Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great's relation to triumph is obvious; he created an army that took over most of the known world. But what is not known widely is how tragic his life was. I cannot do full justice to his life but I will do my best to describe it.

When Alexander was a child, his parents were constantly fighting. His father was usually away on campaigns, so he rarely saw him when he was young. He therefore was usually under his mother's influence. When he was a young man his father was killed, and he had to take over an entire country by himself that was in very bad shape. As he grew he had to deal with disputes, revolts and cruel neighboring rivals. When he was a grown man he killed many people, including some of his friends while in a drunken rage who had saved his life. At one point, he killed a life-long friend while drunk and then realizing what he had done, would have killed himself if his bodyguards had not restrained him. He then went into seclusion for three days. This is most likely just a small number of things that shaped Alexander the Great's life, and it is likely some of the memories tormented him through most of his life. Most of Alexander's life was one big problem after another. I personally think it would have been hard to live with the blood of so many friends' deaths on my hands, but maybe he could.

Apart from the immense increase of international trade and the fraternization of many nations, what were the results, temporary and enduring, of the career of this great man? Of supreme and lasting importance to the world was the extension of Greek culture. Secondly, a vast territory was opened up, which had been useless as a desert until the conquered nomad tribes had been trained to follow civilized ways of life. This included the incentive to build cities, create harbors, ships and other aids for travel on land and sea. Thirdly, financial and economic reforms were instituted, and lastly, the partial realization of Alexander's dream of universal toleration for all religions and the brotherhood of mankind. These results differed in many regions of the empire; for various reasons the successors of Alexander had not been able to follow all his visions.

Hellenic culture continues to influence the world to this day. Recent discoveries by archaeologists show how the technique of Hellenic art was adapted to Indian buildings and statues. The refining influence of Greek art can be traced all along Alexander's path from the Hindu-Kush, Peshawar and Taxila to the mouth of the Indus. Even in China, where Alexander never penetrated, the Buddha statues are modified by the gracious style of Greece. Alexander had started out as a crusader, to avenge the invasion and the destruction of the precious buildings of Greece, but later had as his goal the extension of Hellenic ways of life throughout his empire. In this he succeeded.

After the surrender of the robbers and semi-savage tribes of the mountainous regions of Persia, Alexander founded new towns and improved communications. The so-called "Foundation cities" were built at the junction of important roads, in positions specially chosen to assist the shipment of merchandise and to command the valleys. The towns were planned on the Greek pattern, with a market square, school, offices, shops, temple, theater, gymnasium, and often a fountain. The young were given instructions in military methods and in Hellenic culture with its ideals of chivalrous courage. Some records speak of seventy cities having been founded, but only sixteen are certain; those hastily built with mud walls soon crumbled into dust. Six remain to this day: in Egypt was Alexandria; in Aria was Herat (in modern day Afghanistan); in Arachosia was Ghazni (also in modern day Afghanistan); in Margiane was Merv; on the Oxus River was Termez (on the modern day Amudarja River in Uzbekistan); and on the Jaxartes was Chodjend. Seven endured a considerable time: among these seven were Susiana, Prophthasia, Caucasum, and Bucephala. The new cities were placed near enough already existing villages to permit association with the native population, yet so far apart that the Macedonian and Greek settlers could maintain their own custom of life. The new colonists, mostly Greek mercenaries, old and wounded men, introduced Macedonian methods of farming and agriculture to the mountain tribes. Many married Oriental women; thus began the fusing of the nations according to the plan which had been simmering in Alexander's vision for the future.

The free interaction opened up from the East relieved some of the economic difficulties that had arisen in the West. Disputes between the city-states had led to neglect of the farms. The new cities in Asia provided some solution of the unemployed during the time of financial crisis in Greece.

Alexander had imagined vast building projects even during his early experience in Egypt. Many great conquerors had visited the coast of that country. How did it come about that a youth in his early twenties, almost at a first glance, grasped the importance of building a town on the site where he founded Alexandria and foresaw that it would develop into a center for a massive area of commerce between Egypt and the western Mediterranean? And later, when he had controlled all the territory as far as Pattala, what far-sighted vision enabled him to search for and to find a sea route that would encourage trade from India to Babylon? And then, just before his death, what filled him with a desire to explore the Arabian shore to seek a safe path that would connect Babylon with Alexandria?

Before his mysterious death, he had designs for