Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

When asking what makes a person truly great, answers will vary widely from person to person. Declaring someone truly great would take the consent of thousands of people across the world and also people of many nations. Alexander the Great captivated the hearts and minds of his kingdom, which consisted of much of his known world. Alexander made his greatness undeniable through his compassion for humanity, renowned military leadership, and his hunger for power.

Alexander was well loved and revered by his people and most of Greece because of the compassion he showed towards not only his people, but towards those he conquered. Alexander often went above and beyond the necessaries required by his soldiers in generosity. He began journeys by first delving out the property of the crown to his men. "Perdiccas asked him, Ð''But your majesty, what are you leaving for yourself?' Ð''My hopes!' replied Alexander. Ð''Very well then,' answered Perdiccas, Ð''those who serve you will share those too." (p. 29) Alexander's men found in their leader the unselfishness that inspired the Macedonians to fight whole-heartedly. But Alexander's compassion did not end with the Macedonians. When he defeated Darius, the leader of the Persian Army, and learned of the capture of Darius' family, Alexander demanded that the family, including Darius' wife, mother, and daughters, be treated like the royalty they were and went as far as to increase their revenues. (p. 50) Later Alexander went on to marry one of Darius' daughters and when finding him already dead by a mutiny of his own men, gave him an extravagant funeral after executing the traitors of Darius.

Alexander's amazing military leadership earned him a place in history as perhaps the greatest strategists and conqueror of all time. The way Alexander gained power over most of his known world was by his refusal to accept obstacles as unbeatable, and time and time again his genius was proved by ridiculous victories. His amazing feats, such as crossing the Danube, "greatest of rivers," in one night and without the aid of a bridge, (p. 17) often brought on the slaughter of thousands with few of his men dying in comparison, if any at all. Alexander's original militaristic goal was to avenge the 480 BCE invasion