Alexander the Great: life and conquests

¶ … Alexander the Great and his life. The writer focuses on presenting a historical biography of his birth, life and accomplishments while pointing out the things he was most well-known for. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

He conquered much of the world before he hit his mid-twenties. He traveled the globe collecting thousands upon thousands of admirers, standing at the ready to address his every need. As he continued to accomplish great things, he became known as Alexander the Great. Even given his fame, fortune and power he was a human being. He had the same desires that many people have. He wanted to be respected and he wanted the approval of those who meant the most to him, including his parents. Legend has it that when he went to Greece and conquered, he was not satisfied until he heard one sentence from his mother.

While visiting Athens to seal the pact, Alexander visited the Oracle at Delphi, despite it being a day when giving prophecy was forbidden. In his attempts to drag the priestess to the place where she gave her oracles, she screamed: "My son, you are invincible!"

That was all that Alexander wanted to hear, and he departed, in the spring of 334 B.C.E., for Asia (Alexander Greek Conquests (http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/greece.htm)."

HIS LIFE

Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C.E. According to records from stories of the time he was a fair skinned child with a slightly ruddy complexion. As a growing boy he enjoyed many of the things that other children of well to do families enjoyed including the flute, drama and hunting. It was his love of the hunt that would later shape his adult quests for power and land (Alexander's Childhood (http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/youth.htm).

What he truly wanted in his life was glory and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of athletic contests, according to Plutarch.To say the least, young Alexander matured early. A famous anecdote describes Alexander skillfully receiving Persian envoys in Philip's court while Philip was out inspecting his troops. Alexander is said to have impressed the envoys more than Philip would have. This incident would have happened when Alexander was about five or six (Alexander's Childhood (http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/youth.htm)."

Alexander's parents saw at a young age that he was incredibly bright and to that end they made sure to plan his education career accordingly.

His first teacher was responsible for his later ascetic nature. This was something he became well-known for during his Persian and Indian expeditions. During these he lived like his troops lived, simply. His first teacher when he was a small boy was who instilled this idea into him according to many reports (Alexander's Childhood (http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/youth.htm).

When he entered the teen years his parents hired Aristotle himself to act as the boy's personal tutor. Under the philosopher's guidance Alexander learned politics, philosophy, ethics and healing. All of these topics became extremely interlaced with the later philosophies of Alexander the Great during his conquests and rise to power. While Aristotle taught Alexander a lot they would later part ways and no longer be friends, or student and teacher.

The two later became estranged, due to their difference of opinion on the status of foreigners; Aristotle saw them as barbarians, while Alexander sought to merge Macedonians and foreigners (Alexander's Childhood (http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/youth.htm)."

Alexander began his rise to power at 16 years old when he was called to Macedonia to put down a rebellion. His success brought him notoriety and he found his calling.

When he was 20 his father was murdered and Alexander was named King of Macedonia. He immediately built an army that held in excess of 30,000-foot soldiers, with 5,000 cavalrymen. Alexander was smart in that he also took along historians to record his conquests, scientists and architects to decide what to take and how to rebuild once the land was conquered, and engineers for the war decisions as well as the strategic planning (Alexander the Great biography (http://wi.essortment.com/alexanderthegr_rxdz.htm).

He then spent eight years taking over various areas of the world and became the most powerful king on earth.

Alexander was a caring military leader. He would visit his men after the battle, examining their wounds and praising them for their valiant efforts. He would also arrange extravagant funerals for the fallen. He would arrange games and contests for his men. The affection for their leader was what galvanized his troops. Returning to Macedonia Alexander assumed the role he had coveted for so long - The great Conqeuror. Eventually, however, he gave way to a licentious lifestyle of excessive drinking. He also gave way to fits of rage and paranoid suspicion. One night he even murdered his closest associate, Clitus, in a fit of rage. This act was to haunt for the remainder of his short life (Alexander the Great biography (http://wi.essortment.com/alexanderthegr_rxdz.htm)."