Daily Blog Day 8 – Thursday, March 3, 2011
Question: Describe relations between Egypt and Persia before Alexander came on the scene.
When Alexander the Great came into Egypt, he was not only greeted openly but as a king and a god. Egypt hated Persia so much that Alexander the Great was a savior, a warrior, a hero, a liberator, and a great avenger. In fact, people in Egypt called him at some point “master of the universe”. They looked up to him and loved that he had come to their city. They saw him as the person who was going to get back at Persia. Egypt had not gotten along with Persia for a very long time. Quite frankly, Egypt despised Persia, if not completely hated or even abhorred them. In Greece, Persia burned their temples and the acropolis. Also, there was a constant problem with religion. Egypt and Persia did not agree on the Gods that each civilization worshiped. This created huge disputes between the two. It was quite natural that they would welcome and support Alexander the Great in his quest against Persia. Also, Persia conquered Egypt and had it under their control. Nobody likes to be controlled by somebody else. Therefore, it is natural that they would not enjoy someone limiting their rights and taking away their culture and religion. It would be like Canada taking over the White House and we would have to follow all their rules. Although, it would probably be even worse like if China or Mexico were to do the same. We would not like it one bit. Before Alexander, Persia and Egypt did not get along and were quite hostile towards each other.
Explain what you mean when you say that it would be worse "if China or Mexico were to do the same".
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job explaining how Egypt and Persia were before Alexander came into each of their cities. Here are some other links on Egypt and Persia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire
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