June's Blog Post: Alexander the Great

Dear Diary,

I have been in this army for years now, fighting alongside Alexander the Great, the commander of the Macedonian army. I miss my family so dearly, yet I know that I’m fighting for the right reasons. I am very fond of King Alexander, and I strongly believe that he has rightfully earned his title of “the Great” because of his fantastic leadership and military strengths. I've heard him enlighten others about his life as a young boy. Before I left my hometown, a small town in Macedonia, to join Alexander in his quest to move eastward, many whispered in the town about this “great” king, who I, at the time, did not particularly care much to speak about. It was said that, even at a young age, his destiny was to become one of the greatest military commanders and rulers of all time. One story in particular that interested me is that, as a young boy, his father, Philip II, was in possession of a stallion by the name of Bucephalus. This particular horse was one that no man was able to tame, except for the king's son, Alexander. Out of every man that attempted to persuade this horse to behave, Alexander was the one who gained the trust of a particularly unruly stallion. A few years later, Aristotle, a Philosopher of this time, took young Alexander as a student. I have heard that Alexander is extremely intelligent in the fields of literature, science, medicine, and, of course, philosophy. Aristotle influenced Alexander’s way of thinking as well as his goal to create and expand his empire. It seems to me that he is executing this exact plan of expanding his empire into action at this very moment in time. After King Phillip II’s murder at his own daughter’s wedding, Alexander was given rightful position of King, as he was the next immediate heir to the throne. Almost immediately, I, being in the army, was being prepared to invade Greece. I remember that day, stepping away from my simple Macedonian life to fight for an intimidating man. Greece in particular has never really thought of Macedonia as part of their country, though I thoroughly disagree with them. We are very much Greek citizens. We targeted the major city of Thebes and destroyed it, the city only a memory now. That was so many months ago, yet I still remember that day clearly, the sense of victory and pride that surged through us all, raising our morale. Then, thirty two thousand of us were summoned together to invade northern Greece, which was eventually successful. Again, my confidence with Alexander was only rising, and it is at its peak now, as we are pushing towards Asia. Over the next couple of years, it has been explained to me that we will continue to push on eastward. I must be honest though and say that I am getting quite weary. I am not sure how much longer I will last under these circumstances. We are unbeatable, which is due to our arrangement, the Phalanx. With a total of 256 men in a unit, each arranged in a square pattern, and long thirteen foot spears with the name Sarissa’s, the Macedonia army is unbeatable. In fact, to this day, we have not lost a single battle. Perhaps that is why Alexander has earned the title of “the Great”. In fact, that is precisely why he is referred to as so. His great military leadership and willingness to lead the battles from the front position himself is a true statement to just how “Great” this man is. Rarely will someone find a man as fearless and ruthless as Alexander the Great.Alexander is always interested in blending and mixing other cultures together, which is an idea that I just do not understand. Although, I guess Alexander can possibly do what he pleases, considering how vast his empire has come to be. I do have to admit, that this strange blending of many cultures has aided Alexander’s empire greatly. He is keen on spreading Greek culture in particular, setting up many cities across the land that he conquered. 
These Greek cities have many citizens migrate towards them, spreading the culture of arts, sciences, and literature among these foreign countries. In particular, Greece has such a beautiful culture that is dispersed among many who have never seen such beautiful art work and deep philosophy. To me, it seems that Alexander is aiming for some sort of extremely large “unit”, of people if I may. A unit that it so diverse in the little cultural ideas yet share larger cultural similarities in order to bring many together under one powerful ruler. In order for an empire to thrive, cooperation among all is almost necessary to have, and an extremely similar culture allows for many to get along in a simple way. I predict that, after Alexander’s death, though, the blending of cultures certainly will not aid his empire in any way. His officers could begin to fight for control over the extremely vast areas of land, thus leading to large dispute between many that have the opportunity to continue the strong reign over the many blended cultures. The Macedonian officers will not handle the immense vastness that their, now dead, King had set upon them. As an end result, the empire that Alexander put his life into will crumble and fall.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. carries the idea of being great. Unlike the others of his time period, he stood up for what was right and, even though at the time it was not nearly as recognized, it impacted the view of Americans everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr., a boy who lived in a time with heavy segregation, grew up to be a man with a dream, a dream to end segregation and racism against African Americans. During his time, Martin Luther King Jr. may not have been viewed as an extraordinary man in the eyes of the average white person, but his power and peace throughout his speeches and marches were enough to sway many from their narrow minded thoughts. Much like Alexander, Martin Luther was a leader and a fighter. He fought for all that was right in America, yet he did it in such a peaceful way. He lead the marches himself, and fearlessly faced opponents head on. Today, Martin Luther is viewed as a man of great compassion and honor, one who many look up to. Martin Luther King Jr. and Alexander the Great may have been fighting different battles in different times and places, but the experience was much the same for both of them. They both lead a group of people who were fighting for an idea that they strongly believed in. For Martin Luther King Jr., the idea was equality for all, while for Alexander it was merely to expand the empire. They both deserved the title of great, and they were not just given the title for irrelevant, small reasons. Both of these men worked extremely hard to earn their rightful titles of "the Great".

Works Cited: 

Knox, E.L. Skip. "Alexander the Great." Alexander the Great. Boise State University, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://europeanhistory.boisestate.edu/westciv/alexander/14.shtml>.

McGill, Sarah Ann. “Alexander the Great”. Alexander The Great (2009): 1-5. History Reference Center. Web. 17 Sept. 2013


Carteledge, Paul. “Alexandria the Great” History Today 59.10 (2009): 20-26. History Reference Center. Web. 18 Sept. 2013



Reynolds, Clark. "Alexander the Great." Great lives from History: The Ancient world, Prehistory-476 c.e... Cristina A. Salowy, 19 Sepember 2013. Web. 19 Sep 2013.


Mercer, Charles. Alexander the Great. 1st ed. . New York: Harper & Row, 1962. Print.



Watkins, Thayer. "Alexander of Macedonia." Alexander of Macedonia. San Jose State University, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/alexandergreat.htm>