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The Life of Alexander the Great
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What exactly is so great about Alexander the Great? If anything at all? Some see this
Macedonian king as one of the greatest commanders in history, while others see him as an
arrogant impulsive fool. The young king quickly conquered most of the known world in his time
and cemented his name in world history forever. Exactly how did he do this? What were his
motivations? From an early age, he showed signs of a great leader, by the middle of his life he
was in his prime until he unexpectedly died at the age of 32.
Alexander the Great was born on July 20th, 356 B.C. in Pella, Macedonia. Alexander was
born into a royal family, Phillip II and Olympia, king, and queen of Macedonia. In Alexander’s
early years he spent much of his time studying math, philosophy, horsemanship, archery, and
various other subjects. At the age of 13, Alexander started getting tutored by the famous
philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle gave Alexander a love for literature, Alexander loved The Illiad
by Homer and often carried a copy of it with him at all times.
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At the age of 16, Alexander’s
father went off to battle to defeat Thrace. Alexander was left to rule Macedonia as the regent,
showing from a young age he was quite capable of ruling a kingdom. Alexander won several
battles during this period. When his father came back he gave Alexander a commanding post as
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“Alexander the Great,” A&E, last modified October 12, 2016, accessed November 20, 2016,
http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-the-great-9180468#related-video-gallery
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the Macedonians invaded Greece. However, his father was often gone, engaged in military
campaigns and extra-marital affairs, Alexander grew to resent his father for this.
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Tension grew
as Phillip married a Macedonian girl named Cleopatra. Alexander and his mother fled
Macedonia to Epirus for about 6 months until tensions subsided.
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In October of 336 BC, Phillip
II was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, Pausanias of Orestis.
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Soon after, Alexander, with
the help of his mother, began killing any other heirs to the throne and gained support from the
Macedonian army. Some believed him to be a bastard and others believed his young age equated
to weakness. Many parts of Greece celebrated the death of Phillip II and wanted to rebel against
Macedonia altogether. Alexander quickly brought the Greeks to submission and back under
Macedonia’s command. Now, at 20 years old Alexander the great became the king of
Macedonia.
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As the new king, Alexander had a lot to prove. So in 334 BC Alexander started his
conquest of the great Persian Empire. His army crossed the Hellespont with 48,100 soldiers
