Alexander The Great Alana Cox

Alana Cox

September 19, 2014

Block B

Alexander The Great

1) Does Alexander deserve to be called “Great”?  

Alexander was more known for his fighting and ruthlessness, kind of like the Spartans. He was not really admired by his people. He was an inspiring leader though. Ranking or social status did not matter to him. He acted ruthless to anyone he came up against. He was especially mean to people opposing him.He was despised by many of the subjected Greeks. His conquests created legends by which the other kings and rulers would go by to measure their careers and how they were doing. He could think a lot about his plan of attack, or he just made up a plan on the spot of how they were going to attack. If it were not for his father, Alexander would not have accomplished as many things that he has. He saw how the Indians would use elephants and he was really interested in that so he got some elephants of his own. They were a lot more effective when other large animals come around, they do not freak out like horses do. Since he was not the kindest he could be he got many of his loved ones killed. His army was only good because of his fathers reorganization, reformed, and strengthened army. Two years after he conquered his land, he abandoned his people to go conquer other lands. Because of him going to leave and conquer, his kingdom was neglected. He never selected a designated heir so his empire crumbled after he died. When he would go to other places to conquer land he would drink and get drunk and that ended in a lot of casualties. After Alexander died, there was not a friendly discussion about who would take over Alexander’s empire. So in conclusion, I do not think that Alexander The Great is as great as he thinks he is or deserves the title of "great".

2) What can one learn about the values of society based on their views of greatness?

One can learn that if society changes, so will their views of greatness. When Alexander was alive and well, he was one of the most popular rulers in Greece. Alexander was in charge of Greece and because he was so "great" people thought that he was going to be great and rule his kingdom, but those poor people were sadly mistaken. It really depends on who you think is great. Society bases everything on greatness. It's like a scale and how people measure everything. If it's whats high on the charts and popular, then people are going to love what ever it is and want one if they can have one. If it's low on the greatness scale, then a very small amount of people are going to take interest in it. Alexander was great in some peoples eyes, but in others he was not. In a way the world is like high school to. If you are popular and have a lo of friends, then that means ,most of the time, that you are loved by many. If you are not popular or have a lot of friends, no one wants to talk to you. So basically if you are known by many, and you end up becoming a great leader then society will look up to you. I don't really know much about politics and government and all that stuff, but to some people President Obama is the greatest person to walk the face of the earth, but that number is very small compared to the number of people that hate him and want him dead. He is a large part of society and he is known and he is pretty popular in the United States, but he is not loved by many. I think that more people like Mrs. Obama more than they like their own president. The values of society that are based on society are going to change when something becomes popular or looses its popularity.

3) Do time and distance impact someone’s popular perception?

Time and distance do affect how people view other people. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prime example. When Mr. King was still alive, he was not loved by all. He was not loved by many actually. Then in the Civil Rights movement, he tried to bring justice to all the colored people and help them have rights and be equal. It’s funny, because now Mr.King is the best known man from the Civil Rights movement. When Alexander was alive he was not loved or liked by many either, but that was mainly because of how he treated people. Alexander did not really help out many people, but  Mr. King was a lot nicer than Alexander because he did not go around killing his enemies or threatening people. Even when he had  many attempts of murder on him he never tried to get revenge on the people who tried to kill him first. Mr. King is a great example of a great person or someone who deserves to be called great. Time and distance impact everything, not just someone' popular perception.