexander was so awesome, he only need 11 years to complete it, but they’re forgetting it fell apart in only 10!3If you do the math, the empire fell apart faster than it took to build it. Was it really even worth all of the trouble?
How do you like that, Alexander? Hopefully, the world will see the bad logic in your horrible ways.
1Alexander the Great Mini-Q - compiled from various sources
2 The Legend of the Hat Band - Ian Worthington, Alexander the Great: Man and God, Longman, 2004
3Alexander’s Legacy (chart) - compiled from various sources
4 The Destruction of Tyre - Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon, University of California Press, 1991
