What really was Alexander the Great, was he great or not? I’m confused.
I have come to the question, like many of you guys probably have: was Alexander the Great really great? Every time I think about it, I bounce back and forth between he was a total jerk to he was an incredible person. So, did he deserve his name? Was he really great?
Though it might contradict your beliefs, I think the man truly was great. My thoughts about him being a jerk still exist, but the incredible things he did in his life, to me, overpowers the the bad things. I mean the dude conquered all of Persia by the time he was thirty years old.1 He was a true leader, had tons of courage, and his achievements were remarkable. He accomplished so much in his life, it is hard not to call him great.
One way I think Alex (yep, I’ve decided to call him Alex) was great is because of his skills as a leader.
“So extraordinary was the effect of this action that the water wasted by Alexander was as good as a drink for every man in the army.”2
I think this line from Lucius Flavius Arrianus shows that Alex was a true leader. This was stated after Alexander had poured water on the ground instead of drinking it himself. His men didn’t have water, so he didn’t either. To me, that’s a pretty cool thing to have done in the ancient times. He pretty much said he was equal to his army, not better. He might’ve had a big head, but he understood the power of actions and the power of his bond with his men.
Now, I’m doing this part a little bit differently. Over the course of writing this blog, I have thought about the idea of writing a letter to Alex if I could. So, here is the letter I would send to him if I could.
Dear Alex,
I think you made a truly remarkable achievement when you conquered all of Persia. It must have taken a lot of courage to do that. I think you would be happy to know that you will forever be remembered as Alexander the Great. I have some questions for you.
1) How did you find the courage to go on this trip?
2) Did you think from the beginning that you would have made a remarkable achievement?
I am happy to let you know that I believe you did make a remarkable achievement and you indeed possessed a lot of bravery. I mean you conquered 44% of the world’s population.3 You also were intelligent when you defeated Porus, according to Lucius Flavius Arrianus. You were brave as you faced his elephants at the river. You were smart when you surrounded him, so his elephants had nowhere to go4, and you were a great leader when you showed you were equal to to your army. Although you were a ruthless conqueror at some points, you made up for it with all the incredible things you did.
From,
Clara
This letter really expresses my feelings about the question: Was Alexander the Great really great? Due to facts and legends, my perspective of Alex has changed from someone who was selfish, ruthless, conqueror to a strong, brave, leader. I hope you guys take what I have said and think about it. You already know what I think about Alex, but what do you think?
1Alexander the Great Mini-Q
2”The Legend of the Helmet” by Lucius Flavius Arrianus
3NationalInterest.org
4The Campaigns of Alexander by Lucius Flavius Arrianus circa 130 C.E
