Alexander the Great's influence had a profound effect on the ancient world. Within a few years, before his time, he had escaped from an area that was larger than any other ruler. But who was Alexander the Great?

The Greek biographer Plutarch, who lived more than three centuries after the time of Alexander, is an important source of information. So his stories are not original, but are based on the writings of early historians. When we think of the resources that are relevant to these resources, a story emerges:

Elements appeared at early growth

Early in his life, Alexander expressed ambition, love of glory and interest in matters that are of little concern to children.

When he was very young, Alexander, on one occasion, in the absence of his father Philip, entertained the ambassadors of the King of Persia. His questions revealed the functioning of a practical mind nonetheless. He asked about things like "the nature of the road to Asia, the character of his king, how he transported his enemies and what forces he was able to bring into the field".

Alexander's joy at his father's victories was limited. He felt that his father's achievements could deprive him of the opportunity to accomplish great and illustrious achievements. He was not interested in inheriting wealth and luxury, but he wanted to show courage and obtain glory through his own achievements.

The kind of glory that Alexander sought was what he considered worthy of kings. Therefore, he was not impressed with professional athletes. When asked if he would run at the Olympics, Alexander indicated that he would if he ran with kings.

Alexander had complete confidence in himself and his abilities. An impressive example of this involves the Bucephalus horse. When he walked away from this horse as completely useless and intractable, Alexander said, "What an excellent horse they lose for lack of direction and courage to deal with it!" Hearing this comment several times, Philip replied, "Do you reject those who are older than you, as if you know more and can handle it better than they do?" Alexander boldly stated that he could handle the horse better than others. If he failed, he agreed to pay the full price of the horse. But Alexander did not fail, which led the father to exclaim: "O my son, look at yourself as an equal and worthy kingdom, because Macedonia is little for you".

Later, Philip called Aristotle so that Alexander could receive instructions from this famous philosopher. In addition to conveying his views on morals and politics, Aristotle is also believed to have taught Alexander about medicine.

It seems that Aristotle was primarily responsible for Alexander's interest in learning and reading. This interest continued with Alexander throughout his life. He would put under his pillow his dagger and the copy of Homer's Iliad that had been corrected by Aristotle. Alexander continued to read history, plays and odes. Even in matters of knowledge, he sought prominence and therefore expressed his disapproval when he learned that Aristotle had published things that had been given him orally. Alexander wrote: “You did not do well to publish your books of oral doctrine; for what is it now that we have overcome others, if the things in which we have been particularly instructed are made available to all?

As a teenager, Alexander excelled in military exploits. At sixteen, in the absence of his father, he ruled Macedonia. He shot down the rebel Maedi, took his main city by storm, expelled the inhabitants, brought other cities to the city and then named the place in his honor, Alexandrópolis.

king and military leader

After the murder of his father, Philip, Alexander, at the age of twenty, became king of Macedonia. During his reign of less than thirteen years, Alexander continued to be guided by an unbridled desire for glory. Although seemingly dreamy, he was determined to make his dreams come true. Despite the high odds, he boldly pursues his plans.

According to his testimony (quoted by the historian Arriano), Alexander inherited only a few gold and silver cups from his father. Although Philip had five hundred talents, there were less than sixty talents in the treasury. However, Alexander borrowed an additional eight hundred talents and then, with a relatively small army, began a campaign of conquest. And he did so, clearly extending his conquests to India.

Of course, one should not forget that Alexander had the advantage of starting with an experienced army. But considerable skill was required on his part. New situations have arisen. You have to face completely different means of warfare. Therefore, the opposing forces had to be fought with different but appropriate tactics.

Similarly, it was largely Alexander's personality that made the army run for a considerable period, with relatively little difficulty in the ranks. He was able to gain and maintain the affection of his men.

His army could see that he had never been saved. An example of this refers to the time when Alexander and his men were marching through a sandy desert. Although he was very thirsty, when he saw his men, he poured the water that some soldiers could obtain for him with great difficulty from a shallow bottom. Before pouring water, he duly thanked the soldiers.

At the end of his short life, Alexander was able to say: “I have no part of my body, at least not in the front, which remains scarless; No weapon is used at close range or launched from a distance, of which I do not carry the sign. No, I was wounded by the sword, by the hand; Arrows hit me, a catapult hit me, several times stones and flowers hit me. "

Other actions also earned him affection and admiration for his strengths. On one occasion, he obtained a license for newly married men, allowing them to spend the winter with their wives in Macedonia. In the first part of his reign, he had complete confidence in his friends. Once, while Alexander was seriously ill, a doctor named Filippo made a strong potion for him. As he was about to hand it over to Alexander, a note was delivered informing Alexander that King Darius had corrupted Philip into poisoning him. However, Alexander accepted the medicine, handed the ticket to Philip, and, while Philip read, drank the dose. In fact, there was nothing wrong; instead, the recipe led to the recovery of Alessandro.

After the battles, Alexander visited the wounded, examined their wounds, praised the soldiers for their valuable deeds, and honored them with a donation based on their accomplishments. Every time there was loot after a siege, he canceled his men's debts, without questioning how the debts were incurred. As for those who fell in battle, Alexander arranged a splendid burial. The fathers and sons of fallen men were exempt from all taxes and services. For fun after battles, Alexander organized games and competitions.

Initially relatively moderate in habits

Unlike many other leaders, Alexander considered it "more real to govern than to defeat your enemies". According to reports, the only woman with whom he had had intimate relations before his marriage was Barsine, the widow of Memnon, general of the Persian troops. About the marriage of Alexander with Roxana, the Greek biographer Plutarco writes:

"It was, in fact, a love story, but at the same time, it seemed to favor the object in question. Because he gratified the conquered people when he saw them choose a woman among them, and made them feel the greatest affection for him, discovering that, in the only passion that he, the most temperate man, had won, he abstained until he succeeded. find it. legal and honorable manner. "

Alexander also respected the marriages of others. Although King Darius' wife was his prisoner, he realized that they were treating her with honor. Personally, Alexander did not see her and did not allow others to speak of her beauty in his presence. Likewise, after learning that two Macedonian soldiers had ill-treated the wives of certain foreigners, he ordered their execution in the event of guilt.

Alexander considered homosexuality to be very simple. When they made an offer to buy two young children for sexual pleasure, he was very outraged and wrote that "the seller and his property could be destroyed".

Alexander was moderate in his eating habits. However, when he drinks, it seems that he has finally given in to excess. He spoke at length about each glass of wine and bragged about his accomplishments. At these times, he was also happy to be flattered.

New personality deterioration

In other areas, too, Alexander changed for the worse. At first, he put up with unfavorable comments about him and tried to judge without prejudice. Later, however, he began to believe false accusations. Preserving his glory and reputation became the most important thing in his life, he handled the punishment with the greatest severity. Having been led to believe that Philotas was involved in a death attempt, Alexander executed him. He later sent a message to the media and killed Philotas' father, Parmenio. And this despite the fact that there is no evidence that Parmenio was involved in seeking Alexander's death.

One of Alexander's darkest works was the murder of his friend Clitus in a fit of drunken rage. Commenting on the incident, Arrian notes:

"[Alexander] showed himself there as a slave to two vices, none of which should be defeated by any self-respecting man, that is, passion and intoxication."

However, Alexander finally recognized the lowliness of his act. Most ancient historians (according to Arrian) claim that Alexander was condemned for becoming the murderer of his friends. He lay in bed for three days without eating or drinking. Finally, his friends managed to convince him to eat.

Anaxarco, the sophist, would have comforted Alexander by telling him that "what a great king does must be right." On this subject, Arrian says:

“I say that [Anaxarchus] made Alexander a more serious mistake than the problem that plagued him; . . . The story goes that Alexander even wanted people to bow down to him, with the idea that Ammon was his father, instead of Philip, and since he now imitates the ways of the Persians and Fears, both because of the change of clothes, as the altered arrangements of your general lifestyle. It is said that he was not without enthusiastic sycophants who surrendered to him in this. "

Thus, it seems that Alexander's desire for glory revealed the most undesirable characteristics.

Alexander's death

In Babylon, after fighting fiercely in India, Alexander developed a fever. Real newspapers report that although he already had a fever, he drank twice late at night with Medius. Alexander's condition gradually deteriorated, although he continued to offer the usual sacrifices. In the end, he lost the speech.

The soldiers insisted on seeing Alexander. Basing his comments on the newspapers, Arrian writes:

“I was already speechless when the army passed; however, he greeted everyone, looking up, albeit with difficulty, and signing with his eyes.

About two days later, Alexander died, having barely lived thirty-two years and eight months. It was exactly as some Indian sages observed:

"O King Alexander, each man has the same land where we; and being a man like other men, except that you are full of activity and ruthless, you walk everywhere on this earth far from your home, bothering and bothering others. But in a short time you will die and have most of the land sufficient for your burial.

Although Alexander applauded the words of these sages, he never heard them. His ambition leads him to continue conquering until his vitality is completely depleted. In death, he had no other men.