Alexander the great

1.      Alexander deserves to be called great simply because, he was one of the most successful military generals in the history of the world. Alexander was a successful soldier because of the massive amount of land that he conquered and ruled, the many important battles the he won,the fact that he invaded many of the rival empires around him, and the spread of Greek culture throughout his empire. In just 13 short years Alexander created the biggest empire in the ancient world. Alexander was king of Macedonia from 336 BC to 323 BC. People questioned his greatness based on how he ruled as a king. But the real reason that Alexander is known today is through his great accomplishments as a general. Alexander was ruthless and didn't care what was in between him and reaching his goals. He fought with intensity and had no fear. He also had no respect for any of his enemies. One showing of his greatness was the pursuit of The Persian king, Darius the 3rd. Alexander saw the Persian king  as a threat so he chased him constantly, engaging in many battles with him until one of his men was able to kill Darius the 3rd. Other examples of Alexander's greatness, were the battles that he won. The major battles won by Alexander were; the battle of Granicus, the battle of Chaeronia in 338 BC, the battle of Issus, the Indian campaign, the battle of the Persian gate, the siege of Gaza, and the seize of Tyre in 333 BC. All of these battles were against other empires or had something that Alexander desired on the line, such as land or power. And in these battles, Alexander's powerful army and skill overpowered the enemy. His many victories showed his greatness. He invaded Greece, Persia, Egypt, and India, giving him the largest empire of the ancient world. He overpowered his rival empires, which again showed his greatness. The final great thing that he did was spreading Greek culture through his empire by teaching people about Greek language, arts, and lifestyle. Alexander accomplished enough to be called great.


2.        There are many things that a person can learn about the values of society, but it all depends on what they think greatness truly is. Greatness can mean  different things depending on the persons views of greatness, but the popular idea of greatness has always been money, power, or fame. Alexander's society valued money, power, and fame. If there is a person that views greatness as money, power, or fame, then they will find that society centers around their view of "greatness. However, if there is a person who views greatness as being a good person, knowledge, love, or happiness, then they will find that society doesn't value their views of greatness as much as other things. So, what a person learns about the values of society all depends on their views of greatness.

3.       Time and distance are always a factor on the popular perception of people when it comes to Alexander the great. As time and distance becomes further from the day of Alexander, it becomes harder to understand why or why not Alexander was great. This can chance peoples opinion of Alexander and make him either more popular or more hated. The views on what greatness truly means might change as time gets more distant from the Ancient age, and the people might not agree that what people thought made him great in the past might not really be so great. The point is, things can always change over time, and the popular perception can always be impacted.

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