Alexander the Great

As a current soldier in his army, I believe that Alexander is referred to as being “the Great” because of his numerous conquers and widespread cultural diffusion. After capturing a new land, instead of disregarding the culture and replacing it with his own, Alexander is welcoming the different people, cultures, and religions. He essentially is creating a new culture. I have heard other soldiers call it the Hellenistic culture. I also heard a lot of the influences come from Egypt, India, and Persia.  Alexander supports this blend of ethnicity, which many of my fellow soldiers find strange. Alexander has been changing common ideas in his life to match the ideas in other cultures. He also is rumored to have married a Persian woman.  Alexander could be called great because of his appreciation and acceptance of theses differing societies, nations, and beliefs.

        The blending of cultures that fell under Alexander’s control recently are definitely aiding his empire because the cultural diffusion that is an ongoing effect of the multiple conquers are helping to create and discover many new cities and sciences. For example, Alexandria, the most spectacular city of this current time, has been created by the combination of the Hellenistic culture. Alexandria is home to trade, commerce, and very importantly the Library of Alexandria. This library is the first real research library I’ve ever visited, containing over half a million scrolls and masterpieces. These aspects of Alexandria are helping it to continue to grow and prosper. Along with Alexandria being discovered, many new science and math formulas are being revealed as well. Astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, art, and physics are all becoming more advanced and scholars are becoming more educated on these subjects. A notion called the Pythagorean theorem has been introduced. Many of these new educational advances have been helping our military forces. These are all a result of the blending of different cultures, ideas, and intelligence.

         Another figure that many consider great is Martin Luther King Jr. Time has not changed the opinion of this person, nor will it ever. He will be considered great for the rest of time because of his amazing marches, speeches, and his effect on the world. I believe that although he is not referred to as “the Great”, he is still greater than Alexander because of his affect on the world. He has changed it for the better by putting a positive change in America without needing to turn to violence or war. Although many call Alexander “the Great”, is he really that great? Yes he conquered many lands and won lots of battles, but is that really what makes a person so great? I believe that to make a person great, it means they have devoted their life to helping other people and putting themselves second. Alexander was a smart and wise military leader, but as a person compared to someone like Martin Luther King Jr., he was just ordinary.

Works Cited

"Alexander: Chapter Summary." N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://college.cengage.com/humanities/perry/humanities/1e/students/summaries/ch05.html>.

"Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) Biography." Web log post. Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html>.

"Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) Biography." Web log post. Page Not Found. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/plutarch-alexander1.asp>.