Μέγας Ἀλέξανδροςiii
When Alex is sixteen, his father put him in charge, not
of the house, but of the whole country.
By sixteen, he was a general.
By twenty, he ruled all of ancient Greece.
By twenty-five he ruled all of the ancient Persia.
By thirty-two, he was the king of the world, or
the entire known world that time.
1.356 B.C. July - Alexander is born at Pella, Macedonia, to King Philip II and Olympias.
2.340 - Alexander serves as regent and puts down a revolt of the Maedi.
3.338 - Alexander helps his father win the Battle of Chaeronea.
4.336 - Alexander becomes ruler of Macedonia.
5.334 - Wins Battle of the Granicus River against Darius III of Persia.
6.333 - Wins Battle of Issus against Darius.
7.332 - Wins siege of Tyre; attacks Gaza, which falls.
8.331 - Founds Alexandria. Wins Battle of Gaugamela (Arbela) against Darius.
"In the year 331 B.C. one of the greatest intellects whose influence the world has ever felt, saw, with his
eagle glance, the unrivalled advantage of the spot which is now Alexandria; and conceived the mighty
project of making it the point of union of two, or rather of three worlds. In a new city, named after
himself, Europe, Asia, and Africa were to meet and to hold communion."
Charles Kingsley on the founding of the city of Alexandria
9.328 - Kills Black Cleitus for an insult at Samarkand
10.327 - Marries Roxane; Begins march to India
11.326 - Wins Battle of River Hydaspes against Porus; Bucephalus dies
12.324 - Troops mutiny at Opis
13.323 June 10 - Dies at Babylon in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II
Alexander did not get his good look from Philip, it is safe to say.
To be kind, he looked like a Neanderthal.
He had battle scars covering his body, lost one eye in the battle, and
limped from a leg injury.
BUT he was actually a brilliant military leader who turned his drunken
ragtag crew into a powerful and professional army.
And he turned that power onto conquering his neighbors, the Greek
city-states.
Philip also invented the Phalanx and had the first
determined professional army in the ancient world.
Alexander always wanted to outdo his father. (If his
dad had a big army, he would have a bigger one.)
He was jealous of Philip’s victory.
He complained to his friends, “Boys, my dad will
forestall me in everything!” and “There will be nothing
great or spectacular for you and me to show the world.”
Not quite. Philip just wanted to take over ancient
Turkey, Alexander was going to take over the entire
known world.
Alexander’s mother
She worshiped Dionysus, was deep into her religion, handled snakes in
the festival The Mysteries, where people drink wine and dance under
full moon.
Snakes frightened Philip, her husband, which give her evil ideas. She
hid coiled reptiles in her shirt and jump out and hiss at Philip when he
least expect it.
“Ssssssssssuprise!”
Between his mom and dad’s warpath, it is no surprise
that Alexander grew up to be such a brilliant warrior.
From his dad, he knew how to fight, and from his
mom, he know how to fight dirty.
Even as a kid, Alexander showed the talent of tricking
his enemies-not with as sword, but even more
powerful, with his sheer charm.
He could talk a gorilla out of its last banana.
Once he talked Persian ambassadors (drunken) to tell
him all the military secrets of Persian.
Of course, Alexander like all boys in Macedonia, loved
horses. (He could probably ride one before he could
walk.)
Once he joined his dad to examine some war horses
One caught his eye . . . a shining black stallion, but
nobody could get near the snorting, angry beast. It
bucked every rider who tried to mount him and fought
the groom tried to hold it.
Alexander blurted out that he could handle the horse
better. Philip agreed to let him do it and would let him
pay the price of the horse if he failed as punishment.
(The horse cost 70000o dollar in today’s equivalent.)
Alexander found out the horse was not angry but
scared of its own shadow. He turned the horse to face
the sun, so it would not see the shadow. First the horse
struggled, but after Alexander continued to hold the
bridle and whispered in the horse’s ears. The horse
clam down, and Alexander jumped on it.
The horse’s hand groaned. Having the wildest horse taken off
with the king’s son was not good for their sale-or heads. If
something happened to the boy . . . they didn’t want to imagine.
Just before Philip wanted to call the royal mount to chase the
horse down, Alexander came back into view with a huge grin on
his face. He had done it!
Philip almost wept and was so glad about it. He said the horse
was his and he needed a bigger kingdom than Macedon. (He
predicted that right.)
Greek horses are smaller than today’s standards. The
“Beast-like” Bucephalus is probably just size of a pony.
How do we knew this?
Once Alexander’s troop crosses a river in the battle, it is
described the water reaches the man’s chest but the horses
struggle to keep its head above water.
Another advantage is the troops ride without stirrups (they
have not been invented yet) the man could also easily slip
off the horse during battle.
Alexander’s horse, Bucephalus, meant “Oxhead” because of
its stubbornness.
But Alexander loved that horse and rode it in every major
battle. According to legend, Bucephalus never let anyone
else ride it. He also kneeled when Alexander wanted to
jump on.
Once on a march on foreign land, Bucephalus was stolen by
horse thieves. Bad idea! Alexander flew into range. He
declared if no one returned the horse, he was going to
destroy all villages within miles.
The terrified thieves returned the horse, and they
thought Alexander was either going to jail them, kill
them, or enslave them.
But Alexander was so delighted that he PAID the horse
thieves for the horse’s safe return.
In 326 B.C. Bucephalus died because of the old age of
30. Alexander was crushed. He named a city after his
horse as Bucephalia, which is in ancient India is
today’s Pakistan.
Poor Alexander. His father also wanted him to be the
smartest kid in the country.
Philip send Alexander to Sparta. (And you know the Spartans were
harsh.)
Alexander’s teacher was Leonidas, a true blue Spartan.
At Sparta, Alexander’s day started with a 7 mile hike.
Then military arts: spear throwing, wrestling, swords play ,and archery.
The teacher also drilled him in military technique and strategies, and
made sure he kept up with reading and writing.
Alexander complained to his friend, “Breakfast is a long hike and
dinner a light breakfast.
By the time Alexander was thirteen, he was ready for the
warrior’s part as the warrior-king. But what about the king?
He needed to know how to make the best decisions, so
Philip went to shopping for new teachers. He set his sights
on one of the greatest minds of the ancient world, Aristotle.
Philip asked him to come to the palace to tutor Alexander.
Aristotle was uncertain. Philip entice d him with a lot of
gold. Aristotle still hesitated. Philip then said he would
rebuild his hometown. (Never mind that Philip’s own troop
had destroyed it.)
In the end, Aristotle agreed, figuring he could not stop
Alexander from being the king. At least he could teach him
to respect democracy.
Aristotle and Alexander spent tree years in a villa
called Garden Of Midas, a peaceful place with lush
vineyards and walkways. Aristotle taught many of his
lessons, including biology, outside.
Aristotle also shared his extensive experience of
medicine in there.
Once in the battle in India, Alexander cures a man
injured by a poison headed arrow by finding a plant in
the wild which Alexander rubbed on the injured man’s
body and let him drink the drink made from it. The
man completely recovered.
Alexander ordered the entire army to cure other
injured men with the poisoned arrow in this way.
(Aristotle should have been proud.)
As much as Alexander appreciated Science, he
treasured stories more (the bloodier, the better). And
the bloodiest is probably Homer’s The Iliad. He
especially like the tale of The Trojan Horse.
Aristotle made a copy of the Iliad with his personal
notes, and Alexander carried it in a jewel-encrusted
box throughout Persia and India.
Alexander loved Aristotle as much as his own father.
He said his father “Give him his own life,” but Aristotle
“Taught him how to live well.”
By sixteen, Alexander thought he was ready. Philip threw him
into the battlefield as a real test against barbarians trying to
conquer Macedonia.
Then Alexander a was raised as a general. (You are lucky if you
are promoted to general when you are 50 now.) Alexander was
eighteen.
Twenty year old Philip was assassinated, and Alexander became
king of Macedonia.
This was not the end. It is the dawn of the Hellenistic
period. Alexander’s tale had just began . . . The great
challenge was about to start . . .
Please listen to Ethan and Justin for rest of the exciting
story about Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic
period.
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexande
r_the_Great
Book: Alexander The great Rocks The
World
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