Special Question: Alexander the Great

Special Question: Please write a five paragraph essay on the question: Was Alexander's adventure really worth it? In your body paragraphs, you must cite specific examples to back up your thesis -- examples must include one from each of the following: Egypt, Persepolis, Afghanistan, India. Due Friday.

            Alexander the Great was an honored king and a glorified conquer of the entire known world. Achieving this at such a young age, Alexander was feared and respected, looked up to and hated. People now call him everything from a visionary, a philosopher, a scientist, and a prophet to a hero, a quasi-holy man, and even a Christian saint (Cartledge, 2011). He set out in the beginning, it seemed, to avenge Persian wrong doings, but eventually ended up far surpassing his original intentions. Alexander and his army traveled from Macedonia to Egypt, Persepolis, Afghanistan, and even to India conquering and winning battles. He was a truly great ruler but the question remains if all of his efforts were in vain. Alexander the Great affected the entire world and caused huge changes in civilizations and cultures of his time. In doing this, Alexander efforts helped shape the world people live in today making his adventure worth everything if it brings people to be who they are in present day times.

            In the spring of 331 BC, Alexander entered Egypt and was welcomed with open arms (Alexander The Great).  Upon arriving in Egypt, he even ordered a city to be built after him called Alexandria (Alexander The Great). This is one of the ways Alexander left his mark on civilization and how he influenced the way we are today. Alexandria even became a major cultural resource center for that time (Alexander The Great). The effects of this can still be seen today as Alexandria is still an active city or great importance in modern day society. While in Egypt, Alexander the Great also worked on creating his mythos taking a pilgrimage to the great temple and visiting the oracle of Amon-Ra (Alexander The Great). Later, he also famously visited the temple of Zeus Ammon on a dangerous trip (Alexander The Great). All of these trips and religious pilgrimages helped Alexander gain Egyptian favor on top of their already deep hatred for Persia. In the end, Alexander was voluntarily made Pharaoh by the Egyptians themselves (Alexander The Great). Finally, by the middle of 331BC, Alexander again set off on a path continuing his conquest against Persia (Alexander The Great).

            Eventually, Alexander met face to face with Darius, king of the Persians, in battle. Upon defeat, Darius fled and left Alexander the Great in control of Babylon, as well as, the imperial place of Susa, and Persepolis (Alexander The Great). It was here that great change also occurred. Alexander was eventually made king of Persia (Alexander The Great). This was the begging to many new things. One major event that effected history was when Alexander burned the royal place to the ground. This was only after four months of being in control (Alexander The Great). It is without a doubt important to history what went on during the burning of the palace. Soon thereafter this occurred, news of Darius being murdered reached the ears of Alexander who set off after his murder, Bessus. This took him in through Afghanistan and through many more great adventures. His experiences here changed the way people thought about limits and impossibilities. Alexander took crazy and sometimes seemingly impossible routes through this area. He may have even influenced other military leaders of his time and those of the future. Both of these escapades though lead Alexander to more victory, and made everything he was doing worth wild.

            After Alexander the Great defeated Persia, he still thirsted for more power and to conquer more land. This therefore ended up setting up Alexander on his way to India. Entering in the spring of 327 BC, Alexander set out marching into India and invading Punjab (Alexander The Great). After Punjab, the troops traveled as far as the river Hyphasis until they would not go any farther (Alexander The Great). Alexander’s adventure into India was actually in a way a great discovery mission. It probably was not a place where a lot of people traveled. Alexander probably enabled civilizations to expand and grow out farther. Also during this time Alexander’s horse, Bucephalus (Historic Figures: Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC)), died and a city was named after him. Another great example of Alexander affecting the world (Alexander The Great). One great battle in India was the battle of Porus. In India, they traveled south attempting to reach the rivers Hydaspes and Indus (Alexander The Great). Here they planned to try to reach the ocean on the southern edge of the world (Alexander The Great). Throughout his journeys, Alexander’s legend grew. By July 325 BC, Alexander and his troops finally reached the mouth of the Indus, but ended up turning home (Alexander The Great).

            Alexander helped form the world people live in today. If he did not do what he did, people and society could be a very different place. Alexander once said, “Stand firm; for well you know that hardship and danger are the price of glory, and that sweet is the savour of a life of courage and of deathlessness renown beyond the grave. (Ancient History Sourcebook: Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from The Campaigns of Alexander)” These words probably inspired the people who heard Alexander give this speech. One article on Alexander published in today’s time reads, “Alexander the Great, Single-handedly changed the nature of the ancient world in little more than a decade. (Historic Figures: Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC))” If this is in fact true, Alexander also then affected our world today. Against the odds, Alexander defeated armies all throughout the world in the mighty Persian Empire (Historic Figures: Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC)). He even ended up conquering over seventy cities, traveling with his army over eleven thousand miles, and covering about two million square miles (Historic Figures: Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC)). Alexander, no doubt, effect his time period and in turn has affected us making everything he did worth it in the end.

            Bibliography

Alexander by Plutarch. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2011, from The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature: http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/alexandr.html

Alexander The Great. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2011, from Macedonia FAQ: Alexander The Great: http://faq.macedonia.org/history/alexander.the.great.html

Ancient History Sourcebook: Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from TheCampaigns of Alexander . (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2011, from FORDHAM.EDU.: http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/arrian-alexander1.htm

Ancient History Sourcebook: Plutarch: Selections from the Life of Alexander. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2011, from FORDHAM.EDU.: http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/plutarch-alexander1.html

Cartledge, P. P. (2011, February 17). Ancient History in Depth: Alexander the Great: Hunting for a New Past. Retrieved March 10, 2011, from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/alexander_the_great_01.shtml

Historic Figures: Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC). (n.d.). Retrieved March M10, 2011, from BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/alexander_the_great.shtml