Who is
this “Alexander the Great”? Is he truly “great”?
That is what we will look
into today. According to DBQ background essay, Alexander the Great was
the son of King Philip of Macedonia. Soon after, he became King at age 20, and
set off to conquer a big population of the world then, the Persian Empire.
I
personally think he is great. Yes, really. And I will prove it to you.
One of the first things
that I am going to point out to you is that he was brave. Obviously, a great
person has to be brave. Looking at a book written by Michael Wood, it says,
“... He conquered the world and was a very great man, brave and dauntless and
generous to his followers”. Notice the word “ great” in that sentence.
As you
can see, Alexander the Great was a brave man who had the strength to do things
most ordinary people wouldn’t do.
Now, on to my second
reason. Another reason was that he was careful and wise. These qualities are
extremely important in being “ great”. According to Alexander of
Macedon written by Peter Green, “....Two thousand men of military age were
crucified”.
Now,
don’t panic. This man did it for a reason. As you know, Alexander was a
very careful, wise and most definitely, a military genius. He killed those men
to be careful to make sure that they don’t get any wild ideas that could ruin
his empire. Also, being so young, it wasn’t very hard for them to do so.
Strategically, it was a good plan.
Last but not
least, as they say, is my third reason for Alexander being “great”. From Lucius
Arrianus who wrote, The Campaigns of Alexander, “....They scooped up
with great difficulty what they could and hurried back...to Alexander; then
just before they reached him, they tipped the water into a helmet and gave it
to him. Alexander, with a word of thanks, took the helmet and, in full view of
his troops, poured the water on the ground”.
At first glance it may seem
that Alexander was just cruel. But after perusing it, it is found that he did
it in unity of his people. The men that brought him the water brought the water
solely for him, as he is the leader of the group. To show everyone that he
treated them as equals too, he poured it on the ground. Now, you’ve got to
agree with me, that’s something most rulers don’t do. Clearly, he deserves to
be seen as “great”.
Well
done, Alexander. Well done.
Source: https://www.findagrave.com
