2.5 Alexander the Great

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Alexander the Great

Have you heard of Alexander the Great? Maybe you have seen a movie about him. Alexander the Great has long been seen as a famous hero. However, he is not as popular as he once was. So why do we still study his story in History Class? Why do historians call him ‘The Great’? Some people are beginning to think he does not deserve this. After reading this section, you might decide for yourself.

Lesson 2.5: Alexander the Great

In 404 BC, there was a great war between Athens and Sparta. These poleis had been weakened by the war. This gave the polis of Macedon the chance to gain more power. By the 4th century BC, Macedon had grown into a powerful and wealthy place. King Philip of Macedon had organised an efficient army and wanted to be the leader of all the Greeks. His army crushed the other Greek armies, with the help of the brilliant leadership of his son: the eighteen-year-old prince Alexander.

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.

The rise of Macedon

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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.

the king is dead

Persia, a powerful empire to the East, had attacked Greece in 480 BC. The Persian army had destroyed Athens. King Philip of Macedon had been made leader of all the Greek poleis so that he could punish the Persians. Before his armies set off to fight, Philip organised a special festival to honour the Olympic gods. During this festival, he was murdered.

Some said he was murdered because he disrespected the gods by saying he was a god himself. Others said that he was murdered because people wanted his son Alexander to be king. Alexander did become king. He was only twenty years old.

In 336 BC, Alexander led the attack on Persia. The Persian army tried its best to stop him, but Alexander and his strong, efficient army won the battle.

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 the Liberator?

Alexander really shot to fame when he attacked the Persian King himself. King Darius and his army fled the battlefield in fear of Alexander and his army. This is how Alexander the Great became known as a powerful, fearsome king.

Alexander and his army travelled along the coast of the Persian Empire. Some people saw him as an oppressor. But other people saw him as a liberator, because the Persian rulers had not been kind to them. Alexander brought them hope of a better future. In Egypt, he took the title of pharaoh; he also took the title of King of Babylon. The Persians even allowed him to wear the royal headdress of Persia – but he would not become a Persian king. After all, a previous King of Persia had destroyed Athens in 480 BC. Alexander took revenge in 330 BC by burning down the Persian capital city Persepolis. He let his soldiers plunder the city, but took the king’s palace for himself.

The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire was huge. It contained large cities, such as Babylon, Nineveh and Persepolis. The Persians ruled many different people and made them fight for them.

Greece was a small rocky peninsula with many different poleis. But all were run by free men. Therefore, the Greek looked down on the ‘army of slaves’ of Persia and the ‘unmanly’ way the Persians behaved by not fighting themselves. The Persians in their turn, thought the Greeks were uncivilised barbarians.

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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Death of a legend

Alexander fought his way into what is now known as Afghanistan and India. He wanted to reach the ends of the world. But before they could find them, Alexander’s soldiers decided that they wanted to go back to their homes and families.

Alexander was furious. However, he gave in and they turned back. They marched home through the desert, passed burned-down Persepolis and went on to Babylon. According to legend, the gods had warned Alexander that if he entered Babylon, he would not survive… Ignoring the advice of the gods, Alexander entered Babylon in 323 BC. Soon he fell ill. When his soldiers heard he would probably die, they went into the palace. When they found Alexander, he was indeed nearly dead. The story goes that he said goodbye to each and every soldier. When they asked him who should be the next king, he said: ‘I leave my Empire to the strongest.’ Alexander died at 33 years of age.

Source 2.24 Silver coin. It shows Alexander with elephants skin, as a sign he conquered India. (c. 300 BC)

Source 2.25 The Empire of Alexander the Great, 323 BC.

Legacy

After his death, different Greek men took over Alexander’s titles. One became the pharaoh of Egypt, another the King of Babylon and so on. They fought each other for power over Alexander’s Empire. But they also brought the culture of the Greeks to those lands. They built museums, schools and the great Library of Alexandria. You can say that Alexander spread Greek education, literature, art and architecture to many other areas in the world. This is seen as the most important achievement of Alexander the Great.

Alexander's empire divided among his own generals.

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