Alexander the Great

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Alexander the Great

Alexander III, king of Macedonia, is known as Alexander the Great. In his short life he conquered almost all parts of the world that were known to his people.

The Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, is a Roman floor mosaic originally from a villa in the Roman city Pompeii. It depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia and measures 2.72 by 5.13 metres. The original is preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum. The mosaic is believed to be a copy of an early 3rd-century BC Hellenistic painting.

Lesson 2.5: Alexander the Great

Today, each country has its own army. 

Armies are used to protect their own country, but sometimes also to attack another country. In that case, war is waged.

After a war, the winning country gets its way.

Modern armies

An army consists of several branches:

• infantry: common soldiers (foot soldiers)
• cavalry: soldiers on horseback (nowadays tanks and armored vehicles)
• artillery: soldiers who operate large cannons (formerly catapults and archers)
• navy: soldiers at sea on warships
• air force: soldiers in airplanes

modern Chinese army on parade. The soldiers belong to the infantry.

In the background are armoured vehicles.

Ancient warfare

In ancient times warfare was very different. Soldiers were not professional soldiers. They were citizens with a regular job. Only in times of war did they become soldiers. They paid for their own weapons and equipment and went to battle. After the war,  the soldiers returned to their daily work. Until a new conflict broke out.

In ancient Greece, all poleis had their own armies. The Greek soldiers are called hoplites, named after their large round shield, the hoplon.

Not everyone could become hoplite. Only citizens who had enough money to buy their own equipment. So poor people and slaves were never hoplites.

Take a closer look at the hoplite's armour and  equipment by clicking the hotspots in the next slide.

Source E: sculpted hoplite figure

from around 500 BC

Source G: hoplites fighting. Detail from a vase made in 560 BC

Source F: hoplites fighting. Detail from a vase made in 640 BC

greaves to protect the legs

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a bronze helmet

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a shield

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a sword

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a lance

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Hoplites dressing for battle. Athenian cup from the early fifth century B.C. Wien Museum, Austria

a breastplate, made from bronze scales attached to a linen vest. If you had more money you could buy a solid bronze armour plate (see popup picture)

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Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, a kingdom to the north of the Greek states. The Greek philosopher Aristotle gave him lessons. But Alexander’s chief interest was war. 

In 338 BC Alexander’s father, Philip II, brought all the Greek city-states except Sparta under his rule. Young Alexander commanded one section of the Macedonian army.

In 336 BC Philip II was killed and Alexander became king when he was only 19 years old. He soon won the loyalty of nearly all the Greek city-states. In 334 BC he brought together a large army and invaded the Persian Empire. He freed the Ionians from Persian rule and made them his allies.

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Alexander tamed a wild horse named Bucephalus when he was a kid. It was his main horse until it died of old age. Alexander named a city in India after his horse.

You can watch the scene from the 2004 movie Alexander how he tamed Bucephalus.

Movie poster of the film Alexander from 2004.

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An important factor in Alexander's success against the much larger Persian army was the use of the battle formation known as the phalanx.  You can see the phalanx in action in the movie clip from the film Alexander

Alexander conquers the Persian Empire

Here is the order of his conquests:

• First he moved through Asia Minor and what is today Turkey. 
• He took over Syria defeating the Persian Army at Issus and then laying siege to Tyre.
• Next, he conquered Egypt. Near the Nile River he founded the city of Alexandria.
• After Egypt came Babylonia and Persia, including the city of Susa.
• Then he moved through Persia and began to prepare for a campaign in India.

Alexander leads his army into the battle at the Granicus river. Modern illustration

At this point Alexander had accumulated one of the largest empires in history. He became "king of Asia". However, his soldiers were ready to revolt. They wanted to return home to see their wives and children. Alexander agreed and his army turned back.

Death of Alexander

Alexander only made it back to Babylon where he became suddenly sick and died. No one is sure what he died from, but many suspect poison. 

Alexander had no children to inherit his kingdom. So when he died his empire was divided up amongst his generals. These generals ended up fighting each other for many years as the empire fell apart.

Cutting the knot (de knoop doorhakken)

Sometimes we use phrases that are very familiar to us and everybody knows what they mean. But actually, they make no sense whatsoever.

Have you ever really cut a knot when you made a decision? Because that is what it means.

Many of these phrases come from stories or events from history. Cutting the knot comes from a story about Alexander the Great.

Check it out here

Alexander cutting the Gordian knot