Why Was Alexander The Great Known As The Great?

One of the most iconic military figures in all of history, Alexander The Great held numerous titles; Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt and Lord of Asia, and he achieved all of this before his death at the age of thirty-two.  

Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of Macedon, around the twenty-first of July, in the year 356 BC. His father was King Philip the second of Macedon, who had married his mother, Olympias, the year prior.

Alexander was made king at twenty, when his father died. He is famous for conquering much of the known world, his skills in military tactics and diplomacy both highly commended. He was also a fundamental influence in the distribution of Greek culture throughout Europe, the Middle East and modern Asia.  

A King Born

Growing up, Alexander was supposedly highly precocious, asking military questions to visiting dignitaries before he even reached ten years old. It is also interesting that Alexander’s childhood companions, Cassander, Ptolemy and Hephaestion would all be lifelong companions, serving as generals of his army. Hephaestion especially held a special place in Alexander’s heart throughout his life.

Alexander was taught fighting and riding by a relation of his mother, Leonidas of Epirus. He learned from a young age to endure the hardships of militarism. He was also tutored in the arts at the request of his father, in hopes that he would make a good king.  

Lysimachus taught him reading, writing and to play the lyre, a small harp-like instrument. It is believed that this instilled in Alexander a lifelong love of culture, literature and music. He was also tutored by the famous philosopher Aristotle, whom he met at fourteen.

The pair would stay in contact for much of Alexander’s life, despite only working together for three years. 

It is believed that Aristotle’s influence could be seen in Alexander’s military achievements. Much like Aristotle’s teaching, he never forced those he conquered to adopt Greek custom, simply introducing it to them instead.

Similarly, his skill with horses is believed to have come from Leonidas. Alexander was known to have tamed supposedly un-tameable horses. His famous horse Bucephalus, he tamed when he was as young as twelve years old.

A God Amongst Us

One of Alexander’s most striking characteristics was his looks. Plutarch describes the likeness of statues of Alexander, calling him ‘fair’ and rosy cheeked. Historian Arrian describes him as ‘strong’ and ‘handsome’, suggesting he might have had heterochromia, with two different coloured eyes, one blue and one dark.

Modern historians have suggested he was likely unusually short, and clean-shaven, unlike many of the other Macedonian barons. Some believe he had blond hair and a feminine look, creating an ambiguous and mysterious character.  

Despite his human birth, Alexander chose to consider himself divine. He claimed he was the son of Zeus, making him a demi-god, allowing himself to be linked to his famous heroes from ancient myth, Achilles and Heracles.

His mother supposedly added to this belief by suggesting she had been impregnated by Zeus in a virgin birth. Signs of his birth were associated with miracles and good omens. He chose to conduct himself in a deific way as a result of this belief that he was somehow greater.  

Alexander was known for being highly ambitious, inspired by his early tutelage and his mother. He also supposedly felt a need to outdo his father, driving him to act competitively. His drive and impulsiveness, as influenced by his youth, were highly evident in his incredibly successful military career.

While hot-headed, he was also known to be perceptive and rational. His love of the arts inspired his knowledge. He was more interested in fulfilling Homeric expectations of heroism than participating in sport.

Alexander The Conqueror

The Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC was when Alexander’s military skills first stood out. He successfully turned the tide of the battle at only eighteen, defeating many Greek city-states that were all allied.

Upon his father’s death, he took up the throne and undertook the leadership of the empire, now that the Greek states were under his control.

He decided he would next seek to conquer the empire of Persia. On his descent into Asia, it was noted that Alexander took many individuals who explored and identified different scientific details of the area, a result of his love for knowledge. 

Alexander brought an army of thirty-seven thousand into Asia Minor, and in 334 they defeated the city of Baalbek, renaming it Helopolis.

He liberated the Greek city of Ephesus from the Persian Empire. In 333 Alexander defeated King Darius of Persia at the Battle of Issos. He sacked the Phoenician Sidon, and conquered Aleppo.

In 332 he conquered Syria, and the next year Egypt. Here, he founded Alexandria, and at the Oracle of the Egyptian Oasis was proclaimed the son of God.

Alexander was by all accounts a considerate ruler, and he didn’t impose any of his beliefs or ideas upon the people he conquered, his only request being that they kept supply lines open for his troops, perhaps the key to his unique successes.  

He went on to conquer Phoenicia, and he laid siege to the island of Tyre. He was so determined to conquer the island that he built a causeway to the island in order to improve his capacity for battle. The causeway grew and remains the reason Tyre is now connected to the mainland of Lebanon.

When he conquered Tyre, he killed many of the inhabitants and sold the rest into slavery. This is a notorious example of Alexander’s capacity to act ruthlessly in matters of war.  

In 331, Alexander defeated King Darius the third at Gaugamela. Darius was assassinated by his own cousin Bessus, a general in his army.

Alexander didn’t support this and treated Darius’ body with great respect, before proclaiming himself King of Asia and marching to Susa, a city that surrendered without resistance.

Next he travelled to Persepolis, where he is believed to have started fires, leading to destruction to the palace in an act of revenge against Xerxes’ destruction of the Acropolis in 480.

These actions supposedly descended from a debauched party; the fire started by general Ptolemy’s lover Thais. They took the treasures of Persepolis and conquered next both Bactria and Sogdiana.  

By 329, he had sacked and named many cities after himself, anointed himself ‘king of kings’ and adopted a Persian custom of forcing visitors to kneel and kiss his hand. Eventually the Macedonian army grew uncomfortable with Alexander’s increasing obsession with deification and his adoption of Persian custom.

Many assassination plots would be uncovered, resulting in executions, whether the individuals involved had been friend or foe.  

A Mysterious Love

Alexander married three times. He married once for love, to Roxana, daughter of a Sogdian noble. He also married for political alliances to two Persian princesses, Stateira and Parysatis.

It is possible that Alexander had two sons, but this is largely unknown. His wife Roxana also lost a baby at Babylon.  

There has been much speculation about Alexander’s relationship with Hephaestus. While sources depict Alexander’s homoerotic relations with other boys, they never describe Hephaestus in such a way.

In spite of this, Alexander and Hephaestus were frequently compared in antiquity to Achilles and Patroclus of the Iliad, who were considered a couple.

At one point, the pair visited Troy, and when Alexander paid respects to Achilles’ tomb, Hephaestus paid tribute to Patroclus. Some took this as an indication of their romantic relationship.

Alexander The Great

Alexander came to rule India. At first, he subdued the king without a fight. He was so impressed by the fighting of other tribes that he allowed their rulers authority over larger regions than they had previously had.

It was in India that Bucephalus the horse was killed, and one of the cities later founded was named after him.

Exhausted, his army mutinied before crossing the Ganges. Eventually he gave into them, sending half his army home and marching the rest on still. By the time his army reached Susa in 324, he had lost considerable swathes of men.  

Upon his return, he found that many of his trusted men had abused their power, and as a result had them executed. He ordered the restoration of all that had been damaged.

He sought to integrate his army and forge a bond between Persia and Macedonia, holding a mass wedding to marry off Persian noblewomen to Macedonians.

By this point, many of his men disagreed with the merging of cultures and Alexander’s continual adoption of Persian custom.

In response, he gave Persians greater roles within the army, awarding Macedonians lesser roles. This caused them to back down. When they backed down, he restored equal control of the army and held a great feast for all the men.  

Around this time, Alexander’s lifelong friend Hephaestion died. A period of mourning ensued which may have resulted in drastic slaughtering for sacrifice and the killing of Hephaestion’s doctor.

He abstained from food and drink and organised funeral rights reserved usually for a king. By all accounts, Alexander was entirely inconsolable.

He refused to replace Hephaestion’s role as commander of the cavalry. After the death of Hephaestus, he grew paranoid and many feared he was a megalomaniac.

An Early Grave

Alexander died on either the tenth or eleventh of June, 323 BC in Babylon. He was only 32 years old. Stories of his death are heavily disputed, but people tend to think he was struck with an illness which lasted for nearly two weeks before his death.

The most common theme in all accounts of his death is foul play. Some believe Alexander was poisoned. Details of the conspiracy are hazy, but most often, people blame Antipater, an ex-Macedonian viceroy, who had disputes with Olympias.

The story goes that Antipater ordered his son, Iollas, Alexander’s wine-pourer, to poison him. Some have even suggested that Aristotle was involved in the plot.

Despite this, poisoning seems on the surface unlikely, as long-acting poisons that took almost two weeks to kill were unheard of at the time.

Only recently have potential poisons been suggested, but they are equally as plausible as his death being caused by malaria or typhoid fever.

As well as this, many years of excessive drinking and battle injuries have been suggested to have attributed to Alexander’s early death. 

 Alexander was buried in a gold sarcophagus, filled with honey. During the funeral procession, Ptolemy temporarily took the casket to Memphis.

The sarcophagus was later taken to Alexandria by successors of Ptolemy. One of Ptolemy’s later successors transferred Alexander’s sarcophagus to a glass one so he could make coins from the original.

The tomb of Alexander in Alexandria became of great importance through the rest of the classical period. It was visited by the likes of Pompey, Caesar and Augustus. Caligula is said to have stolen Alexander’s breast plate for personal use.

In 200 AD, Emperor Septimus Severus closed Alexander’s tomb from the public. After his death, the Macedonian army was likened to the blinded Cyclops, due to the anarchy, disorder and confusion felt. 

With no certain legitimate heir, it seemed unclear who would lead the empire. Alexander’s death was so sudden that early reports of it were not at first believed.

Alexander supposedly asked on his deathbed for the strongest of his friends to take up his role, which may have been a wilful misinterpretation of what he said.

Despite this, there are many conflicting stories of who he claimed as his heir, and ultimately nobody can be sure.