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Alexander The Great Research Paper

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Alexander The Great has been doubted whether or not he should be perceived as a hero or villain. When a hero comes to mind, many may think of words such as nobility and being known for their brave deeds and qualities (Webster). A “cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime” is the definition of a villain (Dictionary.com). This definition could also be used to describe the famous Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great. Alexander was a narcissistic conqueror who only desired himself and was extremely self absorbed. This negative trait can be traced back to his childhood growing up with his mother, Olympia constantly pushing him to be confident or vain and making him believe he was superior to all others. …show more content…

One of Alexander’s greatest atrocities occurred while he was intoxicated. A giant regret was when he killed Cleitus, a former best friend of his while Alexander was drunk (Biography 7). Indulging in alcohol was a large part of the macedonian culture or society but does not give an excuse for the atrocious acts done by Alexander during his lifetime. Alexander was in a drunken state at a party and began to boast about him surpassing his father. Alexander also gave Cleitus orders to go out to the steppe in central Asia in order to fight the nomads. Cleitus was angered by this and he stated to Alexander that he was only able to accomplish what he had because of the help of his father. This outraged Alexander, so he grabbed a javelin and threw it through Cleitus’ heart. Alexander came to his senses and realized what he had just done. In his grief, Alexander attempted to take his own life (Class Notes). Another dreadful act that occurred when Alexander was intoxicated was the burning of the Great Palace in Persepolis. “Alexander stolen, or plundered, the city’s great riches for himself. Then, in a drunken state, he allowed his men to burn down the Great Palace and its surrounding temples” (Ancient Greece 194). The Great Palace was built in 518 B.C.E by Darius the Great. The palace contained many riches and valuables such as art, literature, silver and gold. After all the riches were taken out of …show more content…

How Alexander got his power was the result of the assassination of his father. It is commonly believed that Alexander and his crazy mother had a hand in the assassination of King Philip II. This is believed because the assassin was killed by Alexander’s guards right after King Philip II had been killed instead of being kept alive for questioning and a proper execution. So no one truly knows what the motives of the assassin were. “News of Philip’s death then travelled to the league of Corinth, the federation of Greek city-states that Philip had assembled after he conquered all of Greece, The league members elected Alexander to be Philip’s successor as commander-in-chief” (Ancient Greece 185). Alexander was given the power to raise to troops from the mainland to make war with Persia which was the one of the most powerful nations at the time. Although he was given the leadership, not all the Greek city-states supported him. Thebes in particular had no interest in supporting because of their opinions of Macedonian rule in general. Many of the Thebans were bitter about the previous treatment they had received from Alexander’s father King Philip II. “When Philip conquered all of Greece in 338 B.C.E, he treated some cities more harshly than others. After defeating the Thebans, he held Theban prisoners for ransom or sold them into slavery” (Ancient Greece

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