Alexander the Great Biography - The Man and the Myth

Alexander the Great biography is an epic tale of mythic dimensions. Here is a story of a man capable of uniting most of the world known to the ancient Greeks under the rule of a single individual whose life spans a mere 33 years, from 356 BC to 323 BC. Son of Philip II of Macedon, who consolidated the multiple city-states of ancient Greece; tutored by the great philosopher Aristotle, who gave the young Alexander a thorough training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy.

The legend

As Alexander was walking with his father one day, they came across a few men attempting to tame and mount a wild, black horse. Alexander immediately took a liking for the horse, and begged his father if he would buy it for him. Philip laughed and told him if he could mount the horse, he would. Alexander watched the horse's behavior, and soon realized that it was merely afraid of its own shadow. He walked over to the horse and faced it towards the sun to hide its shadow, and immediately was able to mount it. His father bought the horse, and he named it Bucephalus, whom would be his loyal steed for the next two decades until it would die in battle.

At age 16, Alexander was already regent of Macedonia.

World Conqueror

In 336 BC, Philip was assassinated. The army proclaimed Alexander, then aged 20, as the new king of Macedon. Greek cities like Athens and Thebes, which had been forced to pledge allegiance to Philip, saw in the new king an opportunity to retake their full independence. Alexander moved swiftly and Thebes, which had been most active against him, submitted when he appeared at its gates. The assembled Greeks at the Isthmus of Corinth, with the exception of the Spartans, elected him to the command against Persia, which had previously been bestowed upon his father.

Alexander's army met and defeated the main Persian army under the command of Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. Darius fled this battle in such a panic for his life that he left behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother and much of his personal treasure.

The Persian Empire, then the largest empire, included Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia

The great conqueror was welcomed as a liberator in Egypt and pronounced the son of Zeus by the priests of the egyptian god Amen at the Oracle of the god at the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Henceforth, Alexander referred to the god Zeus-Amen as his true father, and subsequent currency featuring his head with ram horns was proof of this widespread belief. He founded Alexandria in Egypt, and then proceeded to extend the boundaries of his own empire as far as India. Before his death, he had already made plans to also turn west and conquer Europe.

The legacy

Alexander the Great is regarded as one of the greatest military strategists and tacticians who ever lived. His conquests ushered in centuries of Greek settlement and rule over distant areas, a period known as the Hellenistic Age. He wisely integrated non-greeks into his army and administration, and encouraged marriage between his army and foreigners, and practiced it himself.

After twelve years of constant military campaigning, Alexander died, possibly of malaria, typhoid, or viral encephalitis. The great conqueror lived on in the history and myth of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. His exploits inspired a literary tradition in which he appears as a legendary hero in the tradition of Achilles.

Was Alexander the Great on a divinely-inspired mission to unite the human race, or was he a megalomaniac bent on world domination? That is the ultimate question for historians and writers of Alexander the Great biography to answer.