Oh Great! [Keerat]

When people hear the name Alexander the Great, they just assume he was a great person who did great things. But remember the saying, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Well now it just turned into, “Don’t judge a person by his title.”

Here is what describes who Alexander the “great” really was:

• Greedy
• Vain (thinking he was a god - yeah right)
• Uncaring
• Superstitious
• Short-sighted in the sense of time

Sure, he conquered 2,000,000 acres of land.1 But how did he do it? He used an army! You’re thinking,”Of course he used an army, what else would he use?”  But what kind of army did he use? Ding ding ding! His father’s. It was his father that turned the Macedonian army into a deadly fighting machine (see picture).2 It was this army that Alexander used to conquer his empire. Since he didn’t train the army that helped him take over his empire, at least half of his greatness diminishes into…  notsogreatness.

http://history-of-macedonia.com/

When a fellow soldier of Alexander saved his royal hat band for him and even kept it dry by wearing it while swimming to his boat, Alexander thanked him.3 Then he ordered for the soldier’s head to be cut off because his superstitious beliefs compelled him to not allow anyone that had worn the royal hat band to be safe.3 What kind of person does that!

And for the people he conquered. If people accepted his rule, he treated them kindly. If they refused, he:

- burned the place down 5

- killed almost everybody 5

- sold the rest into slavery 5

Not convinced yet? In the city of Tyre, they were able to hold him off for 7 months, which made Alexander really mad.4 When he finally broke down into the city, he killed 7,000 people, while 15,000 were saved by bitter rivals of Tyre that had taken pity.4

Alexander didn’t even bother to think of the future like every single ruler should do and name a successor.2 His father, King Philip, on the other hand, gave Alexander the really really really famous philosopher Aristotle for a teacher and named Alexander his heir.2 Because Alexander didn’t name an heir, his empire collapsed only 10 years after his death. 5

Alexander The Great? I think not.

_____________________________________________________

1 Chart of Alexander’s Legacy compiled from various sources

2 The Mini Q: How Great Was Alexander the Great?

3 The Legend of the Hat Band, The Campaigns of Alexander by Lucius Flavius Arrianus

4 Alexander of Macedon by Peter Green

5 History Alive! The Ancient World

Alexander the “Great” [Lucas]

Alexander the Great, according to The Chart of Alexander’s Legacy ~ various sources, He conquered two million square miles of land by death. Oh yeah by the way did I mention in the process he killed tons of people. He’s so nice he also decided to sell some thirty thousand people into slavery.1 Not a very nice “god”.2 Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you he also convinced all of Egypt into thinking he was a god.2 Maybe the guy was just messing with him. In my eyes a crown with two horns is what a devil would wear.2 Just me though, right…  Okay maybe not…

Sources:Peter Green, Alexander of Macedonia, University of California,19911

    History Alive! The Ancient World2

I have interesting question, why does a guy who killed thousands get “Great” in his title, and I don’t?1 If you have to kill a bunch of people to get “Great” in your title then I’m surely not planning on adding “Great” to my title. I’ll keep how it is. In Alexander’s Empire ~ Map created from various sources, he has eleven towns named Alexandria, of course after himself. 

I don’t even need one town to live. Options, options. Kill people, or own eleven towns. I’m never getting “Great” in my title! He’s just power hungry… Oh oh oh, he can be Alexander the Power-Hungry! Let’s try that out…

Alexander isn’t just used to winning, he is so used to winning that when he doesn’t win he gets angry. Tyre hold up for seven months against his forces (impressive, right?) that when he finally got in his soldiers attacked with “savage relish”.1 Tyre’s main enemy for centuries past, Sidon, decided to save fifteen thousand Tyranians. Alexander’s troops were so raging they attacked so savagely that Tyre’s nemesis decided to save their enemy!1 If at this point you still think Alexander the Great is a good person, he has done lots of other bad things….

Source: www.whenintime.com

I personally don’t think he deserves that title. Let’s compare… Alexander the Great: wants to take over the world because he is so great and smart. Evil villain from a cartoon: wants to take over the whole world because he/she is so great, and a genius. They sound very alike, maybe the same even, but no. One is a real guy, one is fake but gets stopped. Alexander spent eight years conquering from Egypt  to India, simply because he was greedy and wanted more land.3

Alexander thought he needed more land, and then he thought some more wouldn’t hurt. And then he ruled Egypt to India...

Source:www.britannica.com

Source: Alexander’s Empire ~ Map created from various sources3

Alexander the Great sold thirty thousand people into slavery...1 Well, um, he could have killed them?1 Yep, that is him being nice. “I’ll be nice for a change… General, chain them up and go sell them in Alexandria as slaves.”1 I need to tell you a story about  Alexander. To put it short: Alexander is on a boat, his hat flies away, a guy grabs it, he gets beheaded.4 Don’t worry, he was paid for his deed first….4 The guy wore the hat to prevent it from getting wet, but since it was Alexander’s royal hat they had to kill him!4 Alexander the Great, ways to get killed. You can A, not surrender your town, or B, wear his hat.4 Maybe if he’s having a good day you’ll get sold into slavery instead!1

Source: Lucius Flavius Arrianus, The campaigns of Alexander, circa 130 CE.4

Alexander the great, a “great” man who conquered two million square miles of land out of greed.4 On his journey he had men rage about not winning, and sold thirty thousand people into slavery.1 He killed many people, un-surrendering cities, and people who tried to wear his hat died.4 He took over all the way from Egypt to India, and ended up with a really misleading name... 3 Oh, that’s not the suprising  part, it’s that we call him great. He is so great that he justs wants more land. Wait, they forgot some of his name, it’s Alexander the Great(ly greedy for land). It makes a lot more sense now, I’m so glad I figured that out. He would keep taking land, oh, he’s dead… I will forever look up to him… Oh, he’s evil, nevermind...

The Victory of Alexander the Great [Nivi]

You heard it right. The Victory of Alexander. But hey, he does deserve it.  Being only 20 years old, he achieved more than any other person in the ancient world. He had led his army across the tough terrains of Persia, and actually made it out alive.

http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html

Who do you call a balanced person? It has to be someone who really manages their time and priorities well enough to understand what comes first. To Alexander, it was Safety. He would do anything to save his army from danger, and at the same time, having strategic plans at  battle. For example, he took much initiative in saving the Greek army from a herd of elephants in Western India while fighting the Porus army.

http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-the-great-9180456

Alexander had a lot of amazing qualities that created a positive impact on the journey.

• He treated surrendering cities kindly
• Put one of the battles to rebellion

Alexander brought Greek culture to Persia.

• For example, he had strong cultural influence in art, rituals, and religion
• Greek has remained the official language of Jordan for 1,000 years!
• 70 cities were founded in Greece’s honor
• United\unified the Ancient world with a varied community

I mean, if you think about it, could any other person found as many cities as he could in 10 years? Oh come on, he was living in the ancient world about 2,000 years ago.

http://www.ancient.edu/Alexander_the_Great/

The Legend of the Helmet: by Lucius Flavius Arrianius, is a story about the Greeks stopping at a blazing desert. Which means, the Greeks are probably going to be out of water. When a soldier bought him water out of the blue, he simply poured it onto the ground. This meant a word of thanks to that soldier. The Legend states, that the water wasted by Alexander was as good as a drink for every man in his army.

Convinced you yet?

 According to the quote by Kasi Khushnawaz, in the book “In the footsteps of Alexander the Great”, the whole Islamic world looks up to him as an ancestor. Being brave, and dauntless, he has sure lived up to his name.  

Alexander the Hate [Yassine]

Alexander the Great was, in fact, not great. What’s great about a guy who attacked innocent towns that happened to enjoy freedom. Don’t we believe in freedom in America. He ended many innocent lives. In fact, some of the only people he actually helped were the rich guys who bought the hostages into slavery. Alexander the Great, more like Alexander the Ungreat. If you think he is great, I hope you change your mind.

Seriously, he had numerous battle sites at many, many, many, many, many, many cities1. Innocent cities who refused to give away their independence to Alexander the Great. He defeated almost all

of them mainly using the deadly phalanx. That may seem impressive but all of these people were just minding their own business when Alexander the  Great came along and ruined their day. Also, “The towns and cities that resisted him would be burned to the ground and their people sold into slavery” (Frey, 290-291). That’s definitely normal, in no way at all. Let’s not forget, according to a map of  Alexander the Great’s empire: 11 cities were named after him. Not by chance though, he founded all 11 of them. Only one kind of guy would do that: somebody arrogant and ungreat. And I’m not talking about Donald Trump. Still don’t agree? Well, it just gets better. 

http://www.livius.org/

http://best-museums.com

There are many stories about Alexander but one sticks out better than a strand of hay in a haystack. By that I mean it doesn’t stick out at all. There are plenty of stories that badmouth him. However, “The Legend of the Hat Band” by Lucius Flavius Arrianus clearly states “Then he ordered his head to be cut off [because] the prophets had explained that... he should not allow the head that had worn the royal head band to be safe” which is kind of crazy because the man he beheaded saved his important, valuable, one of a kind, irreplaceable, royal headband. ( Key words important, valuable, one of a kind, irreplaceable, and royal).  He gave him a talent (over 10,000 dollars) and then beheaded him. What was going on inside this guy’s head.

I hope you agree because these weren’t even an eighth of the reasons that prove me right. Evil. Ruthless. A killer. He probably bullied other kids when he was little. If you don’t agree, try to learn more about Alexander the Hate, or as he is better known, Alexander... the Great.

1The Chart of Alexander’s Legacy - Created by Various Sources                                                                                                                                                          

Alexander the NOT-so-Great [Aayaan]

Ok, so I’ve been hearing a lot lately about this guy named Alexander and the controversy of him either being good or bad. I’m here to tell you that he was definitely not good, and he most definitely does not live up to his name of Alexander the “great”. Today I’ll be going over why I claim the Alexander is not “great”. For starters, the man slit people's head just because they didn’t listen to him. I mean seriously, that is nothing close to great, whatsoever.

If you think that is bad then what about him burning down the city-state Athens why you ask 1….just because the Athenians decided to not listen to him.. Not only that, but after the burning he sold the people that lived in Athens into slavery 2. The only reason of him becoming the ruler was actually for two reasons, number one being he wanted to be the strongest and rule the world, and second to spread Greek customs just because he liked his greek customs 3. I understand Alexander wanted a lot of things, doesn’t everybody. The only difference between us and Alexander is the fact that he will execute, burn, or even sell people to slavery to attain his wants 4.

    Alexander Burning Down Athens

                            www.persepolis.nu

If I could describe Alexander in 5 words I would use….

• Repulsive
• Greedy
• Manipulative
• Intolerant
• Arogant

Notice how I DID NOT mention “great”. If you ask me, Alexander did everything only for land and power! Many people say that he was good because he was the first ruler that followed other people’s customs 5, I too appreciate that but the only reason he did that was so that it would be easier for him to convince people to believe in his customs too, or for him to be able to convince the others to listen and follow his commands. Which is why one of the terms I used to describe him was manipulative. Now, I know what you're thinking, “even if he didn’t mean it he still did it” well there is no meaning to him believing other people’s customs! If that hasn’t convinced you yet then I don’t what will! DOn’t join the “Dark side”. I have done the best I can to prove to you Alexander is NOT great!

1 8 Surprising Facts about Alexander the Great- History.com

2 History Through Persian Eyes- BBC.com

3 How Great was Alexander-www.cais-soas.com

4 Alexander The Great- ushistory.org

5 Alexander the Great and His Empire- History Alive/Textbook

The Two Horned One [Sophia]

What is greatness? I know it’s not a common question, but this is what I’m asking myself.  It is simply being a powerful being, or something more then that? Is it a great leader, being kind and generous and honest? Whatever greatness is, I know there wasn’t a bit of it in Alexander.

Even most people have heard the title Alexander the Great before, most people don’t know who he is or what he did. Let me refresh you: According to the textbook “History Alive! The Ancient World,” Alexander was crowned king of at the age of 20 after his father was murdered (does anything seem suspicious???). His father had conquered Greece so Alexander ruled the Greece mainland and the land north of it. This happened at 338-ish B.C.E.(Before Common Era). Alexander’s first act as king was to attack and conquer Asia Minor. Bit by bit, he slowly conquered all of Persia, and the lands beyond, until stopping at India. He would have continued if he had not been stopped by elephants (HA! Elephants). At this point, he ruled almost all that was known of the Ancient World. Alexander died at the age of 33.

Back up, he conquered almost the entire Ancient World? That’s pretty power hungry. In fact, according to a chart of Alexander’s Legacy (created by various sources), Alexander conquered over 2,000,000 square miles of land.  The map to the right shows his empire at the highest.

Source: www.britannica.com

On the left side of the picture is the land Macedonia, the kingdom Alexander inherited. That giant area wasn’t enough for him though. He had to have more. He wanted to rule everything! Obviously, Alexander wanted power.

Do you define great as being power hungry? No, I didn’t think so. Power hungry is what Alexander was, not “great.”

Alexander was also viciously violent (and maybe evil). I know that sounds harsh, but before you draw conclusions, listen to this story.

By the way, this excerpt occurred as Alexander attacked a city on an island called Tyre(tire). The city thought they were unconquerable because they were on an island and protected by high walls. (nearly everyone in Ancient times had a very big head) Alexander’s army created a land bridge and attacked the city via the bridge. This excerpt is from the book Alexander of Macedonia by Peter Green.

“Alexander’s soldiers ranged through the city on a ferocious manhunt… Alexander had ordered that all… were to be slain, and his commands were executed with savage relish. … Seven thousand Tyrians died… the remaining survivors, some 30,000 in number, he sold into slavery. 

Two thousand men… were crucified.”  

Source: www.utexas.edu

Isn’t that terrible? Alexander was savage, cruel, violent, whatever you pick, but he was not great.

The main thing that made Alexander not-so-great in my opinion was the fact that he was bloodthirsty. As Alexander conquered, he also killed. In just four major battles alone, Alexander killed a total of 100 thousand people, soldiers and civilians alike.1 So many people had to died for Alexander’s ambitious ways. Alexander the “Great” was bloodthirsty. The worst part was that he killed for power. Many people died after Alexander conquered them. If they resisted, he burned their city to the ground and sold them into slavery or killed them. Was he really great?

This big-headed (he named more than 11 cities after himself!2), power hungry, savage, violent, bloodthirsty killer does not deserve to be called great. A native one of the lands Alexander conquered is quoted in a book saying “... the Two Horned one whom you … call Alexander the Great.”3 When this native refers to Alexander as the “Two Horned One,” that means that the natives think of Alexander as the devil.

Alexander the Two Horned One is not and never was great.

1 Source: Chart of Alexander’s Legacy (created by various sources)

2 Source: Map of Alexander’s Empire (created by various sources)

3 Source: Native Kasi Khushnawaz, quoted from the book In the footsteps of Alexander the Great by Michael Wood