Alexander the Great

The definition of great means to be above normal and a distinguished person but Alexander was called Alexander the Great and the only way he was great was because he kill more people than the average person, his actions were very unnecessary, and he had an ego the size of Jupiter! Julius Caesar came upon a statue of Alexander the Great and cried because he was overcome with the fact that Alexander accomplished so much at such a young age (Background Essay) but was Alexander really great and was he worthy of Julius Caesar’s respect?

Alexander’s bloodlust was one reason why he wasn’t great. He never realized the effects his actions had on the residing civilians and land. Alexander killed about one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians in only four of his battles (Document E). Alexander seemed to get a thrill out of fighting and enjoys watching and inflicting the downfall of his enemies which is proven by his battle with Porus (Document B). Alexander’s empire was built in eleven years and was two million square miles at his death which helps you infer how many people he killed (Document E).

Eating a dozen donuts after eating a three course meal is unnecessary like how Alexander’s actions were unnecessary which is another reason why he isn’t great. He could have conquered all the land he conquered without the unnecessary killing. Alexander sold over thirty thousand Tyrians into slavery when he conquered Tyre (Document C). Wherever Alexander went his greed made him take more land than he could control and killed many people (Document A). Alexander had about two thousand men of military age crucified after conquering Tyre (Document C).

Imagine an ego the size of a baseball. Not bad, everyone’s ego is at least that big but now imagine an ego the size of the sun! That’s how big Alexander’s ego was and that’s never good and doesn’t make someone great. Alexander was royalty and was taught by Aristotle which caused him to think of himself as a god (Background Essay). Naming one town after yourself is acceptable but Alexander has named about eleven towns he founded Alexandria (Document A). Alexander killed one of his own soldiers who swam to get his hat band due to superstitions and thinking that he was always right (Document D).

In conclusion, Alexander the great wasn’t great because he had more bloodlust than a saltwater crocodile, his actions were as unnecessary as poking an already angry lion, and his ego