Alexander III of Macedonia was the greatest of ancient times. His armies conquered most of the civilized world. Alexander never lost a battle, although the difficulties he faced were tremendous. But Alexander was more than a warrior. He introduced new ideas for governing conquered countries. He helped to spread Greek ideas in science and art. He was a legend in his own time and a hero to those who came after him.
The Great Alexander was born in 356 B.C., in Macedonia from a poor, unknown country to the most powerful nation in Europe. Philip conquered the city-states of Greece and ruled over much of the land to the north and northwest of Macedonia as well.
When Alexander was a boy, his father bought a wild horse named Bucephalus. No one was able to ride the horse. Alexander boasted that he could tame him. Philip allowed him to try, with the condition that Alexander pay for the horse if he should fail.
Alexander noticed that Bucephalus was terrified by the movement of his shadow on the ground. He turned the horse so that Bucephalus could not see his shadow. Then with one bold jump Alexander mounted the horse and triumphantly rode to his father. Philip was very proud of Alexander and supposedly "My son, look for a kingdom worthy of yourself. Macedonia is too small for you."
Alexander's Education
When Alexander was 13 years old, his father engaged a new teacher, Aristotle. He was one of the greatest thinkers of all time-a perfect teacher for a future king.
Aristotle made Alexander hungry for knowledge and taught the Prince to study the world around him carefully. Alexander dreamed of a world empire held together by common customs, ideas, and traditions, not by force.
King Philip was murdered by his enemies when Alexander was 20. Alexander succeeded to the throne of Macedonia.
After Philip's death many of the people he had conquered rebelled. For the next 2 years Alexander traveled through the countries we now call Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Greece, calming the rebellious people. When he conquered the once-powerful city-state Thebes, the rest of Greece surrendered to the countries of the East.
Alexander's Army
In Alexander's time the great Persian Empire of King Darius III was a threat to Greece. The Empire of Darius extended from the Dardanelles strait to India. Its army was huge-some say it had 1,000,000 foot soldiers and 40,000 cavalry. Alexander had only 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalry, but they were better organized and trained than the Persians. King Philip had built the Macedonia army on the model of the Greek infantry, called the phalanx, which consisted of deep rows of armored foot soldiers, equipped with the shields and long spears. Under Alexander's leadership the Macedonian phalanx became invincible in battle.
Alexander used many new methods for waging war. One of the most effective was the siege train. A siege train was made up of several high towers that could be rolled on wheels to the walls of a city. From the towers the walls could easily be attacked and the city conquered.
He also developed new weapons. One of these was the torsion catapult, which could hurl large stones or fire big arrows more than 180 meters (200 yards).
The Defeat of The Persians
In 334 B.C. the 22-year-old king began his invasion of Asia. It lasted for 11 years. Alexander's soldiers traveled 17,500 kilometers (11,000 miles), sometimes marching 65 kilometers (40 miles) a day.
Alexander fought three great battles against the Persians. The first took place in Asia Minor, at the Granicus River. When the to armies met, Alexander led the Macedonian advance. He was in the thick of the fighting and would have been killed if it had not been for the bravery of his friend Clitus. Clitus rushed to Alexander's aid and saved the young king's life. Alexander defeated the Persians and they fled inland.
His army camped at a town called Gordium, in what is now Turkey. Here, according to an old legend, was the chariot of an ancient king, Gordius. King Gordius had tied a complicated knot to the pin that fastened the chariot to the harries. He proclaimed that whoever could untie the knot would one day rule over all Asia. Some say Alexander did not even try to untie the knot but sliced it in half with his sword. Others say he pulled out the pin, thus loosening the knot so that he could untie it easily.
In order to complete his conquest, Alexander seized the Mediterranean bases held by the Persian navy. When the lands along the Mediterranean coast were safely in his power, Alexander returned to his Persian campaign. He won a great victory over the Persian army, led by King Darius, at issues in 333 B.C. Alexander again led the Macedonian assault. His cavalry charge was so fierce that he broke through the Persian lines and almost captured King Darius. Only the brave stand of the royal bodyguard saved the King, who fled from the battlefield. Alexander then went on to conquer Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. In Egypt, Alexander ordered a great city built. This city, Alexandria, became a center of learning and trade.
The final defeat of Persians came in 331 B.C. At the battle of Gaugamela (sometimes called the battle of Arbela) the Persian army was completely defeated.
King of Asia
Alexander and his men spent the next winter in Persepolis, the home of Persia's kings. Here they found great treasures taken from the lands the Persians had conquered.
In Persepolis, Alexander at last fulfilled the prophecy of the Gordian knot. Sitting on the great golden throne of the Persian kings, he became king of Asia. The following spring Alexander set fire to Persepolis. The whole world than knew that Persia had been defeated.
But Alexander, king of Asia, was not satisfied. His ambition an curiosity would not let him rest. He decided to take his army into eastern Persia and then on into India. Some say he believed he would reach the great ring of water that was supposed to surround the earth. Others say Alexander wanted to be king of the whole world.
Alexander's soldiers marched through some of the most desolate and barren land in the world. They entered India through the dangerous passes of the Hindu Kush Mountains. Alexander's last great victory took place in India against the Indian rajah Porus. The Rajah's army was accompanied by elephants. These huge beasts, which were unknown in Europe, frightened Alexander's men. But in spite of their fear, the well-disciplined army triumphed.
The Great Alexander's Death
At the time Alexander's army entered India, they had been on the March for 8 1/2 years. Only one fourth of the original army was still alive. The men were exhausted by years of battle and hardship. Disease, thirst, and hunger had been their constant companions. At last the soldiers refused to go on. Alexander give in to his army.
The homeward march began in 326 B.C. In the same year his faithful horse Buchepalus died. Alexander ordered a city built in India and named it Bucephala, after his old friend. Alexander too, was exhausted, and finally became ill and died in Babylon, in October, 323 B.C. He was only 32 years old. His body, wrapped in golden cloth and enclosed in a glass coffin, was buried in Alexandria.
Alexanders Dream: One World
Alexander's empire lasted only a short time after his death. Since he had no heir, his empire was divided among his generals. Soon they began to fight with each other over their share of the spoils. The empire finally crumbled into many small kingdoms. However, Alexander had accomplished his dream of spreading Greek ideas to the countries under his rule. Greek culture lived on long after the empire perished.
Alexander had another ambition: to unite people by their common interests rather than to separate them by their differences. Alexander was the first world leader to hope that someday men would be united under one government. Unlike most Greeks of his time, he did not believe that all non-Greeks were Barbarians, fit only for slavery. Instead of making slaves of all the people he conquered, Alexander used some as officers in his army and in the governments he established. He married a Persian princess and sometimes wore Persian clothes. Plutarch the Greek historian said of Alexander that he wished "to mix all men together as in a loving cup."
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The Great Alexander was born in 356 B.C., in Macedonia from a poor, unknown country to the most powerful nation in Europe. Philip conquered the city-states of Greece and ruled over much of the land to the north and northwest of Macedonia as well.
When Alexander was a boy, his father bought a wild horse named Bucephalus. No one was able to ride the horse. Alexander boasted that he could tame him. Philip allowed him to try, with the condition that Alexander pay for the horse if he should fail.
Alexander noticed that Bucephalus was terrified by the movement of his shadow on the ground. He turned the horse so that Bucephalus could not see his shadow. Then with one bold jump Alexander mounted the horse and triumphantly rode to his father. Philip was very proud of Alexander and supposedly "My son, look for a kingdom worthy of yourself. Macedonia is too small for you."
Alexander's Education
When Alexander was 13 years old, his father engaged a new teacher, Aristotle. He was one of the greatest thinkers of all time-a perfect teacher for a future king.
Aristotle made Alexander hungry for knowledge and taught the Prince to study the world around him carefully. Alexander dreamed of a world empire held together by common customs, ideas, and traditions, not by force.
King Philip was murdered by his enemies when Alexander was 20. Alexander succeeded to the throne of Macedonia.
After Philip's death many of the people he had conquered rebelled. For the next 2 years Alexander traveled through the countries we now call Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Greece, calming the rebellious people. When he conquered the once-powerful city-state Thebes, the rest of Greece surrendered to the countries of the East.
Alexander's Army
In Alexander's time the great Persian Empire of King Darius III was a threat to Greece. The Empire of Darius extended from the Dardanelles strait to India. Its army was huge-some say it had 1,000,000 foot soldiers and 40,000 cavalry. Alexander had only 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalry, but they were better organized and trained than the Persians. King Philip had built the Macedonia army on the model of the Greek infantry, called the phalanx, which consisted of deep rows of armored foot soldiers, equipped with the shields and long spears. Under Alexander's leadership the Macedonian phalanx became invincible in battle.
Alexander used many new methods for waging war. One of the most effective was the siege train. A siege train was made up of several high towers that could be rolled on wheels to the walls of a city. From the towers the walls could easily be attacked and the city conquered.
He also developed new weapons. One of these was the torsion catapult, which could hurl large stones or fire big arrows more than 180 meters (200 yards).
The Defeat of The Persians
In 334 B.C. the 22-year-old king began his invasion of Asia. It lasted for 11 years. Alexander's soldiers traveled 17,500 kilometers (11,000 miles), sometimes marching 65 kilometers (40 miles) a day.
Alexander fought three great battles against the Persians. The first took place in Asia Minor, at the Granicus River. When the to armies met, Alexander led the Macedonian advance. He was in the thick of the fighting and would have been killed if it had not been for the bravery of his friend Clitus. Clitus rushed to Alexander's aid and saved the young king's life. Alexander defeated the Persians and they fled inland.
His army camped at a town called Gordium, in what is now Turkey. Here, according to an old legend, was the chariot of an ancient king, Gordius. King Gordius had tied a complicated knot to the pin that fastened the chariot to the harries. He proclaimed that whoever could untie the knot would one day rule over all Asia. Some say Alexander did not even try to untie the knot but sliced it in half with his sword. Others say he pulled out the pin, thus loosening the knot so that he could untie it easily.
In order to complete his conquest, Alexander seized the Mediterranean bases held by the Persian navy. When the lands along the Mediterranean coast were safely in his power, Alexander returned to his Persian campaign. He won a great victory over the Persian army, led by King Darius, at issues in 333 B.C. Alexander again led the Macedonian assault. His cavalry charge was so fierce that he broke through the Persian lines and almost captured King Darius. Only the brave stand of the royal bodyguard saved the King, who fled from the battlefield. Alexander then went on to conquer Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. In Egypt, Alexander ordered a great city built. This city, Alexandria, became a center of learning and trade.
The final defeat of Persians came in 331 B.C. At the battle of Gaugamela (sometimes called the battle of Arbela) the Persian army was completely defeated.
King of Asia
Alexander and his men spent the next winter in Persepolis, the home of Persia's kings. Here they found great treasures taken from the lands the Persians had conquered.
In Persepolis, Alexander at last fulfilled the prophecy of the Gordian knot. Sitting on the great golden throne of the Persian kings, he became king of Asia. The following spring Alexander set fire to Persepolis. The whole world than knew that Persia had been defeated.
But Alexander, king of Asia, was not satisfied. His ambition an curiosity would not let him rest. He decided to take his army into eastern Persia and then on into India. Some say he believed he would reach the great ring of water that was supposed to surround the earth. Others say Alexander wanted to be king of the whole world.
Alexander's soldiers marched through some of the most desolate and barren land in the world. They entered India through the dangerous passes of the Hindu Kush Mountains. Alexander's last great victory took place in India against the Indian rajah Porus. The Rajah's army was accompanied by elephants. These huge beasts, which were unknown in Europe, frightened Alexander's men. But in spite of their fear, the well-disciplined army triumphed.
The Great Alexander's Death
At the time Alexander's army entered India, they had been on the March for 8 1/2 years. Only one fourth of the original army was still alive. The men were exhausted by years of battle and hardship. Disease, thirst, and hunger had been their constant companions. At last the soldiers refused to go on. Alexander give in to his army.
The homeward march began in 326 B.C. In the same year his faithful horse Buchepalus died. Alexander ordered a city built in India and named it Bucephala, after his old friend. Alexander too, was exhausted, and finally became ill and died in Babylon, in October, 323 B.C. He was only 32 years old. His body, wrapped in golden cloth and enclosed in a glass coffin, was buried in Alexandria.
Alexanders Dream: One World
Alexander's empire lasted only a short time after his death. Since he had no heir, his empire was divided among his generals. Soon they began to fight with each other over their share of the spoils. The empire finally crumbled into many small kingdoms. However, Alexander had accomplished his dream of spreading Greek ideas to the countries under his rule. Greek culture lived on long after the empire perished.
Alexander had another ambition: to unite people by their common interests rather than to separate them by their differences. Alexander was the first world leader to hope that someday men would be united under one government. Unlike most Greeks of his time, he did not believe that all non-Greeks were Barbarians, fit only for slavery. Instead of making slaves of all the people he conquered, Alexander used some as officers in his army and in the governments he established. He married a Persian princess and sometimes wore Persian clothes. Plutarch the Greek historian said of Alexander that he wished "to mix all men together as in a loving cup."
Hero's Journey in Fiction
Rob Parnell, the world's acknowledged foremost writing guru, presents another groundbreaking course on the Writer and the Hero's Journey in Fiction. 5 Bonus items.
