The conquests of Alexander the Great during the 4th century BC undoubtedly transformed the ancient world, bringing people of foreign lands into contact with Greek ideals and customs that spawned a unique Hellenistic period of both decaying and generative traditions. Despite the historical dramatization of Alexander, emphasizing his charisma and intellect as being the driving forces in creating an empire of a size that had never been imagined before, the contexts of cultural tension between Greek and Persian societies, a fractious Greek political state, and civil strife from an overpopulated Greek world greatly supplemented Alexander’s inherent traits in clearing a path for him to rise and embark on a path of conquest in the pursuit of eternal …show more content…
In Isocrates Address to Philip of Macedonia, he found “that on no other condition could Athens remain at peace, unless the greatest states of Hellas should resolve to put an end to their mutual quarrels and carry the war beyond our borders into Asia...to wrest from the barbarians the advantages which they now think it proper to get for themselves at the expense of the Hellenes” (Isocrates). The barbaric, omnipresent influence of the Persians, which Isocrates and the rest of the Greek world felt was truly responsible for their misfortunes was quickly recognized by Philip as an fruitful opportunity for magnifying his power and authority over Greek affairs. The motivation to punish the Persians for the glory of Greece was not the ultimate goal of Philip as stated by the historian Polybius who perceived that Philip “reckoned on the cowardice and indolence of the Persians…further fixing his eyes on the splendor of the great prizes which the war promised… seizing on the pretext that it was his urgent duty to take vengeance on the Persians for the injurious treatment of the Greeks” (qtd. in Fredericksmeyers). The Persian characterization was powerful in conjuring intense emotions among both Macedonians and Greeks, creating an avenue for
Alexander the Great, son of Phillip the second, was a mighty Macedonia king who came close to conquering the entire civilized world of his day. Shortly after succeeding the throne, Alexander began the dynastic purging of his enemies. Alexander was extremely ambitious and aspiring. Alexander died in 323 BC and his empire stretched from the western edge of modern-day India to Egypt! Alexander not only created a vast empire, but he also helped begin the flow of cultural diffusion throughout his conquered lands.
Madelyn Youtsey Mr... Caros/Mr. Bishop Western Civ. I/Composition 31 March 2023 The Legacy and Military Prowess of Alexander the Great Many conquerors have earned kleos, have built magnanimous empires, and had their name carved into stone like Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon but one of the most famous and influential conquerors was Alexander the Great.
In Parallel Lives by Plutarch, he portrays Alexander the Great as an outstanding moral individual and an excellent leader of his people. Although Plutarch illustrates Alexander as a wise, compassionate, and ambitious individual, his defense of Alexander against the people who think of Alexander as a bad leader is weak and inefficient. Plutarch’s defense of Alexander’s fallible qualities, such as his drinking problems and his apathy to his people at the later part of his life is questionable and easily disproved, weakening his argument that Alexander is a truly admirable person. The majority of the beginning of Alexander is dedicated to the description of Alexander’s background and his experiences as he grows up into a mature and ambitious
The wars that were between Persia and Greece are called the Persian wars. There were a total of two invasions, one in 490 and 480 B.C.E. The city-states of Greece came together to fight the persians. Their victory kept the entire civilization alive. If Greece had been defeated, the world may not have inherited things like, classical architecture and sculpture, theatre, Olympic Games, and even democracy.
Alexandria is considered to be the best example of ALexander's successful spreading of Greek Culture. Alexander may have been somewhat known as a big-headed, narcissistic leader, so much so as to going as far as to say that he was the son of Zeus, the King of the Gods. But Alexander truly did deserve the title of “The Great”. To be great in history is not to be a nice, sweet person who is kind to everyone, but to be a smart ruler who knows what he wants and gets what he wants. To be great in history is a title that comes with a lot of speculation, but
First, his father was able to unite the Greek city-states, and Alexander destroyed the Persian Empire forever. More importantly, Alexander's conquests spread Greek culture, also known as Hellenism, across his empire. (338) In fact, Alexander's reign marked the beginning of a new era known as the Hellenistic Age because of the powerful influence that Greek culture had on other people. Without Alexander's ambition, Greek ideas and culture might well have remained confined to
Long ago, back into the time of ancient Greek, was a young 20 year old British Macedonian king called Alexander. He was a very brave, dauntless, and generous man to his followers. He had conquered a vast of land and made it his empire. He had found 70 cities and named most of them Alexandria. He spread Greek ideas and culture to the world.
< http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html>. " Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age." Mr. Giotto's Site (Penfield).
His empire collapsed not long after (Background Essay). Due to his role in the world when he was alive, Alexander the Great’s greatness should be measured
So Great “But seen through Persian eyes, Alexander is far from "Great". ” (6-7) Through the eyes of Greeks, he was truly a great man who honored greek culture. But seen through the eyes of a lot of other major cultures and countries, he was a bloodthirsty madman who only had power and control on his
The teachings of Aristotle impacted Alexander by showing his conquered provinces a sense of tolerance due to both generosity and political wisdom rather than applying an artificial scheme to all countries; the adoption of the division of power was incorporated to prevent the possibility of rebellion (6). However, despite implementing an improved political system, Alexander established himself as a liberator by using harsh force on rebellious cities and executing an individual with a powerful influence that threatened his control (1). In order to achieve his mission of unification, Alexander felt that the best method of instilling Hellenism was by abiding with their values; he adopted the dress of a Persian king at the court ceremonies in order to strengthen his relationship and appear less foreign toward the Persians (6). Alexander the Great devised various means for unification by proposing to relocate settlers, promoting intermarriage between Persians and Macedonians, and instituting equality towards military service by training the youth located in the East as Macedonian soldiers and teaching them how to use their weapons in order to become Hellenized barbarians after 5 years (6). Alexander the Great had significantly impacted western civilization by creating various systems in order to strengthen the overall influence of the Greek
Even before Alexander began his conquest of the known world in 336 BCE, the Greek culture had spread through the Mediterranean region. Alexander would have been a totally hellenized person if not because of his teacher, Aristotle. But being partly hellenized, he saw Hellenization as an admirable sovereign strategy because for him, it could help build unify his expanding dominion. One of the hellenistic philosophies which prevailed during the Hellenistic period was Stoicism, which gives much credence on what the individual should do to become a better person-to become a wise, just person.
After his early death at the age of 33, Alexander left behind a vast empire stretching from Greece to northwestern India. In addition to his empire, however, Alexander also left a lasting impression on the world as a military leader and king. Even today Alexander remains a respected historical character, considering that his military strategies are still used in modern warfare. This paper thus attempts to answer the question what lasting impacts Alexander the Great had on future generations. In doing so this paper will examine three aspects of Alexander the Great: his personality, his military skills and, lastly, the resulting cultural impact of his conquests.
Two remarkably prominent individuals primitive to the Western Civilization era known to be Alexander the Great & Pericles who spearheaded their powerful empires through fortitude, sentiment, and ambition. Alexander the great ruled one of the most expansive empires that was known to have been the most protrusive of the ancient world, his father Phillip of Macedon, left him with a myriad of conquered kingdoms and consumed almost innumerable countries that became inherited by Alexander the Great. He went to dire extremes to take what he desired, with an almost manifest destiny sensibility. He achieved such great feats through marriage, conquest, battling alongside his warriors, overcoming personal issue while giving unexpected respect to his
Alexander the Great was the king and renown general of Macedonia. He led the Greek army against Persia and used many bold tactics in battle. Alexander the Great significantly expanded the Greek legacy by conquering territories. When he conquered a territory, he would not force the locals to assimilate into the Greek culture. This is to ensure they would not rebel against his leadership.